You Reap What You Sow: Motto From Dr. Elizabeth Clowse

My motto is “You Reap What You Sow.”  I picked it up when I was a physician-in-training and gave a talk on a young woman who had terrible complications for a medication.  I’ve used it frequently over the past 20 years to keep my work on track.  While it is often thought of negatively – the Grim Reaper and the implication that terrible things will happen – I actually think of it from the positive side.  Great things will come only if you sow the seeds for them.  I keep this motto in mind when I’m writing grants, applying for awards, and submitting papers – while I might not get the grants, awards, or publications, I certainly won’t if I don’t put them out there.

-Dr. Elizabeth Clowse, Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University