I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing well. And to qualify as being done "well" I need to have reached both an external and internal standard of having given it my all. This philosophy applies to all aspects of my life: If I am going to run I am going to run well and if I am going to take a class I am going to not only pass it but excel in it. Odds are many recruits share this same sentiment. It's difficult to verbalize what makes me different from everyone else; the best I can come up with is that I'm not afraid to go against the crowd nor am I too proud that I am unable to acknowledge the times when people know more than me and follow them.
I'm not a mindless follower and am a disciplined self-starter.