As almost anyone who reads this blog knows, I was in the US army for five years. It wasn’t easy, but I’m glad I did it. It helped me in many ways, and its lessons continue to be valuable and applicable to everyday life.

In many ways, I learned more about the world and working in the army than in any of my other 15 years of working experience, and nearly all of the most important lessons were learned in that crucible.

This story of working with Steve Jobs reminded me of that army experience, and one important part of it in particular.

One great take away from working with Steve is that there’s not much anyone can do to intimidate me now. So, bonus.

In the Army, I worked and dealt with some of the most irascible, hardcore, intimidating people in the universe. Literally in many cases trained killers. I’ve been screamed at, encouraged and sometimes belittled by the best and in some cases the worst of humanity.

It seemed horrible at the time but I – who was already pretty unflappable – became well-nigh incapable of being intimidated.

That is a surprisingly useful skill in the corporate world. Hell, in any part of life, really.