Driven: A how-to Strategy for Unlocking your Greatest Potential

Chapter 3. THE RHOTON THEORY

When I started my thesis on the subject of light, I needed to learn as much as I could about light and photons. I spent the first few days identifying which reference materials I'd need and what the most suitable topics, books, and articles would be. Without actually having a clear idea of where to start writing, it took me more than six months of just reading to even begin to lay a foundation. I read two to three hours a day at first, and eventually increased this to seven or eight hours a day on Friday, my day off. I made my way through three to five different books, all at the same time. I read on my bus trips to the docks, during my lunch hours, the bus ride from the docks to the library, at the library, and during my bus ride home each evening. I read as much as I could whenever I could. I shared what I learned with my friends at the docks. During lunch time, Omar, Rashid, and Karim and I would gather together, and I would hold court, regaling them with stories about atoms, electrons, curved space, and the speed of light. I'd pull a piece of chalk from my pocket and draw all sorts of diagrams on the side of any nearby container to help them visualize what I was talking about.

It didn't take long before this lunch-time theater piqued the curiosity of other workers milling around nearby. First one would join us, then another and another, until I regularly had an audience of seven or eight workers standing around, listening to me. I had no idea if these ...