It’s also important to understand that the path to your goal is not always straight. You have to be brave enough to say, “I’m going there,” but be open to the fact that the direct path may not be the right one. Failures are opportunities to learn and to see what else is happening. My PhD advisor gave me a book called “The Path is the Goal.” The journey is what’s important. If you do it with grace, conviction, and a belief in why you’re doing it, you will make your impact. I hope everyone asks themselves, “Who do I want to impact?” and then structures their time, life, and effort to make sure they achieve that.
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January 2026
Dr. Rapoport is an attending physician in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and is an assistant professor at Georgetown University in the department of otolaryngology.
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