When You are in the Trenches

When you are in the trenches:

1. You learn what to watch for and what to ignore.


2. You know the importance of small pleasures.


3. You quickly figure out who is very good, who talks a good game, who is quietly reliable, and who is dangerously inept.


4. You know that rank and importance are not synonymous.


5. You chew over information before swallowing it.


6. You try to pick your own squad.


7. You'd rather have dry socks than a brilliant speech.


8. You romanticize neither your enemies nor your allies.


9. You double-check.


10. You are always ready to move.