Cocytus: Have you begun your descent?

•Finding the right mentor is an important element in achieving professional success.•Even the most rewarding career will have unanticipated hazards.•Overcoming self-imposed barriers is crucial to maintaining one's career trajectory.

The vast majority of trainees entering a fellowship express a sincere interest in pursuing an ‘academic career’. However, even the most dedicated souls will find their own path toward that worthy goal fraught with a number of unanticipated hazards—any one of which could result in a fullstop of professional advancement. Of interest, many of the obstacles are actually self-imposed, usually buried within the subconscious self. Without guidance of how to recognize and address these shortcomings, abandonment of one's original career trajectory may be seriously considered, and often acted upon. By the time any one of us has completed training, taken the boards, and gotten to this inflection point, we are at least in our mid- to late-30s. What then, is there to do, about this looming phenomenon, whenever it may occur? Perhaps we can draw comfort from a historical figure who has been there, and done that. His journey embodies the value of mentoring in traversing the succession of personal perils that are commonplace in today's professional environment.