There are few people who strike a truly significant chord within us; people whom we aspire to be like. We ask them what their secrets are, and we do our best to imitate them. But it seems that we have it all wrong. In meeting one of these rare people, it becomes clear that the secret is not in replication, but rather, in application—a life well spent.

Two-star Major General Carl Schneider is one such individual. Though he is 91 years old, Schneider, now a Middle Tennessee resident, doesn’t appear even remotely his age. He reinforces this idea by saying, “I’m 71, but I’ve got 20 years of extra experience.” His physical stamina and his clarity of mind are sharper than my own at 45, and his spirit of adventure rivals that of children. While those surface elements are truly awe-inspiring, there are much deeper layers to be discovered that expose the reason for his reality.

Raised in a West Texas cotton field, he aspired early on toward greater things. As a child, he recalls being in the cotton field with his brother and seeing an airplane in the sky. He said he knew then and there that flying was his destiny. His vision is my first glimpse into his secret.

Life on the farm was hard work. Schneider’s early years were spent alongside his family helping keep their farm in order. It was commonplace for children to work throughout the day back in those days. There were no video games, and often not even toys. From dawn to dusk, much of his early childhood was spent in various labors, in between schooling and church. While he doesn’t speak of these labors with fondness, he does credit his father for setting a good example of hard work, and he emphasizes the benefits derived from the values he grew up with: country, duty and jobs.

Schneider gives me another glimpse into his secret as he talks about the rare spare time he had as a child. Sometimes, they’d play ball. However, back then it was a lot harder to get a hold of the basics. So, they improvised. His father had whittled a two-by-four piece of wood into a bat for them. A ball of twine became their ball. The bases were old gunny sacks with dirt in them. If you wanted to shoot something, you’d carve a base out of whatever you had available, and you’d find some old rubber tires to use as the sling.

Vision, hard work and ingenuity are three foundational secrets to Schneider’s success. While he continues to build upon these ideas, it is clear that these three principles have given him a solid foundation to build upon. They helped mold the formidable man that sits before me, and served as the backbone upon which his frame hangs.

With great enthusiasm, he tells me about being a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

“A fighter pilot never has to grow up,” he says. Schneider goes on to tell me that he has had a lot of fun. “People say, ‘You’re 91?’ And I say, ‘No, I’m just still a boy. I’m just having fun.’” And that’s a word that gets thrown around often as we chat. Fun. He’s followed the fun in life, and it’s paid off. He’s learned how to be the most responsible, prudent and charitable 91-year-old child I’ve ever met.

We change course with the same ease as the F-86 Sabre plane he says he likes best. He tells me another story that reveals the roots of his many branches. When he was a buck private in the military, a corporal had told him “don’t choose guys that don’t volunteer for nothin’.”

He obviously was affected by that advice, as he decided right then and there that he was going to volunteer for everything. While that mentality was risky, it also paid off in big ways.

Schneider recounts a time when he was a second lieutenant, and his commander had addressed the men, telling them that he needed, “one bachelor volunteer for a dirty detail. Anyone stupid enough to volunteer?” In the midst of the other men likely doing their best to suppress the desire to head for the hills, Schneider stepped up and said, “Yes, sir!” The commander followed that up by letting the men know that they could eat their hearts out for what they were about to hear. The dirty detail turned out to be a stint in New York City, staying in Hotel Pennsylvania and flying brand-new airplanes all over the United States for six months. His thoughts on this? “Talk about a good deal!”

Another story he details involves one of many times that he didn’t act in accordance with strict regulations. His boss was gone at the time, so Schneider was running a large military depot. There were about 20,000 people there. The mayor of Macon, Georgia, at the time was a big supporter of the Air Force. Anything the Air Force needed (from a community standpoint), the mayor would get for them. As it happened, one day Schneider received a call from the mayor’s aide. The mayor needed emergency surgery within six hours or he would die. He had to make it to Houston. No commercial flights could do it. Could he help?

Gen. Schneider looked out the window of the depot office and spotted a strategic Air Command tanker. He knew the commander of the organization, so he asked the colonel, “Instead of going around the flagpole, would your guys like to take the mayor to Houston?” His response was, “You give me a direct order, General, and we’ll do it!” So, Schneider said, “You got it!”

“So, here’s the scenario: we’re a different command, commandeering a totally unauthorized airplane. My boss [a higher ranking general] calls me up from Dayton, Ohio, about an hour later, and he said, ‘I understand you have commandeered a strategic airplane with no authority, to send a civilian to Houston. Is that right?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir!’ He said, ‘Well, tell me about it.’ So, I told him the story, and all he said was, ‘Don’t do that again.’ So, I said, ‘Yes, sir!’”

This leads me to understanding the next secret of his success. Common sense. Schneider tells me of a time when he “ran an outfit” down in Texas, and they didn’t have a major aircraft accident for two and a half years. When the inspector general came asking how he’d managed to accomplish that, and inquired as to where the rules and regulations book was, Schneider reached up on the top of the filing cabinet, and produced a dusty old book that he had to blow the dust from. The resulting bafflement, while understandable, is easily cleared up once Schneider further explains his methodology.

“Well, I just checked everybody out well, and I told them to use common sense, fly safe and do what you’re supposed to do. And they all did it. We didn’t lose a single pilot, and we didn’t lose an airplane. It wasn’t by the rules and regulations in a lot of ways, but just use your good old common sense.”

I’m getting to the deepest layer as he expounds on what is, in my opinion, the core of his success. It’s all about the attitude you have. Schneider says he only knows one number, and that’s number one. He says that if the head person in any organization has high standards, and he or she lives up to them, leading by example, that is the recipe for success.

It’s no surprise that the two-star major general spends most of his time giving back these days. Schneider has two very well-written books about his fascinating life available for sale at jetpioneer.com. All proceeds from the books are donated to veterans. He’s also involved in educational efforts that will require high school students to take and pass the naturalization test. He feels strongly that the children of this country should understand the hard work and sacrifice that the country was built upon, and that they should know the contents of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He’s also been a big part of the Veteran’s Heritage Project, which gives children the opportunity to interview WWII veterans and then write an article on the experience, to be included in a compilation stored at the Library of Congress. Participants in this program have experienced an unusually high rate of success as adults.

Schneider is additionally an avid supporter of living debt-free. He relays the benefits and freedoms in relationships and life while living in a debt-free environment. “It really takes the pressure off,” he says. He advocates that children and adults alike should take this advice seriously.

Ultimately, Schneider thinks that life is all about balance. He lives the kind of life he advocates. He thinks that everyone should follow their dreams and have fun. An excerpt from one of his books, also featured on his website, really best sums it all up. “Develop your God-given talents, balance your goals, work smart, work hard, and enjoy life: it has an expiration date.”

It has an expiration date? Well, Schneider could have fooled me.

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Hear more of Schneider’s story at this month’s Living Sent Murfreesboro meeting, held Wednesday, Oct. 9, from 11:45 a.m.–1 p.m. at the Experience Community, 521 Old Salem Rd. Contact bob.williams@alhambrapartners.com for more details on that gathering.