Make Your Bed by William H. McRaven

If you want to change the world… start off by making your bed.

Making my bed correctly was not an opportunity for praise. It was expected of me. It was my first task of the day, and doing it right was important. It demonstrated my discipline. It showed my attention to detail, and at the end of the day it would be a reminder that I had done something well. Something to be proud of, no matter how small the task.

Life is hard and sometimes there is little you can do to affect the outcome of your day. You search for something that can give you solace, that can motivate you to begin your day, that you can be a sense of pride in an oftentimes ugly world.

It is daily life that needs this same sense of structure. Sometimes 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.

You can’t go at it alone.

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If you want to change the world… find someone to help you paddle.

You need to rely on someone else to help you through the difficult times.

None of us are immune from life’s tragic moments.

Find someone to share your life with. Make as many friends as possible, and never forget that your success depends on others.

Only the size of your heart matters.

If you want to change the world… measure a person by the size of their heart.

“I won’t quit.”

If you want to change the world… get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward.

“Life isn’t fair and the sooner you learn that the better off you will be.”

Never ask, “Why me?”

It 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’s unfairness.

Don’t complain. Don’t blame it on your misfortune. Stand tall, look to the future, and drive on.

Failure can make you stronger.

In life, you will pay for your failures. But, if you persevere, if you let those failures teach you and strengthen you, then you will be prepared to handle life’s toughest moments.

Change is never easy.

There is nowhere to hide. They know if you are giving 100 percent. They see when you are the first in line to jump out of the airplane and last in line to get the chow. They watch you clean your weapon, check your radio, read the intelligence, and prepare your mission briefs. They know when you have worked all night preparing for tomorrow’s training.

Use your previous failure as motivation to out work, out hustle, and out perform everyone in the platoon. I sometimes fell short of being the best, but I never fell short of giving it my best.

Past failures will strengthen you, teach you that no one is immune from mistakes. True 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.

If you want to change the world… slide down the obstacle headfirst.

The obstacle course is going to beat you every time unless you start taking some risks.

Overcome your anxieties and trust your abilities to get the job done.

Life 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 daring greatly, you will never know what is truly possible in your life.

Our 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’s temptations. Without courage, men will be ruled by tyrants. 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.

Bullies thrive on fear and intimidation. If you don’t find the courage to stand your ground, they will strike. That courage is within all of us. Dig deep, and you will find it in abundance.

If you want to change the world… be your very best in the darkest moments.

“Tonight, you will have to be your very best. You must rise above your fears, your doubts, and your fatigue. No matter how dark it gets, you must complete the mission. This is what separates you from everyone else.”

At some point we will all confront a dark moment in life. 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.

Give people hope.

The power of one person to unite the group, the power of one person to inspire those around him, to give them hope. If that one person can hold on, then so can we.

We each have within us the ability to carry on and not only to survive but also to inspire others.

Hope 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.

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We will all find ourselves neck deep in mud someday. That is the time to sing loudly, to smile broadly, to lift up those around you and give them hope that tomorrow will be a better day.

“If you quit you will regret it for the rest of your life. Quitting never makes anything easier.”

Life 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 — then life will be what you make of it — and you can make it great.

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 you take some risks, step up when times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden, and never, ever give up — if you do these things, then you can change your life for the better…and maybe the world

If you think it’s hard to change the lives of ten people, change their lives forever, you’re wrong.

What will the world look like after you change it?

If you make your bed every morning, it will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.

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.

Nothing matters but your will to succeed.

Contributed by Parker Klein

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