The desire definitely comes from within. There are only a few people who make it to this level and those are the ones who have that innate desire.
I think, like a lot of other people who have been in the service, you'd been delayed in what you were doing. You wanted to catch up and the best way to catch up was to move as fast as you could toward a degree.
A reading man and woman is a ready man and woman, but a writing man and woman is exact.

