Ambition by Colin Powell

This is a great short little story Retired Gen. Colin Powell mentioned in Success Magazine. We all can apply this someway or another in our lives.

At one army base where he was stationed, "there was a second lieutenant who wanted to be a general. He bugged everyone, asking, 'How do I become a general?' He saw a general at the officers club and asked him, 'How do I become a general?'"

Powell says the general told the young officer he should study all the time, show courage and take care of his troops. "And the young officer said, 'And that's how I become a general?'

"And the general said, 'No, that's how you become a first lieutenant.'"

The takeaway message: Don't get ahead of yourself. Put in the necessary hard work every step of the way.