About the author, product details.
Click to play video
My Top Picks
Avrie Farley
Jonathan Belle ⚡️
Heidi Leatherby
Straight Up Truth Reviews - It Is What It Is
Melissa Hartmann
SammyLu Reviews ✅
William h. mcraven.
Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Make Your Bed and the New York Times bestseller Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations. In his thirty-seven years as a Navy SEAL, he commanded at every level. As a Four-Star Admiral, his final assignment was as Commander of all U.S. Special Operations Forces. After retiring from the Navy, he served as the Chancellor of the University of Texas System from 2015 to 2018. He now lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Georgeann.
Admiral William H. McRaven is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Make Your Bed and the New York Times bestsellers Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations and The Hero Code: Lessons Learned from Lives Well Lived. In his thirty-seven years as a Navy SEAL, he commanded at every level. As a Four-Star Admiral, his final assignment was as Commander of all U.S. Special Operations Forces. After retiring from the Navy, he served as the Chancellor of the University of Texas System from 2015 to 2018. He now lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Georgeann.
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Customers find the book inspiring and sound advice that runs true to life. They describe the writing style as simple, direct, and quick, allowing them to integrate their own life experiences with Admiral McRaven's lessons. Readers also praise the writing quality as great, riveting, and transformational. They mention the book is short and small, but hooks them in.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book inspiring and sound advice that can be used while they're in the military. They also say it's great for getting the message across and that the underlying motif of hope is evident. Readers also love the honesty and stories, and say it runs true to life.
"...There are so many words of wisdom about life, grit, determination , respect, and honor... Ideals and lessons often lost and/or missing from our world..." Read more
"...I've given away several copies. It's inspiring , an easy read, and life impacting." Read more
"...in a very simple and straightforward way which is great for getting the message across to the masses, but there were times I felt that the writing..." Read more
"This book was very well written and runs true to life . I really feel it's a must read for any young person. It's a quick easy read and very enjoyable." Read more
Customers find the book a great read, with honest stories and a rewarding way of life. They also say it's a must-read for people of all ages, with an incredible story and message. Customers also appreciate the memorable illustrations and life lessons. However, some customers feel the book is not life-changing.
"...I've given away several copies. It's inspiring, an easy read, and life impacting ." Read more
"...Beautiful book, highly recommend !" Read more
"...Overall, great book and would recommend it for anyone looking for a little bit of motivation." Read more
"...I really feel it's a must read for any young person . It's a quick easy read and very enjoyable." Read more
Customers find the writing style simple, direct, and easy to read. They also appreciate the candid and unfiltered bite-sized pieces. Readers mention that the book is inspiring and quick, and they are able to integrate their own life experiences with Admiral McRaven's lessons.
"...The audio version is also fantastic , delivering these impactful stories/messages in the author's own words and inclination...." Read more
"...I've given away several copies. It's inspiring, an easy read , and life impacting." Read more
"I love how he breaks down his lessons by chapters , gives you only what you need to really grasp the intention of the lesson and it is perfect for..." Read more
"...It is written in a very simple and straightforward way which is great for getting the message across to the masses, but there were times I felt that..." Read more
Customers find the book very short, with just over 125 pages. They also say it's simple but contains wonderful messages.
"...I've really like this small but profound book ." Read more
"...This book, although not very long , is just right and helping me understand things and be encouraged to think differently and get out of my own head..." Read more
"...Buy and enjoy this short but powerful book . Five stars." Read more
"Make Your Bed by Admiral William McRaven is a short , meaningful book that emphasizes the importance of simplifying things in life and taking a..." Read more
Customers find the book to be a great gift. They also say that every word in the book is a gift.
"This book is such a great gift ...." Read more
" Awesome gift for youngsters and young adults . I've given away several copies. It's inspiring, an easy read, and life impacting." Read more
"This is such a good book. It would make a great graduation present . I have recommended this book to many people." Read more
"This was the best graduation gift I could have found...." Read more
Customers find the book bland, redundant, and not worth their hard-earned money. They also say the lessons the book teaches are downright childish and the stories lack depth.
"...It is quite clear that the author led a full life, but the book is not terribly profound . It is a collection of short stories about the Navy...." Read more
"...he tells a few interesting stories, there's really nothing there of any great substance ...i.e. in terms of practical advice for you to follow...." Read more
"...What's contained in it is, uh, pretty simple and not too impressive . It's good for a bathroom reading book...." Read more
"...I finished in one day. I even had to skim a few pages as I didn’t find it widely entertaining ...." Read more
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..
Admiral William McRaven, author of " Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life... And Maybe The World ," explains how making your bed every morning can have a positive impact on your well-being and behavior throughout the rest of the day. Following is a transcript of the video.
Admiral McRaven: A normal part of a day for a Navy SEAL was we would arrive at about 7:30 in the morning. From 7:30 to 9 o'clock we did physical training every single morning of most of my career when I was assigned to SEAL teams. That's not an easy thing to do every morning. And of course some people get up, they run or they do whatever their routine is. The idea of making the bed is it's the same sense of discipline. It's the same sense that you're going to get up and do something, but it's an easy task to undertake. You roll out of bed, you just put your bed, you make it straight. Again, you get it right, too. It's not just about kind of throwing the covers over the pillow. It's about making your bed right and walking away and going, "OK, that's good. That looks good. I'm, as simple as it sounds, I'm proud of this little task I did." And that is really what I think sets the tone for the rest of the day.
It is the simplicity. I think it is also the amount of time that it takes to make your bed. It doesn't take an hour to do, and yet you get this sense of accomplishment. The difference between going out for a 30-minute or an hour run or doing an hour's worth of weight training or going off and doing an hour of meditation — this takes you a couple of minutes. Some things are hard to do in the morning, and I think those are important, too. I mean, if you can get up every morning and do your run or do your PT that's great as well, but if you're not one of those persons still it's good to start off with a simple task that moves you forward.
The World's Best Book Summaries
This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Make Your Bed" by William H. McRaven. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here .
Do you want to learn about Admiral McRaven and the 10 lessons from Make Your Bed ? How can you apply these Navy SEAL lessons to your own life?
In 2014, McRaven organized his strategies into 10 life lessons for his commencement address at the University of Texas at Austin. In Make Your Bed by Admiral McRaven, there are 10 lessons to you and expands on the experiences that formed them.
Keep reading to learn more about Admiral McRaven’s 10 lessons.
Military life is often exhausting, terrifying, and emotionally challenging. You have to be strong and disciplined to make it through the rigors of training and war. Admiral William H. McRaven, a retired Navy SEAL with 37 years of experience, faced many challenges during his career. He found strategies along the way that helped him through the difficult times. Many of these strategies resulted from his experiences as a SEAL-in-training and a Navy officer.
In 2014, McRaven organized his strategies into 10 life lessons for his commencement address at his alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin. Make Your Bed by Admiral McRaven provides 10 lessons to you and expands on the experiences that formed them.
The first of Admiral McRaven’s 10 lessons is: start your day with one successful task completed, such as making your bed, and you will find the motivation to tackle others. When you make your bed first thing in the morning, you start the day with purpose and confidence. You will feel a sense of pride, and that same pride will greet you at night when you come to your made bed. This type of satisfaction will wash the day’s struggles away and prepare you for tomorrow.
McRaven learned the importance of a made bed during his training as a SEAL cadet. A perfectly made bed represented McRaven’s discipline. He started each day receiving acknowledgement from his superiors that he had fulfilled his duties successfully. This acknowledgement greeted him at the end of each day, and he went to bed proud of himself. When McRaven was recovering from a life-changing injury later in life, making his bed became a symbol of his determination to get better and desire to keep leading a productive life .
Life is full of struggles. Going through hard times alone is much more difficult than relying on the help of others to get you through. You need people you can count on to help navigate life’s difficult moments. The same is true for achieving success in life. The more others support you, the stronger and more confident you become.
McRaven learned the importance of teamwork as a SEAL-in-training. He and his unit of cadets were required to carry an inflatable raft everywhere they went and row it for miles through the choppy ocean water. When one of them was unable to perform to a high standard, the others pitched in to fill the void. They all remained successful because they helped each other when times were tough. Because of this experience, McRaven was more willing to accept the help of others after his injury and not just recover physically, but emotionally and professionally as well.
Everyone has more to them than what you’re able to see. You must look beyond skin deep to a person’s heart. You must reserve judgement and prejudice until you get to know who a person is. Even the meekest person can do great things, so value people for their character, not their appearance.
McRaven made the mistake of judging two men as being less suitable for the SEALs than he was because of how they looked. McRaven was tall and muscular, whereas these men were short and scrawny, respectively. Both men surprised him by showing courage in dangerous situations, and McRaven realized he misjudged the amount of heart they had because of what they looked like.
It’s easier to assume the world is against you than it is to admit that sometimes life just isn’t fair. But at the end of the day, you are the only person responsible for determining your fate. Don’t complain and fall back on misfortune as an excuse for why you can’t be happy. When you face disappointment, take the hits and move forward in whatever way you can.
McRaven learned that sometimes life is unfair when one of his training instructors punished him for no reason. The instructor believed that understanding the randomness of misfortune was necessary for McRaven to face the challenges of the Navy. When this same instructor had an accident years later that paralyzed him, McRaven saw how important this lesson really was. The instructor never complained that life was unfair. He accepted what had happened and moved forward with the life he still had.
When you fail, you can cower with defeat and give up, or you can use failure to push yourself harder and grow stronger. Learn from your mistakes . Don’t be afraid of trying again. If you can persevere through the consequences of failure, you will be better prepared for other difficult challenges that lie ahead.
One day, McRaven and his swim partner performed poorly on a two-mile swim. As a consequence, they were relegated to the Circus, a two-hour grueling endurance test at the end of the day for all the cadets who’d somehow failed. McRaven and his partner were exhausted the next day and failed again during the regular training. This cycle went on for days, but instead of giving up, they tried harder. The extra exercise made them stronger, and they rose to the top of the class.
If you live in fear of failure , struggle, or humiliation, you will never do what is necessary to achieve your goals or reach your potential . If you play it safe and limit your actions to mitigate failure, you will never know what you’re made of. You must be willing to push yourself to the limit to achieve something great. Dare greatly in life and receive great rewards.
McRaven couldn’t beat the SEALs obstacle course at first because he was afraid of hurting himself on one obstacle. Instead of sliding down a hundred-foot zipline head first, he used the safer but less efficient feet-first technique. He knew the only way to pass the course was to take a risk. When he finally went head first, he crossed the finish line in record time.
Courage is a powerful emotion. With courage, you can surmount any obstacle. With courage, you can stand up to any bully. Without it, you place yourself at the mercy of life and the actions of others. You have the courage inside of you to stand up to forces of oppression. If you want to accomplish your dreams, you must look inside and call up your courage.
McRaven had to find his courage when he was required to complete a four-mile ocean swim in the dark. He was afraid of the sharks that lived off the coast, but becoming a SEAL was too important. He dug deep and found the courage to keep swimming and face whatever challenge he faced in the water.
There will be many moments in life when your spirit gets crushed and you lose hope for the future . These are the moments in which you must search for the best version of yourself. You must rise to the challenge of moving forward with strength and dignity. In the darkest moments, do what must be done to show the world your best, and you can survive anything.
McRaven experienced plenty of opportunities to find strength during dark times. But witnessing the behaviors of various soldiers after losing a member of their units taught him the most about integrity. After paying their respects, service members must push past their pain and grief and remain firm during combat. McRaven was always inspired by the way these soldiers were able to keep fighting after tragedy.
Admiral McRaven’s lesson 9 says that with hope, you can move mountains and give those suffering a reason to keep moving forward. Raise your voice during dark times to inspire those around you. Be the one who makes a difference in someone else’s life by giving them hope for the future. It only takes one person to show someone that tomorrow will come.
McRaven and his fellow trainees were stuck in the cold, wet mud for a whole night during Hell Week, a week of the most grueling activities. All the men were exhausted and close to giving up. But then one of the men started to sing, and he inspired others to start singing . Together, they raised their voices and inspired each other to make it through the night.
Life is full of moments in which the odds of success seem so small, you can’t imagine ever winning. Throwing in the towel seems like the most logical thing to do. But when you reach the precipice between quitting and continuing, hold steady and take another step forward. As long as you keep moving forward, your life will be in your control. If life is going to beat you, make sure you go down fighting.
When McRaven started SEAL training, he was one of 150 cadets. That day, their commander showed them a bell. He said over the next six months, he was going to push the cadets to their limits and make their lives living hells. If they ever couldn’t take it anymore, they could ring the bell three times. Many cadets would ring the bell over the next six months, but not McRaven. He stood proud with 32 other cadets at their training graduation.
Although Admiral McRaven’s 10 lessons are founded in the culture of the military , McRaven believes each one of us can use them to get through the challenges of our lives. If you follow Admiral McRaven’s 10 lessons, you can learn to live a more positive, productive, and meaningful life.
Like what you just read read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of william h. mcraven's "make your bed" at shortform ..
Here's what you'll find in our full Make Your Bed summary :
Hannah graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English and double minors in Professional Writing and Creative Writing. She grew up reading books like Harry Potter and His Dark Materials and has always carried a passion for fiction. However, Hannah transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018 and now enjoys sharing travel guides and trying to inspire others to see the world.
Leave a reply cancel reply.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Here’s a look at what’s new on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list…
‘Bed’ time: “Make your bed.” Sounds simple. I do it, and I’m no Navy SEAL.
Admiral William H. McRaven’s Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World (Grand Central) — based on a 2014 graduation speech he gave at the University of Texas that went viral — was an immediate hit when it was published in early April, peaking at No. 5 on April 27.
As graduation season ended, sales slowed and by last week the book had dropped to No. 102. But now it’s soared up the list again, to No. 20 this week, thanks to a video of McRaven’s speech that’s caught fire on Facebook. (The full list will be published on Thursday.)
Produced by an inspirational company called Goalcast, the video (which had 91 million views as of Wednesday) incorporates footage of Navy SEALs training along with the retired admiral’s exhortations.
Goalcast’s video, posted on Aug. 16 with a link to the book, “immediately struck a nerve,” says Grand Central’s Caitlin Mulrooney-Lyski. “The video has had incredible reach in a short period of time and the admiral’s message is resonating, yet again, with a new audience.”
Why should make your bed? As McRaven said in his speech to grads: “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right. If, by chance, you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that’s made. That you made. And a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”
The book, an expansion on the speech, revolves around 10 “fundamental life lessons” McRaven learned in SEAL training, such as “Stand Up to Bullies: Don’t Back Down from Sharks” and “Give People Hope: Start Singing When You’re Up to Your Neck in Muck.”
McRaven, now Chancellor of the University of Texas system, spent 37 years as a Navy SEAL, and as an admiral became Commander of all U.S. Special Operations Forces. He oversaw the military operation that led to the death of Osama bin Laden.
Writing a best-selling graduation speech isn’t always as easy as it looks. J.K. Rowling’s Very Good Lives , published in 2015 and based on a graduation speech she gave at Harvard, failed to make USA TODAY’s list.
This page shares my best articles to read on topics like creativity, decision making, strategy, and more. The central questions I explore are, “How can we learn the best of what others have mastered? And how can we become the best possible version of ourselves?”
Humankind progresses by adding to our shared body of knowledge. We all benefit from the insights of our ancestors. I like the idea of leaving a great “intellectual inheritance” and I’m trying to add a little bit of knowledge to the pile by curating the best ideas throughout history.
Ready to dive in? You can use the categories below to browse my best articles.
Self-improvement tips based on proven scientific research . No spam. Just the highest quality ideas you'll find on the web.
Thanks for subscribing! You’re all set.
You’ll be notified every time I share a new post.
Decision making, life lessons, money & investing, peak performance, self mastery, 30 days to better traction & results: a simple step-by-step guide for achieving more each day..
Enroll in the free email course. Get your first lesson today.
You will get one short email every three days for a month. You can unsubscribe any time.
This speech was delivered as the commencement address to the graduates of The University of Texas at Austin on May 17, 2014.
President Powers, Provost Fenves, Deans, members of the faculty, family and friends and most importantly, the class of 2014. Congratulations on your achievement.
It's been almost 37 years to the day that I graduated from UT. I remember a lot of things about that day. I remember I had throbbing headache from a party the night before. I remember I had a serious girlfriend, whom I later married — that's important to remember by the way — and I remember that I was getting commissioned in the Navy that day.
But of all the things I remember, I don't have a clue who the commencement speaker was that evening, and I certainly don't remember anything they said. So, acknowledging that fact, if I can't make this commencement speech memorable, I will at least try to make it short.
The University's slogan is, “What starts here changes the world.” I have to admit — I kinda like it. “What starts here changes the world.”
Tonight there are almost 8,000 students graduating from UT. That great paragon of analytical rigor, Ask.Com, says that the average American will meet 10,000 people in their lifetime. That's a lot of folks. But, if every one of you changed the lives of just 10 people — and each one of those folks changed the lives of another 10 people — just 10 — then in five generations — 125 years — the class of 2014 will have changed the lives of 800 million people.
800 million people — think of it — over twice the population of the United States. Go one more generation and you can change the entire population of the world — eight billion people.
If you think it's hard to change the lives of 10 people — change their lives forever — you're wrong. I saw it happen every day in Iraq and Afghanistan: A young Army officer makes a decision to go left instead of right down a road in Baghdad and the 10 soldiers in his squad are saved from close-in ambush. In Kandahar province, Afghanistan, a non-commissioned officer from the Female Engagement Team senses something isn't right and directs the infantry platoon away from a 500-pound IED, saving the lives of a dozen soldiers.
But, if you think about it, not only were these soldiers saved by the decisions of one person, but their children yet unborn were also saved. And their children's children were saved. Generations were saved by one decision, by one person.
But changing the world can happen anywhere and anyone can do it. So, what starts here can indeed change the world, but the question is — what will the world look like after you change it?
Well, I am confident that it will look much, much better. But if you will humor this old sailor for just a moment, I have a few suggestions that may help you on your way to a better a world. And while these lessons were learned during my time in the military, I can assure you that it matters not whether you ever served a day in uniform. It matters not your gender, your ethnic or religious background, your orientation or your social status.
Our struggles in this world are similar, and the lessons to overcome those struggles and to move forward — changing ourselves and the world around us — will apply equally to all.
I have been a Navy SEAL for 36 years. But it all began when I left UT for Basic SEAL training in Coronado, California. Basic SEAL training is six months of long torturous runs in the soft sand, midnight swims in the cold water off San Diego, obstacles courses, unending calisthenics, days without sleep and always being cold, wet and miserable. It is six months of being constantly harrassed by professionally trained warriors who seek to find the weak of mind and body and eliminate them from ever becoming a Navy SEAL.
But, the training also seeks to find those students who can lead in an environment of constant stress, chaos, failure and hardships. To me basic SEAL training was a lifetime of challenges crammed into six months.
So, here are the 10 lessons I learned from basic SEAL training that hopefully will be of value to you as you move forward in life.
Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam veterans, would show up in my barracks room and the first thing they would inspect was your bed. If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centered just under the headboard and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack — that's Navy talk for bed.
It was a simple task — mundane at best. But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle-hardened SEALs, but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.
If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.
And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made — and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.
If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.
During SEAL training the students are broken down into boat crews. Each crew is seven students — three on each side of a small rubber boat and one coxswain to help guide the dingy. Every day your boat crew forms up on the beach and is instructed to get through the surfzone and paddle several miles down the coast. In the winter, the surf off San Diego can get to be 8 to 10 feet high and it is exceedingly difficult to paddle through the plunging surf unless everyone digs in. Every paddle must be synchronized to the stroke count of the coxswain. Everyone must exert equal effort or the boat will turn against the wave and be unceremoniously tossed back on the beach.
For the boat to make it to its destination, everyone must paddle. You can't change the world alone — you will need some help — and to truly get from your starting point to your destination takes friends, colleagues, the good will of strangers and a strong coxswain to guide them.
If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle.
Over a few weeks of difficult training my SEAL class, which started with 150 men, was down to just 35. There were now six boat crews of seven men each. I was in the boat with the tall guys, but the best boat crew we had was made up of the the little guys — the munchkin crew we called them — no one was over about five-foot-five.
The munchkin boat crew had one American Indian, one African American, one Polish American, one Greek American, one Italian American, and two tough kids from the midwest. They out-paddled, out-ran and out-swam all the other boat crews. The big men in the other boat crews would always make good-natured fun of the tiny little flippers the munchkins put on their tiny little feet prior to every swim. But somehow these little guys, from every corner of the nation and the world, always had the last laugh — swimming faster than everyone and reaching the shore long before the rest of us.
SEAL training was a great equalizer. Nothing mattered but your will to succeed. Not your color, not your ethnic background, not your education and not your social status.
If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.
Several times a week, the instructors would line up the class and do a uniform inspection. It was exceptionally thorough. Your hat had to be perfectly starched, your uniform immaculately pressed and your belt buckle shiny and void of any smudges. But it seemed that no matter how much effort you put into starching your hat, or pressing your uniform or polishing your belt buckle — it just wasn't good enough. The instructors would find “something” wrong.
For failing the uniform inspection, the student had to run, fully clothed into the surfzone and then, wet from head to toe, roll around on the beach until every part of your body was covered with sand. The effect was known as a “sugar cookie.” You stayed in that uniform the rest of the day — cold, wet and sandy.
There were many a student who just couldn't accept the fact that all their effort was in vain. That no matter how hard they tried to get the uniform right, it was unappreciated. Those students didn't make it through training. Those students didn't understand the purpose of the drill. You were never going to succeed. You were never going to have a perfect uniform.
Sometimes no matter how well you prepare or how well you perform you still end up as a sugar cookie. It's just the way life is sometimes.
If you want to change the world get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward.
Every day during training you were challenged with multiple physical events — long runs, long swims, obstacle courses, hours of calisthenics — something designed to test your mettle. Every event had standards — times you had to meet. If you failed to meet those standards your name was posted on a list, and at the end of the day those on the list were invited to a “circus.” A circus was two hours of additional calisthenics designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, to force you to quit.
No one wanted a circus.
A circus meant that for that day you didn't measure up. A circus meant more fatigue — and more fatigue meant that the following day would be more difficult — and more circuses were likely. But at some time during SEAL training, everyone — everyone — made the circus list.
But an interesting thing happened to those who were constantly on the list. Over time those students — who did two hours of extra calisthenics — got stronger and stronger. The pain of the circuses built inner strength, built physical resiliency.
Life is filled with circuses. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core.
But if you want to change the world, don't be afraid of the circuses.
At least twice a week, the trainees were required to run the obstacle course. The obstacle course contained 25 obstacles including a 10-foot high wall, a 30-foot cargo net and a barbed wire crawl, to name a few. But the most challenging obstacle was the slide for life. It had a three-level 30-foot tower at one end and a one-level tower at the other. In between was a 200-foot-long rope. You had to climb the three-tiered tower and once at the top, you grabbed the rope, swung underneath the rope and pulled yourself hand over hand until you got to the other end.
The record for the obstacle course had stood for years when my class began training in 1977. The record seemed unbeatable, until one day, a student decided to go down the slide for life head first. Instead of swinging his body underneath the rope and inching his way down, he bravely mounted the TOP of the rope and thrust himself forward.
It was a dangerous move — seemingly foolish, and fraught with risk. Failure could mean injury and being dropped from the training. Without hesitation the student slid down the rope perilously fast. Instead of several minutes, it only took him half that time and by the end of the course he had broken the record.
If you want to change the world sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head first.
During the land warfare phase of training, the students are flown out to San Clemente Island which lies off the coast of San Diego. The waters off San Clemente are a breeding ground for the great white sharks. To pass SEAL training there are a series of long swims that must be completed. One is the night swim.
Before the swim the instructors joyfully brief the trainees on all the species of sharks that inhabit the waters off San Clemente. They assure you, however, that no student has ever been eaten by a shark — at least not recently. But, you are also taught that if a shark begins to circle your position — stand your ground. Do not swim away. Do not act afraid. And if the shark, hungry for a midnight snack, darts towards you — then summon up all your strength and punch him in the snout, and he will turn and swim away.
There are a lot of sharks in the world. If you hope to complete the swim you will have to deal with them.
So, if you want to change the world, don't back down from the sharks.
As Navy SEALs one of our jobs is to conduct underwater attacks against enemy shipping. We practiced this technique extensively during basic training. The ship attack mission is where a pair of SEAL divers is dropped off outside an enemy harbor and then swims well over two miles — underwater — using nothing but a depth gauge and a compass to get to their target.
During the entire swim, even well below the surface, there is some light that comes through. It is comforting to know that there is open water above you. But as you approach the ship, which is tied to a pier, the light begins to fade. The steel structure of the ship blocks the moonlight, it blocks the surrounding street lamps, it blocks all ambient light.
To be successful in your mission, you have to swim under the ship and find the keel — the centerline and the deepest part of the ship. This is your objective. But the keel is also the darkest part of the ship — where you cannot see your hand in front of your face, where the noise from the ship's machinery is deafening and where it is easy to get disoriented and fail.
Every SEAL knows that under the keel, at the darkest moment of the mission, is the time when you must be calm, composed — when all your tactical skills, your physical power and all your inner strength must be brought to bear.
If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.
The ninth week of training is referred to as “Hell Week.” It is six days of no sleep, constant physical and mental harassment, and one special day at the Mud Flats. The Mud Flats are area between San Diego and Tijuana where the water runs off and creates the Tijuana slues, a swampy patch of terrain where the mud will engulf you.
It is on Wednesday of Hell Week that you paddle down to the mud flats and spend the next 15 hours trying to survive the freezing cold mud, the howling wind and the incessant pressure to quit from the instructors. As the sun began to set that Wednesday evening, my training class, having committed some “egregious infraction of the rules” was ordered into the mud.
The mud consumed each man till there was nothing visible but our heads. The instructors told us we could leave the mud if only five men would quit — just five men — and we could get out of the oppressive cold. Looking around the mud flat it was apparent that some students were about to give up. It was still over eight hours till the sun came up — eight more hours of bone-chilling cold.
The chattering teeth and shivering moans of the trainees were so loud it was hard to hear anything. And then, one voice began to echo through the night, one voice raised in song. The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm. One voice became two and two became three and before long everyone in the class was singing. We knew that if one man could rise above the misery then others could as well.
The instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept up the singingbut the singing persisted. And somehow the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little tamer and the dawn not so far away.
If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person — Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan, Malala — one person can change the world by giving people hope.
So, if you want to change the world, start singing when you're up to your neck in mud.
Finally, in SEAL training there is a bell. A brass bell that hangs in the center of the compound for all the students to see. All you have to do to quit is ring the bell.
Ring the bell and you no longer have to wake up at 5 o'clock. Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the freezing cold swims. Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the runs, the obstacle course, the PT — and you no longer have to endure the hardships of training. Just ring the bell.
If you want to change the world don't ever, ever ring the bell.
To the graduating class of 2014, you are moments away from graduating. Moments away from beginning your journey through life. Moments away from starting to change the world — for the better. It will not be easy.
But, YOU are the class of 2014, the class that can affect the lives of 800 million people in the next century.
Start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone.
Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But if take you take some risks, step up when the times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never, ever give up — if you do these things, then the next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today.
And what started here will indeed have changed the world — for the better.
Thank you very much. Hook 'em horns.
Browse more of history's greatest speeches →
The speech was originally published on the University of Texas website .
Daniel Scrivner is an award-winner designer and angel investor. He's led design work at Apple, Square, and now ClassDojo. He's an early investor in Notion, Public.com, and Anduril. He founded Ligature: The Design VC and Outlier Academy . Daniel has interviewed the world’s leading founders and investors including Scott Belsky, Luke Gromen, Kevin Kelly, Gokul Rajaram, and Brian Scudamore.
Thanks for reading. You can get more actionable ideas in my popular email newsletter. Each week, I share 5 ideas, quotes, questions, and more to ponder this weekend. Over 25,000 people subscribe . Enter your email now and join us.
Get weekly wisdom that you can read in 5 minutes. Add remarkable ideas and actionable insights to your inbox. Enter your email and try my free newsletter.
IMAGES
COMMENTS
And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made — and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. During SEAL training the students are broken down into boat crews. Each crew is seven students — three on ...
More Goalcast stories RIGHT HERE! Check out...👉 https://youtu.be/Bg_Q7KYWG1g 👈👉 https://youtu.be/xFr0FKnaLDk 👈Make Your Bed speech - US Navy Admiral,...
Adm. McRaven explains at a University of Texas, Austin commencement speech why making your bed everyday may be the best way to start off your day.
"Make Your Bed" by Admiral William H. McRavenThis speech was delivered as the commencement address to the graduates of The University of Texas at Austin on ...
The general theme of his 'make your bed speech' is that anyone can change the world; all you need is the courage to do it. ... And while these lessons were learned during my time in the military, I can assure you that it matters not whether you ever served a day in uniform. ... If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed ...
Read the full transcript of McRaven's May 19, 2014 speech right here at Rev.com. Admiral McRaven: ( 00:00) Thank you very much, thank you. Well, thank you president Powers, Provost Fenves, deans, members of the faculty, family and friends, and most importantly, the class of 2014, it is indeed an honor for me to be here tonight.
start off by making your bed. located on the beach at Coronado, California, just one hundred yards from the Pacific Ocean. There is no air-conditioning in the building, and at night, with the windows open, you can hear the tide roll in and the surf pounding against the sand. Rooms in the barracks are spartan.
In his 2014 commencement address at the University of Texas, Admiral William McRaven shared why it's so important to make your bed every morning. Produced by Alex Kuzoian. Audio courtesy of Texas ...
In his speech, which is worth a read or a listen, McRaven told the 8,000 or so graduates, "If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right." Chief among the little ...
The "Make Your Bed" speech by US Navy Admiral, William H. McRaven, outlines the importance of doing the little things like making your bed, embracing the fears of life, taking risks, facing bullying, respecting others, and changing the world for generations to come. ... military, first responders, and their families. With your help, our ...
Inspiring Speech From Admiral William H. McRavenGet the book here at http://amzn.to/2xnv9qNfixedonsuccess.com
During a commencement speech at the University of Texas, the commander of the forces that organized the raid to kill Osama bin Laden delivered some key advice on success. "If you want to change ...
The video of his speech has nearly 25 million views online and starts with the importance of a simple task: making your bed. Admiral McRaven wrote a book based on that speech called "Make Your Bed ...
Based on a Navy SEAL's inspiring graduation speech, this #1 New York Times bestseller of powerful life lessons "should be read by every leader in America" (Wall Street Journal). If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day.
The idea of making the bed is it's the same sense of discipline. It's the same sense that you're going to get up and do something, but it's an easy task to undertake. You roll out of bed, you just ...
University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address Speech By Admiral McRaven Leaves The Audience Speechless With Great Words Of Wisdom. (Clip Of The Bes...
Lesson 1: Start Each Day with an Accomplishment. The first of Admiral McRaven's 10 lessons is: start your day with one successful task completed, such as making your bed, and you will find the motivation to tackle others. When you make your bed first thing in the morning, you start the day with purpose and confidence.
As McRaven said in his speech to grads: "If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day ...
William Deresiewicz's "Solitude and Leadership" Speech at the West Point Military Academy Speech "Make Good Art" Speech by Neil Gaiman "Finding Your Own Vision" Speech by Photographer Arno Rafael Minkkinen ... If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it ...
If You Want to Change the World, Start Off by Making Your Bed - William McRaven, US Navy AdmiralMake Your Bed speech - US Navy Admiral, William H. McRaven, d...
In his "Make Your Bed" speech, Admiral McRaven walks through 10 lessons he learned from basic SEAL training. I've bolded the 10 lessons to make it a bit easier to skim. ... And while these lessons were learned during my time in the military, I can assure you that it matters not whether you ever served a day in uniform. It matters not your ...
This is perhaps the most famous line from Admiral McRaven's whole speech. Making your bed to perfection each morning is a reminder that if you do the little things right, it makes the big things possible. It is a lesson I personally have taken to heart. For entrepreneurs, it is a reminder that managing the details of your business with ...
Do you have what it takes to toughen up, make your bed and change the world? TOP 5 EPIC MILITARY SPEECHES | "Make Your Bed" and MORE! Train Your Mind Lik...