What personal mantra or philosophy guides your life?

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Back in 1967, I entered Marine boot camp—a span of years I’d rather not calculate. Throughout that formative period, our instructors drilled into us a crucial lesson: the importance of planning. Though their methods have likely evolved, I’m confident the Marines continue to champion this principle.

Over the decades, I’ve come to recognize this advice as among the most valuable I’ve ever received. Looking back, I wish I’d embraced it more completely at the time, even though I thought I had.

Here’s the critical point: delay planning, and your options shrink. The longer you postpone it, the fewer choices remain available to you.