Admiral William H. McRaven

'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.

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

Make Your Bed

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

Erika Larson

*** THE INCREDIBLE No. 1 New York Times BESTSELLER *** Make your bed to change the world... 'What starts here changes the world' was the university slogan that inspired William H. McRaven to take charge of the small things that could change his life . . . and even the world. Here McRaven shares the 10 life-changing principles he learned during his 37 years as a Navy SEAL. These 10 philosophies helped him to overcome challenges not only in his career, but also throughout his life. What's more 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 and 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 . . . 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. If Make Your Bed has equipped you with life-changing wisdom and you want other readers like you to discover this smart, inspiring book, then leave a review below . . . 'Superb, smart, succinct' Forbes 'A book to inspire your children and grandchildren to become everything they can' The Wall Street Journal

Little Things That Can Change Your Life...and Maybe the World

Neil Murray

William McRaven

If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. On May 21, 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. 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, honor, and courage. Told with great humility and optimism, this timeless book provides simple wisdom, practical advice, and words of encouragement that will inspire readers to achieve more, even in life's darkest moments.

Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World

Sean Valencia Monte

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

Mumluk

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.

Katherine Handy

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

David V.

Aliyah Rebecca

Salam Kabbani

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.

Nico J

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.

historian´s library

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.

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

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