Episode 006 – Residual Millionaire Podcast Interview With Colonel Tim Cole – Leadership Lessons From A 31-Year Marine Colonel

Colonel Tim Cole is a respected “Mustang” Marine Corps leader who served the U.S. Marine Corps & Reserve over thirty-one (31) years, spanning the terms of five (5) different U.S. Presidents. Following the 9/11 attacks against our nation, he mobilized to Active Duty for the Global War on Terror. He deployed to Kuwait & Iraq with the Marines in 2003, and again 2005 & 2006 for Operations Enduring & Iraqi Freedom earning numerous military awards. In 2008-2009 Colonel Cole served in Washington, DC as Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, providing Military Ceremonial planning & support for the 56^th Presidential Inauguration. Colonel Cole was selected for Command in 2009, and served on Active Duty through 2011 with NORAD & USNORTHCOM in Colorado Springs, CO. (North American Aerospace Defense Command & United States Northern Command)

Colonel Cole retired from the Marine Corps in May 2013 and today he honors America’s veterans by sharing a veteran’s unique military service story with family, friends, and loved ones. He’s in the process of launching his AMERICAN HONORS* business, which will provide historical context, military jargon translation, and researched insight of individual military service that empowers loved ones with greater understanding, and equips them to honor and celebrate their veteran’s service. He is passionate about helping Americans acknowledge, respect, honor, and celebrate their beloved veterans.

In this episode, he shares some of the leadership lessons that he has learned that apply to both business and life in general. It’s pure gold.

Favorite Success Quote:  “A person of integrity expects to be believed and when they’re not, they simply let time prove them right.”

What He Would Tell His 21-year Old Self: “Tim, you are far far greater and capable than you can even imagine on this day so go do, what I call, ‘suit up, show up and get in the game,’ do not hesitate, do no doubt. In the Marine Corps, we learned a phrase, it’s called fortune favors the brave. What I would tell that 21-year-old self is you are far far more capable than you can even identify right now so go out full blast, suit up, show up, get in the game, make your contribution. The limits that you even think you may have are not really there, push through, push through.”

Leadership Lessons: “In the Marine Corps, we keep things simple. Simple means they’re duplicatable, so we keep things simple. Earlier, I talked about there’s 14 leadership traits in the Marine Corps and that of all those 14, integrity is the foundation for the others. Let me just quickly go through those, justice, as a Marine, you need a sense of justice, judgment, determination, integrity, dependability, tact, initiative, endurance, bearing, the way you carry yourself, unselfishness, courage, knowledge, loyalty and enthusiasm. Those are the 14 leadership traits, integrity is the foundation for all those. Then there’s 11 leadership principles and the one that just resonated with me was seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions. Think about that, your key trait is integrity, your key principle is take responsibility.”

Favorite Success Habit:  “I’m going to answer it in two ways. I’ll tell you, the most profound impact in my life was my faith, coming to my personal faith. I lived a life in religion, I went to a church but I didn’t really have a personal faith until later in life. I’ll just tell you that that’s really probably the most profound thing. We’re going to set that aside for a moment.  Then what I would say is the next habit even though fitness is very very important to me, the habit of reading. Once again, it’s embarrassing to some degree to admit how far long in life I was before I became, really, a fan or fanatic in reading and reading and reading. Because the world’s knowledge, information and techniques, it’s all available if we all just read and glean and begin to apply those things that apply to us. I love your book, your book helped me grow in a variety of ways beyond the network marketing piece, I mean, all that you talk about with faith and your family and living priorities. Reading is probably the one habit that really began changing my life in a powerful way.”

Book Recommendations: Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Again, that was decades and decades ago and I loved it because it’s seek first to understand. 2 Chairs: The Secret That Changes Everything, by Bob Beaudine. Also, let me tell you what I read just recently that I love and it’s by Admiral McRaven, it’s called Make Your Bed. The video that Col. Cole mentioned with Admiral McRaven is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxBQLFLei70

Best Business Advice: It’s an Abraham Lincoln line that you apply and he said, “Sunshine is the great disinfectant.” I have to admit, I didn’t know necessarily what that meant. It comes from a time when spring cleaning was designed to get the winter’s woes out of your house, it was open the windows, it was go out and take out the carpets and let sunshine in the house and it actually made everybody healthier. Sunshine is a great disinfectant. The way that applies in the business world today is if there’s something that has to be hidden, there’s a problem there. That’s not good, that’s not well, sunshine is a great disinfectant. We should be able to live lives, our businesses should be transparent, open. We have one set of books, we live one life and our word is our bond. At least that’s one.

Another Abraham Lincoln line, I’m paraphrasing, but it was basically whatever you do, do your absolute best. I had heard that in the Marine Corps and it went along the lines of if you’re going to be the chow hall officer which, by the way, is not a glamorous position, if you’re the chow hall officer, I’ll use dang, be the best dang chow hall officer you can be. That’s the way I heard it and that I learned later that it was Abraham Lincoln, just whatever you do, be the absolute best at what you can be. If you’re committed to something whether that’s working a job and you’re earning pay, do the absolute best. I hadn’t always mastered that, Steve, but from the time I begin implementing it, I would say that my life has definitely improved, that trajectory increased further.

Connect With Colonel Tim Cole: www.ColonelTimCole.com