By Jean Baptiste Ndabananiye
From doubt to discovery, when patience meets action and accomplishes outstanding achievements which include stopping bullets. “Stephanie Kwolek finished college in 1946 as her lifelong work as a chemist began. She specialized in creating a material as hard as steel, but lighter. Ten (10) years passed throughout the experiments and her fellow chemists had given up on the idea. At last, a serendipitous find helped her create the fist [first] group of synthetic fibers known as Kevlar.” That’s a passage from an undated story headlined “15 real examples of patience in history”, written by Dr. Robell on his website.
This American and mental/psychology coach, Dr. Robell, conducts mental toughness training through a combination of research and over 10 years of applied experience with hundreds of athletes, coaches, and teams. He has been featured on ESPN, FOX NEWS, The Golf Channel, New York Times, Runner’s World, and Stack Magazine. We will come back to him, since he is also an interesting personality as even indicated by these his words. “I fell off an 80-foot cliff in college, and that hinge moment made all the difference.
It caused a lot of pain physically and emotionally, but it connected who I was with who I would become from that event. Sport Psychology was discovered.” He is interesting because he has changed this hurdle into an opportunity which has transformed him colossally. He also offers a testament that an obstacle actually represents a blessing in disguise. “Our mess becomes our message,” he states. In other words, a person’s mess turns into their hinge moment- pivotal and revolutionary time in one’s life in which virtually everything changes. It revolutionizes the person’s life, when they implement the decision of not being defined or paralyzed by or succumbing to the mess.
Back to the late Stephanie Louise Kwolek
Kwolek was born on 31 July 1923 in the United States of America. She passed away on 18 June 2014. Britannica says “Stephanie Kwolek was a pioneer in polymer research whose work yielded Kevlar, an ultrastrong and ultrathick material best known for its use in bulletproof vests.”
NCRI Women Committee echoes “Stephanie Louise Kwolek was best known for inventing Kevlar, the groundbreaking synthetic fiber that changed the world of protective gear. Her discovery not only saved countless lives but also shattered gender barriers in science and innovation. In 1965, while researching lightweight materials for tires, Kwolek discovered a cloudy polymer solution that spun into remarkably strong fibers. That material became Kevlar—five times stronger than steel, yet lightweight and flexible. Today, Kevlar is used in bulletproof vests, helmets, fire-resistant gear, and even space technology.”
Kwolek’s initial aspiration changed, and the change played a substantial role in who she would become later. “In 1946 she received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Intending eventually to go to medical school, she went to work as a laboratory chemist at the rayon department of the DuPont Company in Buffalo, New York. DuPont had introduced nylon just before World War II, and in the postwar years the company resumed its drive into the highly competitive market of synthetic fibres.
Kwolek thus became engaged in basic research in a new and fast-growing field, and as a consequence she never left employment with DuPont. She moved with the company’s Pioneering Research Laboratory to Wilmington, Delaware, in 1950 and retired with the rank of research associate in 1986. Having accumulated many patents and awards in her career, she continued in retirement to work as a consultant and public speaker,” Britannica explains.
NCRI Women Committee, echoing Britannica on some points, states “Kwolek originally aspired to become a doctor. But after earning a chemistry degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology, she took a temporary job at DuPont—a decision that launched a legendary scientific career.
Despite working in a male-dominated industry, Kwolek earned 27 patents, numerous accolades—including the National Medal of Technology—and became the first woman inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (1994) for her solo invention. Stephanie Kwolek’s legacy lives on in every life saved by Kevlar. She was not just a brilliant chemist, but a pioneer who opened doors for future generations of women in science and engineering.”
Not only do NCRI Women Committee and Britannica contend that the fiber created by Kwolek are extremely sturdy, but also does American Chemical Society highlighting that she intensely loved her unimagined career. “Fond of the polymer research at DuPont, she abandoned her plans for medical school to become a lifetime chemist. In 1965, Stephanie Kwolek made an unexpected discovery that led to the creation of synthetic fibers so strong, not even steel bullets could penetrate them. During her analysis of long molecule chains at low temperatures, Kwolek observed how polyamide molecules line up to form liquid crystalline polymer solutions of exceptional strength and stiffness.
In a polymer research lab at DuPont, Kwolek discovered the super fiber known as Kevlar. Stephanie Kwolek at a polarizing microscope. DuPont; gift of Stephanie Kwolek,”Science History Institute.
That discovery made way for Kwolek’s invention of industrial fibers that today protect and save thousands of lives. Most notable among these is Kevlar, a heat-resistant material that’s five times stronger than steel, but lighter than fiberglass. Today, Kevlar is used in hundreds of products, including bulletproof vests, spacecrafts, helmets, tennis racquets, tires, and protective gloves. Kwolek specialized in developing low-temperature processes for finding petroleum-based synthetic fibers of incredible strength and rigidity. Assigned to finding the next generation of fibers that could withstand extreme conditions, Kwolek’s work involved preparing intermediates, synthesizing aromatic polyamides of high molecular weight, dissolving the polyamides in solvents, and spinning these solutions into fibers.”
According to Science History Institute Museum& Library, Kwolek stood in her 40s when DuPont requested her to scout for the next generation of fibers capable of performing in extreme conditions.
Kwolek’s unwavering patience
Kwolek’s patience and persistence are beyond doubt legendary. The website, Investors, explains that the process for this trait vital in life, patience, to be ingrained in Kwolek started early. “Kwolek, the daughter of two Polish immigrants; her father was an amateur naturalist. And it was through him and their long walks in the woods that she developed her love of science.
He taught her patience, how to observe and also to remember. Though they didn’t realize it at the time, these were all tools that would serve her well as an adult. Unfortunately, her father passed away when she was just 10. Her mother, a seamstress, valued precision and attention to detail, also qualities that would help her later.”
Patience involves waiting without complaint or frustration, tolerating something unpleasant like failure or hardship. Kwolek spent 10 years in research on the fiber. Corroborating what Dr. Robell says, Famous Scientists reports “After nine years of research work, Kwolek made her major breakthrough, discovering Kevlar. Her pathway to discovery began a year earlier, when she began looking for a new, lightweight plastic to be used in car tires. The idea was that lighter tires would allow vehicles to enjoy better fuel economy.”
Passing 10 years, researching on one thing -in addition to some other staff members who discourage you, saying that your work is useless- doesn’t constitute an easy task at all. She was demoralized but remained undeterred.
We have not been able to find a reliable source specifying the extent to which people forsake their ambitions, only after their first failures. But we have seen on some social media that 93% of people abandon them just after their first failures. If that’s true, it is staggeringly alarming. Notwithstanding, these people should know that failure occurs to you only when you relinquish your dream. Determined to pursue your dream, you will eventually realize it, as Kwolek did. Patience, which certainly coincides with perseverance and persistence, constitutes the very resource that will enable you to fulfill it no matter what happens.
Patience will really propel you into an unbelievable discovery or stunning success. Kwolek’s discovery amazes everybody. Platforms covering her discovery are so astonished that they all fail to ignore the abnormal sturdiness of the fiber. For example, Investors- in its 14 April 2025 story titled “Stephanie Kwolek’s Kevlar Invention Literally Saves Lives”- underlines “Stephanie Kwolek was the unlikely DuPont chemist who invented Kevlar, the miracle fiber that’s five times stronger than steel. Her invention has literally been a lifesaver. Kevlar (poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide) is found in many places, including protective gear for police officers and soldiers. And, it stops bullets.”
Famous Scientists also emphasizes “Not only did Kevlar find use in tires, its combination of lightness and strength has seen it used in a large variety of protective clothing applications, such as bulletproof vests, which have saved the lives of countless police officers and other people. Kevlar is an immensely strong plastic, first used as a replacement for steel reinforcing strips in racing car tires, and now used in a large number of applications where high strength is required without high weight.”
Science History Institute Museum& Library highlights “In 1965 Stephanie Kwolek created the first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength and stiffness. The best-known member is Kevlar, a material used in protective vests as well as in boats, airplanes, ropes, cables, and much more—in total about 200 applications.”
Kwolek didn’t initially expect to pursue science. Investors explains “But a career in science was not on Kwolek’s mind at the time.” She “didn’t start out to be a chemist,” she told an interviewer from the Science History Institute Museum and Library. “I was going to be a fashion designer, and that’s what I did as a child. I spent hours drawing and so forth.”
Science History Institute Museum& Library echoes “At one time she thought she might become a fashion designer, but her mother warned her she would probably starve in that business because she was such a perfectionist. Later Kwolek became interested in teaching and then in chemistry and medicine.”
Lesson from Kwolek’s legendary patience and persistence
Kwolek is another living testimony that patience pays off. However, it does so only when you carry out action. Thony Robbins, in his book “Awaken the Giant Within” in the second chapter titled “Decisions- the Pathway to Power”, says “Now is the time to design the next ten years of your life—not once they’re over. We must seize the moment.”
Robbins, in his other book “Unlimited Power” abundantly clarifies that the most powerful way to shape our lives is to get ourselves to take action. According to him, the difference in results which people produce proceeds from what they’ve implemented differently from others in the same situations. “Different actions produce different results. Why? Because any action is a cause set in motion, and its effect builds on past effects to move us in a definite direction. Every direction leads to an ultimate destination: our destiny. In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions.
It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently. The key and most important question, then, is this: What precedes all of our actions? What determines what actions we take, and therefore, who we become, and what our ultimate destination is in life? What is the father of action? The answer, of course, is what I’ve been alluding to all along: the power of decision.”
He explains what the genuine decision really is. “Information is power when it’s acted upon, and one of my criteria for a true decision is that action flows from it. More than anything else, I believe it’s our decisions, not the conditions of our lives, that determine our destiny. You and I both know that there are people who were born with advantages: they’ve had genetic advantages, environmental advantages, family advantages, or relationship advantages.
Yet you and I also know that we constantly meet, read, and hear about people who against all odds have exploded beyond the limitations of their conditions by making new decisions about what to do with their lives. They’ve become examples of the unlimited power of the human spirit.”
Robbins maintains that each and every person possesses capabilities to decide to become like these personalities who have turned into inspiring models, though their living conditions were first unpromising. “If we decide to, you and I can make our lives one of these inspiring examples. How? Simply by making decisions today about how we’re going to live in the nineties and beyond. If you don’t make decisions about how you’re going to live, then you’ve already made a decision, haven’t you?
You’re making a decision to be directed by the environment instead of shaping your own destiny. My whole life changed in just one day—the day I determined not just what I’d like to have in my life or what I wanted to become, but when I decided who and what I was committed to having and being in my life. That’s a simple distinction, but a critical one.”
We feature Robbins in this article, just to underline the colossal importance of continuous action. Patience, combined with such action, really brings wonders as it happened to Kwolek. If she had not kept patience for all the 10 years, she could have transformed the world with her invention. Patience but without action could have unquestionably yielded nothing.
As a critical lesson, we have to understand that patience is not passive waiting, but disciplined endurance sustained by consistent action. Kwolek did not merely hope for success; she worked for it daily for ten years, even when others doubted her research. Her story teaches us that discouragement is not a signal to quit, but a test of commitment. Dreams collapse not because they are impossible, but because persistence expires. When we decide firmly—just as Robbins emphasizes—that our destiny will be shaped by our actions rather than our circumstances, we activate the power that transforms obstacles into breakthroughs.
Therefore, we must cultivate patience that acts, perseverance that persists, and decisions that translate into daily effort. We must refuse to allow temporary failure to define permanent outcomes. We must recognize that delays are not denials but preparation seasons. We must remain steadfast when results are invisible, because invisible progress often precedes visible success. And above all, we must remember that quitting is the only true failure; endurance combined with action forms the pathway to extraordinary achievement.