Introduction
I spent 13 calendar years in the Navy, I enlisted in 1980 and went off to boot camp in Orlando in December of 1980. I learned to run a nuclear reactor, and that got me an NROTC Scholarship to CU Boulder. After graduation, I received a commission as an Ensign and was sent to be the Communications Officer on the USS Comstock. Somewhere along the way, or maybe even after I got out, I found these 13 rules and found them to be helpful and inspirational. So, without further ado, as they say:
Colin Powell's Thirteen Rules
- It ain't as bad as you think! It will look better in the morning.
- Get mad then get over it.
- Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
- It can be done.
- Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
- Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
- You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.
- Check small things.
- Share credit.
- Remain calm. Be kind.
- Have a vision. Be demanding.
- Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
- Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
Epilogue
As I searched for these rules again so I didn't have to search my archives, I realized that Colin Powell passed away on October 18th, 2021. Something that I either didn't notice at the time or perhaps faded from memory. As I read about him in his Wikipedia entry, I saw that we had the same birthday, though mine was more than two decades later. I also see that he got his commission in the army via an Army ROTC scholarship.