Who would have thought that the first step on the road to success is making sure that your bed is made in the morning?
When Bill McRaven, a retired Navy SEAL commander, gave his commencement speech at the University of Texas a few years ago, his words struck the hearts of not only the graduates but the internet as well.
McRaven was the commander in charge of the mission to get Osama bin Laden in 2011 and he has since become a best-selling author (Make Your Bed) and the chancellor of the University of Texas System.
The Wall Street Journal deemed that McRaven’s book is one to “inspire your children and grandchildren to become everything that they can.” Despite being a mere 144 pages, Make Your Bed is deeply motivating.
Keep reading for a brief overview on McRaven’s 10 key pieces of encouragement.
1.Start off your day with an accomplishment.
By accomplishment, McRaven isn’t suggesting that you need to run a marathon every morning. It’s the little things that go a long way in this life. Start off with the simplest of tasks, like making your bed every day.
In McRaven’s book, he opens up about the arduous six-month Navy SEAL training he endured. It was here that McRaven had to make his bed according to his instructor’s ideal standards and how this habit has stuck with him for four decades. He also touched on what it was like to see Saddam Hussein after he had been captured in 2003 by American forces. McRaven noticed that Hussein had never troubled to make the Army cot that sat in his cell.
According to McRaven, “sometimes the simple act of making your bed can give the lift you need to start your day and provide you with the satisfaction to end it right.”
2.You can’t walk the road of life alone.
As cliche as it may sound, McRaven provides a compelling narrative to support this claim.
Again, drawing on his experience during the six-month SEAL training, McRaven remembers how small teams of prospective Navy SEALs had to work together and were forced to lug a heavy rubber boat with them wherever they went.
Years after McRaven had become a top commander, he was severely injured in a parachuting accident. It was at this time that McRaven realized what it meant to work together in a team. McRaven credits all of the people that helped him regain belief in himself. He writes in his book that these people helped him to recover and save his career from his own pitfall.
“You cannot paddle alone. Find someone to share your life with. Make as many friends as possible, “ explains McRaven, “and never forget that your success depends on others.”
3.It’s what’s in your heart that matters.
In Make Your Bed, McRaven talks about what it was like to meet a laureate SEAL who fought in Vietnam. This man was given the Medal of Honor and had sacrificed his life numerous times to go behind enemy lines to save airmen that had been gunned down.
However, before McRaven even knew who the man was, he ousted him from his mind, as the man was small in size. Now, he realizes that this was a significant miscalculation. “It’s not the size of your flippers that count,” writes McRaven, “just the size of your heart.”
4.Life isn’t always fair but that shouldn’t stop you from living.
During McRaven’s time in San Diego, which is where his SEAL training took place, the instructors would discipline students for minor infractions. The top method of punishment was to demand the students run into the Pacific Ocean, fully clothed, and then roll in the sand until they resembled a “sugar cookie.” Respectively, the students then endured a cold, wet and sandy day.
One morning, it was McRaven’s turn to become the sugar cookie. “Do you have any idea why you are a sugar cookie this morning?” the instructor bellowed. McRaven, cold, sandy, and uncomfortable, had no idea. “Because…life isn’t fair, and the sooner you learn that, the better off you will be.”
McRaven writes in Make Your Bed that sometimes life just sucks and most of the time it’s not your fault. If you want to be successful, you’re just going to have to accept that fact, just like we accept that the sky will never be another color other than blue.
5.Failure makes the heart grow stronger.
This is another cliche, but it hits even harder coming from McRaven.
In Make Your Bed, McRaven talks about how his failure during SEAL training had actually made him stronger. He remembers when, due to coming in last on a distance swim, he and another prospective SEAL were disciplined with an additional two hours of physical training each and every day.
In SEAL training, this sort of punishment was referred to as the “circus”. What started out as a punishment ended up being one of McRaven’s proudest moments from his time during SEAL training. McRaven states that though the circus could have broken them, both physically and mentally, it resulted in him and his fellow SEAL trainee becoming stronger. As it turns out, this was the best possible thing to happen to them as they ended up becoming the best swimmers in their class.
6.Don’t be afraid to take chances.
To back up this advice, McRaven provided two examples from his time in the Navy.
First, during SEAL training, McRaven writes about how he had been willing to dive headfirst down a 200-foot slide in order to finish it in time. Of course, this was both risky and nerve-racking, but it was effective.
Second, McRaven talks about when he gave the go ahead for an extremely risky helicopter rescue of prisoners in Iraq. Despite being a successful mission, McRaven recognizes that taking risks means that you will fail at one point or another.
“Life is a struggle and the potential for failure is ever present” says McRaven, “but those who live in fear of failure, hardship, or embarrassment, will never achieve their potential. Without pushing your limits, without occasionally sliding down the rope headfirst, without daring greatly, you will never know what is truly possible in your life.”
7.Be courageous.
Understandably, McRaven was nervous about swimming in the waters off San Diego during training, as the water was full of sharks. But he stands by the fact that facing the sharks was just one small price of becoming a Navy SEAL.
Additionally, McRaven writes about an experience that occurred later on in his career. After the United States captured Saddam Hussein, McRaven notes that even as a prisoner, Hussein still managed to bully the Iraqi leaders that came to visit him. With no other choice, McRaven ordered him isolated, so the Iraqi leaders would not be afraid when they met him again.
“In life, to achieve your goals, to complete the night swim, you will have to be men and women of great courage,” writes McRaven. “That courage is within all of us. Dig deep, and you will find it in abundance.”
8.Rise to the challenge.
Among a number of other missions, Navy SEALS carry out underwater attacks against enemy ships. This involves swimming several miles underwater, “using nothing but a depth gauge and a compass to get to their target.”
The mission itself is scary but McRaven writes that rising to the occasion truly came when he had to direct soldiers and watch his men react to the deaths of their fellow SEALs.
“At some point, we will all confront a dark moment in life,” explains McRaven. “If not the passing of a loved one, then something else that crushes your spirit and leaves you wondering about your future. In that dark moment, reach deep inside yourself and be your very best.”
9.Give others a sense of hope.
When looking back on his SEAL training, McRaven recalls an exercise that just about broke him and his classmates. According to his instructor, if five students were to quit, the rest of the class would be allowed to stop the exercise and sit by the fire to warm up. Instead of giving up, the SEAL trainees started singing. This in itself inspired each other to keep going.
Furthermore, McRaven credits Marine general John Kelly as his symbol of hope. John Kelly would meet with families of the fallen and was able to connect with them from his own tragedy of losing his son in Afghanistan.
“Without ever knowing it, John Kelly gave all those around him hope,” McRaven says. “Hope that in the very worst of times we could rise above the pain, the disappointment, the agony, and be strong… Hope is the most powerful force in the universe.”
10.Don’t ever think about quitting.
It’s important to note that SEAL trainees can quit whenever they want. In fact, in McRaven’s class, 150 students started the program with him, and only 33 graduated. If you quit, you are required to go to the center of the training lot and ring a bell three times.
On McRaven’s first day of training, an instructor told his class that his goal was to make them ring the bell. However, he also told them: “If you quit, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Quitting never makes anything easier.”
It was only once McRaven became a commander that this message became clear. A 19-year Army Ranger under McRaven’s command ended up injured in battle and lost both of his legs. One year later, the soldier was fighting with prosthetic legs.
“Life is full of difficult times,” says McRaven. “But someone out there always has it worse than you do…Never, ever, ring the bell!”
Featured Image: twitter
