We must believe that we are gifted for something.

Polish physicist Marie Curie made history as the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in 1903 and then again as the only woman to ever win a second Nobel in 1911 (first in physics, then in chemistry). She earned these honors for her groundbreaking work in discovering two new elements: radium and polonium. Though she received much acclaim for her research, Curie also suffered many hardships in her life, including the death of her beloved husband and research partner, Pierre Curie, as well as long-term physical ailments from her work with radioactive materials. Through it all, Curie remained hopeful and optimistic. In her 1937 biography she wrote, “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”