15. Don't be afraid to dream. Ideas and concepts are incubated in dreams. But don't fall into the trap of being a dreamer and not a doer.

16. Always be organized. Never procrastinate. Do not waste time on mindless trivialities that have no benefit. And meet your deadlines. Time wasted is time you will never be able to retrieve. Napoleon once said to a courier, “Go sir, gallop, and don't forget that the world was made in six days. You can ask me for anything you like, except time.”

17. Embrace competition and new technologies. Both will keep you in the game.

18. Always think outside and in front of your career. Fighter pilots often talk about having to think outside and in front of their aircraft. The reason? The plane is moving so fast that it could outpace the pilot’s own ability to control it. Benjamin Franklin said it best: “Drive thy business or it will drive thee.”

19. Never sell yourself short. Don’t work for free, and don’t be afraid to ask for a raise when you know you deserve it.

20. Don’t be afraid to take risks or summon the courage to do what you know to be right and good, even if in doing you risk being physically, emotionally, socially, or financially injured or condemned by others. As a young Marine rifle squad leader, one of the first things I learned about courage is that real courage is not without real fear. We are all afraid of something, and there is nothing wrong with that. But the difference between a brave man and a coward is that a brave man will do what he knows to be right and what must be done despite his fear.

21. If you have something to say, say it. But don’t shoot from the hip: Know what you are talking about. Also, talk less and listen more, always.

22. Don’t confuse arrogance or dominance with confidence. That is how a child perceives his or her own confidence.

23. Be proud, but never to the point of conceit or vanity.

24. Always protect your honor. It is, as Continental Army Col. John Lamb once said, “the only jewel worth contending for.”

25. You’ve heard the cliché, “Remember where you come from.” It’s cliché because it’s important enough to have been repeated countless times. You’re an American. You’re free. You have the means to make your own way in the world. You have people who love and respect you. And you’re my nephew.

Never forget these things.

Love and respect,
Uncle Tom