Army Signal Corps, which was responsible for communications at the beginning of World War I. In 1915 he was transferred to the Philippines to organize a communications system among the islands of the archipelago, but while there he became interested in aeronautics and by 1917 had become head of the Ordnance Department of the Signal Corps. He was later transferred to Washington where he wrote daily training manuals for bombardiers and other aerial personnel that were used during World War I.
In 1928 he applied for a patent on an airplane tracking device that was later used by both army and navy to detect enemy submarines during World War II. This invention earned him over $3 million from royalties. In 1930, Colton’s book "Mind Power" was published and went on to sell more than a million copies worldwide under different titles including “The Will Power Secret,” “The Power of Positive Thinking,” “The Power of Your Mind” and “The Secret of Mental Power” In 1937 Colton founded the International College of Mental Science which later became known as The American College of Longevity in Brentwood, TN.
Colton died in Brentwood on June 24, 1972 after being ill for several months from cardiovascular complications caused by a series of heart attacks suffered while attending an international conference on mental health in Mexico City five years earlier.