Chemist Louis Pasteur pioneered several scientific breakthroughs, including the eponymous pasteurization process, as well as vaccines for anthrax and rabies. These breakthroughs came after Pasteur had studied and experimented for years — sometimes simply for the sake of science, rather than with a specific objective. These words, from his first address as dean of the Faculté des Sciences in Lille, France, call to mind that balance of hard work and exploration. Pasteur reminds us that we can’t simply hope to get lucky: It’s by investing time and effort into our pursuits that we often make our most exciting discoveries.