Make Your Bed!
“If you want to change the world…” writes Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired), “…start off by making your bed.”“Start Your Day With a Task Completed” is the first chapter of the hot-off-the-press life lessons book from the author’s Navy SEAL training days. He learned the “make your bed” principle in those early days and became Commander of all U.S. Special Operations Forces as a Four-Star Admiral. (
OK, that got my attention—along with his stunning 37 years of serving our country.)
Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…and Maybe the World packs a punch at the fast clip of one big punch every 10 short pages. Adm. McRaven’s 10 principles were delivered first as a university commencement address. His speech on May 21, 2014, to the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin went viral—with over 10 million views!
Watch the 19-minute
YouTube video here (and read a transcript of his speech in the back of his book):
Who should read Make Your Bed? Leaders, managers, board members, parents, students, grandkids—everyone should read this.
Here’s why: three “C’s.” • The
cadence of the speech is stunning. Each principle ends with the same tagline, “If you want to change the world…” and then his big idea. Example in Chapter 9: “If you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud.” (
Pastor alert! Here’s your next sermon illustration. Powerful!)
• The
content of the speech is (dare I say it) life-changing. If you have kids or grandkids heading off to a summer job soon, or a first year of college—this is a must-read. Chapter 10: “If you want to change the world, don’t ever, ever ring the bell.”
• The
character-building insights are memorable. Examples: “You can’t go it alone. Life’s not fair—drive on. Failure can make you stronger.”
So...Three Options:[ ]
Option 1: Read the book (or view the video) for your own encouragement.
[ ]
Option 2: Buy the book for your direct reports. Invite team members to share one principle each week for the next 10 weeks.
[ ]
Option 3: Give the book as a graduation gift or birthday gift to a student you’re mentoring.
To order from Amazon, click on the title for
Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…and Maybe the World, by Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired).
Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:
1) Adm. McRaven advises, “If you want to change the world…find someone to help you paddle.” How effective are we at paddling together versus building silos?
#2. Imagine—you’re a Navy SEAL (up-to-your-neck-in-mud during “Hell Week”), per Chapter 9. What song would you sing to encourage your co-workers? (Sing it now!)
A 19-Minute Hoopla! Event
Insights from Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Nonprofit
Navy SEALS know something about teamwork and hoopla! So...the Hoopla! Bucket (Chapter 10) in Mastering the Management Buckets, challenges teams to “harness the power of hoopla! for celebration, recreation, intentional food and fellowship gatherings, and just plain fun…to show our team members how much they are loved and appreciated!”
So…order the Starbucks unicorn frappuccino and plan a spontaneous 19-minute viewing of Adm. McRaven’s address.
For more resources in the Hoopla! Bucket, visit the webpage.
NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to this blogsite
No comments:
Post a Comment