![\"Make](\"https:\/\/www.sitrakaratsimba.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/1-5.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMake your bed by Admiral William McRaven.<\/p>\n
Admiral William H. McRaven is well-known for his commencement speech “Make your bed” at the University of Texas at Austin on May 17, 2014.<\/p>\n
While the video went viral, he shares in this Make your bed book the 10 life-lessons he learned from the Navy SEAL training.<\/p>\n
As he highlights, the ten lessons help overcoming the trials of SEAL training, but you can also include them in your mindset to deal with any daily challenges in life.<\/p>\n
The lessons shared are easily applicable and can be of universal appeal. In this sense, you can be a civilian, a navy SEAL or just anyone; you’ll find those lessons extremely valuable.<\/p>\n
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If you want to change the world\u2026start off by making your bed.<\/strong><\/p>\n When you start your Navy SEAL training, your first task of the day is to properly make your bed.<\/p>\n The admiral considered it as a process because it initiated a long series of other tasks. He knew that he would later have \u201cuniform inspections, long swims, longer runs, obstacle courses, and constant harassment from the SEAL instructors.\u201d<\/p>\n When the instructor entered the room, he would begin to inspect everything in every detail.<\/p>\n \u201cThe instructor, stern and expressionless, began the inspection by checking the starch in my green uniform hat to ensure the eight-sided \u201ccover\u201d was crisp and correctly blocked. Moving from top to bottom, his eyes looked over every inch of my uniform. Were the creases in the blouse and trousers aligned? Was the brass on the belt shined to a mirror like radiance? Were my boots polished bright enough so he could see his fingers in their reflection? Satisfied that I met the high standards expected of a SEAL trainee, he moved to inspect the bed\u201d<\/p>\n In the book “The power of habit by Charles Duhigg<\/a>“<\/strong>, I mentioned that making your bed is a keystone habit. It\u2019s a habit that spills over into other parts of your lives.<\/p>\n As mentioned in \u201cmake your bed\u201d, the instructor never praises a trainee when the bed is correctly made, why so? Because it\u2019s the least he could do, it\u2019s the standard and everyone is expected to do that.<\/p>\n Making your bed is your first task of the day because it gives you a sense of pride when it\u2019s done correctly.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a keystone habit that demonstrates your discipline. Most importantly, it shows how much you care about the details. At the end of the day, no matter how exhausted you are, you\u2019ll know that you accomplished something well, something you can be proud of.<\/p>\n As a little anecdote, Admiral William H. McRaven shares how the captive Saddam Hussein did not make his bed at that time; as he was held in confinement back in December 2003.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes the simple act of making your bed can give you the lift you need to start your day and provide you the satisfaction to end it right. If you want to change your life and maybe the world\u2014start off by making your bed!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you want to change the world\u2026 find someone to help you paddle.<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the biggest mistakes in my life was to believe that I would succeed alone. Until recently, I realized that everything in nature is interdependent. There is dependence, independence and interdependence but the latter is the most powerful. Everything in nature is interdependent.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until later that I learned the importance of teamwork. The second lesson in \u201cMake your bed\u201d highlights this once again: we always need a wingman, a friend; we need to rely on someone to help us go through the difficult tasks.<\/p>\n To understand the importance of teamwork, the future Navy frogmen carry a ten-foot rubber raft. They have to carry it just everywhere during the first phase of SEAL training.<\/p>\n When they carry their boats, some trainees think they can make it alone so they force their team members to adopt a quicker pace. But it\u2019s a losing strategy because they end up making too much effort. At the end, those people fail because they hardly manage their stamina and they never make it through further steps in the drills.<\/p>\n During the training, when someone gets injured or sick, the other members will pick up the slack, they will paddle harder for him. The Admiral confides how his peers would give him extra rations for extra strength when he got cold or the flu. Reciprocity guides their relationship so he would return the favor later on. There is saying in my country: \u201cIf you unite your force, you\u2019ll be like a rock; if you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll be like sand\u201d.<\/p>\n One of the things he learned there is that \u201cNo SEAL could make it through combat alone and by extension you needed people in your life to help you through the difficult times.\u201d<\/p>\n You\u2019ll always need someone and you can\u2019t go it alone. You\u2019ll need a team to build a truly successful company. You might even need a mentor, someone who\u2019s more experienced than you. Listening to them will help you avoid their past mistakes.<\/p>\n \u201cNone of us are immune from life\u2019s tragic moments. Like the small rubber boat we had in basic SEAL training, it takes a team of good people to get you to your destination in life. You cannot paddle the boat alone. Find someone to share your life with. Make as many friends as possible, and never forget that your success depends on others.\u00a0 \u201c<\/p>\n For years, I thought I wouldn\u2019t need anyone in my life. I even thought that I wouldn\u2019t get married. But one day, I visited a friend at the hospital. I could see how much his wife cared about him, prepared food for him, called the nurses when necessary and even helped my friend go to the bathroom. This hit me hard, what if I faced the same situation? Who would ever help me if I were alone?<\/p>\n If you want to change the world\u2026 measure a person by the size of their heart<\/strong><\/p>\n Some courageous little men \u201cdare\u201d to apply for Navy SEAL training. They are often laughed at because – to the majority- they didn\u2019t belong there.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you really want to be a frogman?\u201d an instructor would ask. \u201cYou\u2019re nothing but a tiny little man\u201d shouted the others. The author then noticed that a SEAL instructor whispered something in a tiny little man\u2019s ear.<\/p>\n Later that same day, William H. McRaven would ask the little guy what the instructor told him. To his surprise, the tiny man who just succeeded in his training smiled and proudly said: \u201cProve me wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSEAL training was always about proving something. Proving that size didn\u2019t matter. Proving that the color of your skin wasn\u2019t important. Proving that money didn\u2019t make you better. Proving that determination and grit were always more important than talent.\u201d<\/p>\n A few years later, William H. McRaven visited Lieutenant Doug Huth. Previously he met \u201ctwo SEALs who towered over high school students. Senior Chief Petty Officer Dick Ray stood six foot three with broad shoulders, a thin waist, a deep tan, and a dark pencil-thin mustache. He was everything we could expect a SEAL to look like. Standing next to him was Chief Petty Officer Gene Wence. Well over six feet, Wence was built like a linebacker, with imposing biceps and a steely-eyed glare that cautioned everyone not to get too close.\u201d<\/p>\n Before being called to meet Lieutenant Dough Huth, the author also saw another man looking at some photos hanging on the walls. It was \u201cA civilian by his attire, he was slightly built, almost frail, and a mop of dark hair hung Beatle-like over his ears. He seemed to be staring in awe at the incredible warriors whose actions were portrayed in the photos. In my mind, I wondered if he thought he had what it took to be a Navy SEAL.\u201d<\/p>\n When Lieutenant Dough Huth welcomed him to his office, William H. McRaven – at that time a midshipman – was in shock.<\/p>\n Actually, the little man he just saw outside was Tommy Norris, Lieutenant Tom Norris. He \u201cserved in Vietnam, had on successive nights gone deep behind enemy lines to rescue two downed airmen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn 1969, Tommy Norris was almost booted out of SEAL training. They said he was too small, too thin, and not strong enough. But much like the young sailor in my class, Norris proved them all wrong and once again showed that it\u2019s not the size of your flippers that count, just the size of your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the size of our heart that counts but how many of us think small because of our shortcomings, our physical appearance and our imperfections?<\/p>\n Oftentimes we use them to aliment even more self-doubts and self-limiting beliefs about what we are capable of doing.<\/p>\n Yet, it\u2019s a self-fulfilling prophecy, the more you believe you can\u2019t do it and the less actions you\u2019ll take and the more it will become your reality.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly the Size of Your Heart Matters\u201d is a valuable lesson because \u201ca small size\u201d here represents the causes of our self-doubts.<\/p>\n In the end, it\u2019s your belief, your mindset and your heart that matter.<\/p>\n It\u2019s your responsibility to prove other people wrong. Teach them not to judge a book by its cover but by its content.<\/p>\n If you want to change the world\u2026 get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward.<\/strong><\/p>\n During training, if an instructor notices any deviation, he will urge a trainee to \u201chit the surf\u201d, roll around on the beach until he gets covered head to toe with wet sand. That\u2019s being a sugar cookie.<\/p>\n One day, the author got this same uncomfortable punishment. He had to spend the whole day all wet and sandy.<\/p>\n When the instructor called McRaven, he calmly and respectfully responded that he didn\u2019t understand why he was a sugar cookie this morning.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause, Mr. Mac, life isn\u2019t fair and the sooner you learn that the better off you will be.\u201d Answered the Lieutenant Martin Moki, one of Admiral McRaven\u2019s models in his SEAL career.<\/p>\n In the 1980s, Lieutenant Martin Moki got severely injured after a bike accident. While it was announced that he would be temporarily paralyzed, he unfortunately had to spend the past 35 years in a wheelchair.<\/p>\n Never did he complain about his situation, never did he whine about his misfortune. Nowhere did he utter negative words.<\/p>\n Yet, most people\u2019s reaction would\u2019ve been blame, anger and self-pity. They will claim how unfair life is.<\/p>\n But we need to take responsibility for our lives. Something bad might happen but it\u2019s really up to us to interpret what it means for us: it can tear us down or we can build upon it.<\/p>\n Successful people had the same challenges as unsuccessful ones but they didn\u2019t use them as an excuse. Rather, they faced adversity and took them as an opportunity;<\/p>\n As highlighted in his book “Make your Bed, Admiral McRaven said: \u201cIt is easy to blame your lot in life on some outside force, to stop trying because you believe fate is against you. It is easy to think that where you were raised, how your parents treated you, or what school you went to is all that determines your future. Nothing could be further from the truth. The common people and the great men and women are all defined by how they deal with life\u2019s unfairness: Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela, Stephen Hawking, Malala Yousafzai, and\u2014Moki Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n Stop complaining, stand tall and look to the future!<\/p>\n If you want to change the world\u2026 don\u2019t be afraid of The Circus<\/strong><\/p>\n To teach the trainees the importance of teamwork, the whole group is often punished if one member makes a mistake. That happened to McRaven with his swim buddy because both struggled to keep the pace and they finished last.<\/p>\n To the instructors, McRaven and his friend embarrassed the entire class. They were yelled at because to the trainers, they would never make it through.<\/p>\n Their punishment was the circus. It\u2019s the most feared correction you could have because you will be asked to do two hours of calisthenics. These exercises were easily exhausting right after the training. Worse, those two hours compound and will make you even worn out the next day.<\/p>\n The more circus you\u2019ll have and the more circus you might have because fatigue creates even more fatigues and less performance. Many cadets choose to ring the bell (give up) because of this.<\/p>\n This didn\u2019t stop McRaven and his friend however. Actually, their two hours of calisthenics calloused their minds and their body.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next day brought more calisthenics, another run, another obstacle course, another swim, and unfortunately another Circus. More sit-ups, more push-ups, and a lot more flutter kicks. But as The Circuses continued a funny thing happened. Our swims got better, and Marc and I began to move up in the pack.\u201d<\/p>\n At the end of their training, right before graduation, they had to pass one last test, a five-miler \u201cfinal open ocean swim\u201d.<\/p>\n When they finished, an instructor ordered: \u201cDrop down\u201d which commands McRaven and his buddy to fall into a push-up position.<\/p>\n Once again, they embarrassed their class, but this time by making their teammates look bad.<\/p>\n As they were asked to recover, both McRaven and his friend met the instructor\u2019s smiles because the circus helped them pass the test and exceed all the other teams.<\/p>\n Your past failures can strengthen and callous your mind, no one is immune from mistakes.<\/p>\n \u201cTrue leaders must learn from their failures, use the lessons to motivate themselves, and not be afraid to try again or make the next tough decision.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you want to change the world\u2026 slide down the obstacle headfirst<\/strong><\/p>\n In a SEAL obstacle course, McRaven often feared a riskier but faster move. He preferred \u201cSwinging his legs over the top of the line and holding on for dear life, he then began to inch his way off the platform. His body hung underneath the rope, and with a caterpillar-like motion he slowly made his way, foot by foot, to the other end.\u201d<\/p>\n That move was secure but too slow and he needed to perform a method called \u201cCommando style\u201d where he\u2019ll go head first. One week later, he felt his fear but did push it aside, thrusting his body headfirst.<\/p>\n He succeeded in his endeavor as the instructor nodded. That lesson would teach him to overcome his fear and anxieties. He would use the lesson \u201cYou Must Dare Greatly\u201d in many other cases; for example in several hostage rescues and other raids like with bin Laden.<\/p>\n You too, you\u2019ll need to trust your abilities to overcome any challenge. There is an old British SAS (Special Air Service) saying: \u201cWho dares wins\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cLife is a struggle and the potential for failure is ever present, but those who live in fear of failure, or 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.\u201d<\/p>\n If you want to change the world\u2026 don\u2019t back down from the sharks.<\/strong><\/p>\n In one of their training, McRaven and his buddy Marc Thomas had to succeed in a night four-mile swim. The water off San Clemente Island is well-known to be filled with potential dangerous white sharks. Nonetheless, McRaven and his friend\u2019s longing to be SEALs won over. Their courage was unmatched despite the danger in front.<\/p>\n As highlighted in \u201cmake your bed\u201d the two were ready to fight off the shark, they were mentally prepared for it.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal, which we believed to be honorable and noble, gave us courage, and courage is a remarkable quality. Nothing and nobody can stand in your way. Without it, others will define your path forward. Without it, you are at the mercy of life\u2019s temptations. Without courage, men will be ruled by tyrants and despots. Without courage, no great society can flourish. Without courage, the bullies of the world rise up. With it, you can accomplish any goal. With it, you can defy and defeat evil.\u201d<\/p>\n The Admiral mentions another anecdote when Saddam Hussein\u2019s successors and new leaders visited him in prison.<\/p>\n Even if Saddam was behind the bar, he still intimidated and instilled fear in his visitors. They knew what Saddam was capable of; including killing his own generals.<\/p>\n Sharks sense fear in the water and they will devour a man alive when the chance is offered. We shouldn\u2019t be like the new leaders mentioned above, bullies are everywhere and they gain their strength by intimidating the weak.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are like sharks that sense fear in the water. They will circle to see if their prey is struggling. They will probe to see if their victim is weak. If you don\u2019t find the courage to stand your ground, they will strike. In life, to achieve your goals, to complete the night swim, you will have to be men and women of great courage. That courage is within all of us. Dig deep, and you will find it in abundance.\u201d<\/p>\n If you want to change the world\u2026 be your very best in the darkest moments.<\/strong><\/p>\n At some point in our lives, we\u2019ll sooner or later lose a close friend, a parent or a loved one. It\u2019s part of life. Losing someone you love remains a dark moment. But we have to overcome the adversity and find a way to be our very best.<\/p>\n If you want to change the world\u2026 start singing when you\u2019re up to your neck in mud.<\/strong><\/p>\n Hell week can be described as the most physically demanding training in the American military. It consists of an arduous series of tasks such as push-ups, jumping lunges, sit-ups and flutter kicks, rope climbs, obstacle courses, Open Ocean swims, all of these in thick mud and freezing water. Worse, you\u2019ll have six days without sleep and continuous harassment by the instructors.<\/p>\n Hell Week\u2019s goal is simple: to eliminate the weak because only 1\/3 of the men who started make it through Hell Week.<\/p>\n At some point during hell week, a SEAL instructor would lure, deliberately mislead and comfort the trainees, telling them that they can join him whenever they want by the fire for hot coffee and for chicken soup.<\/p>\n Some of the guys were enticed and started to move, leaving McRaven\u2019s group.<\/p>\n But suddenly, one trainee started to sing, giving the whole group hope. \u201cOne voice became two and two became three and then before long everyone was singing.\u201d<\/p>\n A person can inspire and give hope to the group just like the one who started to chant in the previous example. \u201cIf that one person could sing while neck deep in mud, then so could we. If that one person could endure the freezing cold, then so could we. If that one person could hold on, then so could we.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2010, Marine Lieutenant General John Kelly lost his son in combat in Afghanistan. He knows more than anyone how it is to lose a close family and how to go through the pain despite the tragedy. He could say that his family survived a misfortune.<\/p>\n Marine Lieutenant General John Kelly was also the one who could make a difference in other families\u2019 lives, those who also lost their son, husband and family in combat. He offered them \u201cwords of sympathy and encouragement in the face of tragedy\u201d. Above all, he gave them hope.<\/p>\n \u201cHope is the most powerful force in the universe. With hope you can inspire nations to greatness. With hope you can raise up the downtrodden. With hope you can ease the pain of unbearable loss. Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a difference\u201d<\/p>\n If you want to change the world\u2026 don\u2019t ever, ever ring the bell.<\/strong><\/p>\n During the 6-month SEAL drill, the trainees have two simple choices. They go through hell or they ring the bell.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing through hell\u201d means having lots of pain, lots and lots of it. The instructors are clear about that. They will do whatever it takes to make you quit. They will \u201charass you unmercifully; they will embarrass you in front of your teammates. They will push you beyond your limits\u201d.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s a second easy choice and maybe you\u2019ll like it: to ring the bell three times.<\/p>\n This means that you quit. It also means that you are a loser. As you ring the bell, you won\u2019t have to get up early, making your bed would no longer be a necessity; neither would be the unimaginable sufferings that are waiting for you.<\/p>\n But if you quit however, you\u2019ll regret it forever.<\/p>\n \u201cQuitting never makes anything easier\u201d.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, whereas McRaven\u2019s promotion started with 150 students in his class, only 33 of them made it to the graduation, only 22%.<\/p>\n Years later, as Admiral William H. McRaven visited the injured during combats; he noticed how none of them complained. They accepted their fate and showed pride in what they do.<\/p>\n \u201cLife is full of difficult times. But someone out there always has it worse than you do. If you fill your days with pity, sorrowful for the way you have been treated, bemoaning your lot in life, blaming your circumstances on someone or something else, then life will be long and hard. If, on the other hand, you refuse to give up on your dreams, stand tall and strong against the odds\u2014then life will be what you make of it\u2014and you can make it great. Never, ever, ring the bell!\u201d<\/p>\n People also read:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Make your bed summary Make your bed by Admiral William McRaven. Admiral William H. McRaven is well-known for his commencement speech “Make your bed” at the University of Texas at Austin on May 17, 2014. While the video went viral, he shares in this Make your bed book the 10 life-lessons he learned from the […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1573","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-book","9":"post-with-thumbnail","10":"post-with-thumbnail-large"},"yoast_head":"\n![\"Admiral](\"https:\/\/www.sitrakaratsimba.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/2-5.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMAKE YOUR BED CHAPTER TWO: You Can\u2019t Go It Alone<\/strong><\/h2>\n
MAKE YOUR BED CHAPTER THREE: Only the Size of Your Heart Matters<\/strong><\/h2>\n
MAKE YOUR BED CHAPTER FOUR: Life\u2019s not Fair\u2014Drive On!<\/strong><\/h2>\n
CHAPTER FIVE: Failure Can Make You Stronger<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Navy](\"https:\/\/www.sitrakaratsimba.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3-5.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCHAPTER SIX: You Must Dare Greatly<\/strong><\/h2>\n
MAKE YOUR BED CHAPTER SEVEN: Stand Up to the Bullies<\/strong><\/h2>\n
MAKE YOUR BED CHAPTER EIGHT: Rise to the Occasion<\/strong><\/h2>\n
CHAPTER NINE: Give People Hope<\/strong><\/h2>\n
CHAPTER TEN: Never, Ever Quit!<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Start with why summary<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
The power of full engagement<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
High Performance Habits<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Getting things done by David Allen<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Master your workday now<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n