There are many excellent quotes about habits, and one of Aristotle’s captures the essence of this tip very well:

 “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

It took me a long time to develop good habits for both productive living and success. As a teenager, good habits were not something I was concerned about. The results were predictable. If it were not for a good family somehow keeping me between the yellow lines, I am sure I would have never attended college. College can be a place where very bad habits are developed and deepened. I did plenty of that.

However, somewhere, somehow in college, life came together through the guidance of a few good role models and involvement in activities where I could experience success. Dr. Mel Levine, a doctor at the University of North Carolina, used to say, “Success is like a drug. The more you have, the more you want.” I had some success in college—and I wanted more.      

Early in my career, I was fortunate...