Page 58 - Midas Touch

In January of 1973, I returned from the war. My year in Vietnam was up. I
asked my dad for advice on what I should do next. He recommended that I
go back to school, get my master’s degree, possibly get my PhD, and then
get a government job. In other words, his advice was to focus on job
security and retirement security. I quickly said no to that, knowing my

spirit would die in that environment. It would be like being trapped in
school for the rest of my life and waiting for the school bell to ring. It had
taken years and a war to get me past all of that.

When I shook my head at that idea, he then suggested I fly for the airlines,
as many of my fellow Marine pilots were doing. He shook his head when I
told him, “For me, Dad, that would be going backwards. I already know
how to fly. I loved combat. I came alive in the environment of war. Flying

for the airlines would be like returning home to drive a bus.” I knew that
was not for me either. My poor dad’s focus was always on security. Once
again, it was clear that his focus was not my focus.

In 2009, the movie The Hurt Locker won an Academy Award. In that
movie, a young soldier returns from Iraq after being an EOD (Explosive
Ordnance Demolition) technician, a person who neutralizes IEDs
(Improvised Explosive Devices), one of the most hazardous jobs of the

war. After being home for a few months in the so-called civilized world,
the final scene of the movie shows him putting on his bomb-disposal suit
and once again walking down a road back in Iraq.

When I returned to the civilized world, I too thought about returning to
war, or becoming a mercenary fighting in Africa, or flying for the CIA in
Asia. I couldn’t shake the sense that the civilized world of job security

would kill my spirit, and eventually me. That is why I became an
entrepreneur.

Focus Defined
I like to think of the word FOCUS as Follow One Course Until Successful.

My favorite two words of that acronym are these: until successful. Focus,
represented by the index finger, is essential in developing your Midas
Touch, and the focus must be about bringing out the best in you.

Focus is also power measured over time. For example, it is easy for me to
stay on my diet from breakfast to lunch. But to stay focused for years on