Grad school advice

http://www.cs.unc.edu/~azuma/hitch4.html

But without an underlying confidence that you do have what it takes to complete a dissertation, it's too easy to drop out when the going gets tough instead of sticking it through. I found it useful to keep in touch with the "real world," to remind myself that the graduate student population is not representative of humanity in general and to keep my perspective. You got into graduate school because you have already shown to your professors that you have potential and skills that are not typical among most college students, let alone most people -- don't forget that.

That initial failure caused me to answer the basic question, providing the mental fortitude to keep going despite the hurdles and problems I would later face.

Academia is a business
Graduate school is a different ballgame
Initiative
Tenacity "thick skin"
Organizational skills
Communications skills
Choosing an adviser and a committee
Balance and Perspective

You will learn the state of the art in your chosen speciality and conduct cutting-edge research on a subject that you find interesting and enjoyable. If you don't find this compensation sufficient, then you shouldn't be in graduate school in the first place.

"Don't let school get in the way of your education."
- Mark Twain

"The IQ test was invented to predict academic performance, nothing else. If we wanted something that would predict life success, we'd have to invent another test completely."
- Robert Zajonc

You will take classes in the beginning but in your later years you probably won't have any classes. People judge a recently graduated Ph.D. by his or her research, not by his or her class grades. And, without any offense to my professors, most of what you learn in a Ph.D. program comes outside of classes: from doing research on your own, attending conferences, and talking to your fellow students. Success in graduate school does not come from completing a set number of course units but rather from successfully completing a research program.

But in a Ph.D. program, you must select and complete a unique long-term research program. For most of us, this means you have to learn how to do research and all that entails: working closely with your professors, staff and fellow students, communicating results, finding your way around obstacles, dealing with politics, etc.

https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php

Valuing differences is what really drives synergy. Do you truly value the mental, emotional, and psychological differences among people? Or do you wish everyone would just agree with you so you could all get along? Many people mistake uniformity for unity; sameness for oneness. One word--boring! Differences should be seen as strengths, not weaknesses. They add zest to life.

it is often better to ask forgiveness than permission, provided you are not becoming a "loose cannon."

Tenacity means sticking with things even when you get depressed or when things aren't going well.

First, the Ph.D. is the beginning, not the culmination, of your career. Don't worry about making it your magnum opus. Get out sooner, rather than later.

Second, if you bother to talk to and learn from the people who have already gone through this process, you might graduate two years earlier.

http://www.cs.indiana.edu/how.2b/how.2b.research.html#thesis