Make Your Bed
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Make Your Bed Small things that can change your life... and maybe the world

'A book to inspire your children and grandchildren to become everything that they can' - The Wall Street Journal 'Superb, smart, and succinct' - Forbes THE INCREDIBLE No. 1 New York Times BESTSELLER ____________ 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. Taking inspiration from the university's slogan, "What starts here changes the world," he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life; and he explained how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves-and the world-for the better . . . · Begin each day with a simple task · Help one another you through life · Respect everyone · Know that your life won't be fair · That you will fail often · Take risks · Step-up when times are tough · Face-down the bullies · Lift-up the downtrodden · And never ever give up Do these things and we will live in a far better world than the one before it. Admiral McRaven's original speech went viral with over 10 million views. Building on the core tenets laid out in his speech, McRaven now recounts tales from his own life and from those of people he encountered during his military service who dealt with hardship and made tough decisions with determination, compassion, honour, and courage. ____________ Told with great humility and optimism, this timeless book provides simple and universal wisdom, practical advice, and words of encouragement that will inspire readers to achieve more, even in life's darkest moments.
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Reviews

Photo of Erika Larson
Erika Larson@erika_lars
2.5 stars
Feb 15, 2024

Not that helpful. Kinda boring. It was interesting hearing about what actually happens at Navy SEAL training. Super short read.

Photo of Neil Murray
Neil Murray@neilswmurray
2 stars
Oct 6, 2022

Meh.

Photo of Sean Valencia Monte
Sean Valencia Monte@seanvalenciaa
3 stars
Aug 2, 2022

3.5 Stars - I feel ✨inspired✨ ... timeline is kind of confusing, though.

Photo of Mumluk
Mumluk@mumluk
2 stars
Jan 31, 2022

Time spent reading this book: 2h35m Reading sessions: 7 What I Liked: The book is well written and clear. It's a breeze to read as the author and his editor did a great job at conveying the message they intended. The author seems to be an honest person. It could be in a specific context a good entry book when it comes to productivity techniques and self-help globally. What I disliked: Do you remember the Pareto principle? It can be applied here. If you're in doubt about reading this book, you might as well watch the commencement talk that it is based upon. It's a good talk. The book is that talk content expanded with examples taken from anecdotes from his military career. That's it. Now comes the real issue. What works for a motivational talk might not work for a book. Here, in particular, the whole tone of that book can be particularly preachy and lacking nuances. Things like "They would regret", "were always more important" and so and so are regular occurrences here. It's an example of personal experience in an ultra-specific context generalized as universal laws. That works for motivational talks and posters, much less when you buy a book to go beyond that and look for some depth. What is odd is that I am very similar in mindset to the author when it comes to the importance of discipline, yet the whole piece of work rubbed me the wrong way. Perhaps the lack of sympathy? Perhaps the survivorship bias? Having read already a few productivity books, there was nothing that I didn't know and already applied. It wasn't a book relatable to me and there wasn't much value apart of knowing more about the training and life of Navy SEALs. I recommend watching the talk, expand to the book for military-focused emotionally-driven examples if that's something you're interested in. It's a short-read, so why not? Manga Analogy: The whole book felt like the first chapter of a Shōnen, were everything is really simple and binary, giving you the stepstone for a more complex reality. Admiral William H. McRaven would then be Uchiha Fugaku from Naruto. Like the Admiral, Fugaku is a military leader who obeys to a simple but strict ruleset and is driven by discipline and his responsibility to protect his people. Everyone that deviates from the rulebook or can't apply it is a failure in that respect.

Photo of Katherine Handy
Katherine Handy@hellokathandy
5 stars
Jan 16, 2022

I originally thought I'd rate this as a 3 or 4, but it ended up being an inspiring quick read.

Photo of David V.
David V.@davidmar
5 stars
Jan 5, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=des...

Photo of Aliyah Rebecca
Aliyah Rebecca@phrogsrsuperior
5 stars
Dec 2, 2021

Simple and short life changing book

+1
Photo of Salam Kabbani
Salam Kabbani@theunabridgedlifeofsalamacita
3 stars
Nov 3, 2021

Actual rating: 3.5 A good short read. This former navy seal condenses years of lessons into this book and shows us all that accomplishing your dreams starts with making your bed every morning. Other themes in the book include the power of a big heart, standing up to the sharks, and knowing that you should never try and go it alone in life. If you are looking to start reading non-fiction self-growth books, this is definitely a great one to get your feet wet before going all in.

Photo of Nico J
Nico J@niconicolj
3 stars
Sep 8, 2021

It's a book with that does exactly what it says it will do. The title and blurb let you know what you're about to read. All ten sections are short, sweet, and to the point and honestly, they're uplifting, though admittedly it helps to buoy it all with stories about great people completing things that the average person won't. Don't fret, it's symbolic - we all may not be Navy SEALs, but we can still take these small steps to be a little better than yesterday. The ideas are sound, even if they're presented in a way that we may not necessarily, immediately relate to.

Photo of historian´s library
historian´s library@antiquariant
4 stars
Aug 25, 2021

This is a quite tiny but absolutely comforting book for those who forgot about the magic of tiny things in life. Interesting stories of Admiral McRaven and his ten principles he learned during Navt Seal training. Some of them made me even cry, touched my soul and most of all - inspired to go on.

Photo of Emily Wood
Emily Wood@emwood95
3 stars
Dec 24, 2024
Photo of Savannah J. Gesler
Savannah J. Gesler@sav1
5 stars
Aug 24, 2024
+4
Photo of Alicia Blevins
Alicia Blevins @gore_goddess13
3.5 stars
Nov 2, 2022
Photo of Shaurya
Shaurya @shaurya
3.5 stars
Aug 18, 2022
Photo of Kwame Annor
Kwame Annor@annor
3 stars
Aug 11, 2022
Photo of rita'
rita'@69ritaa
1 star
Jul 22, 2022
Photo of Nika Khoshdel
Nika Khoshdel@nika
4 stars
Jan 26, 2022
Photo of Tony McCollum
Tony McCollum@tmack
4 stars
Mar 3, 2024
Photo of Mark Osterhoff
Mark Osterhoff@mdosterh
5 stars
Mar 3, 2024
Photo of Daniel Martin
Daniel Martin@dnlmrtn
4 stars
Dec 19, 2023
Photo of Mehmet Ali Cakir
Mehmet Ali Cakir@mehmetalickr
4 stars
Dec 18, 2023
Photo of Varun Raj
Varun Raj@varunraj
4 stars
Dec 18, 2023
Photo of Jaiden Ratti
Jaiden Ratti@jaiden
3 stars
Dec 18, 2023
Photo of John
John@doubledouble
5 stars
Dec 10, 2023