I was lucky enough to live on Coronado beach in San Diego and saw the NAVY SEALs training every morning at the break of dawn. These top 10 lessons are courtesy of Admiral Will McRaven’s commencement address at UT Austin. Priceless pearls of wisdom for Entrepreneurs and Dreamers worldwide.
“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 the times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never, ever give up—if you do these things, then the next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today. And what started here will indeed have changed the world, for the better.” – Adm Will McGovern
1. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. Making your bed gives your a sense of accomplishment first thing in the morning and reinforces 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.
2. If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle. No man is an Island. Find the team that will help you succeed.
3. If you want to change the world, measure people by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers. Appearances can be deceptive. Recognize who you are really dealing with.
4. If you want to change the world, get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward. The best laid plans and performance can sometimes still not work out as desired. Real life situations seldom have textbook “perfect” outcomes. Get over it and move onwards.
5. If you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses. The circus is when something disappoints, discourages and doesn’t end up as planned. Life is full of circuses but everyone successful faces circuses. Embrace the circus as an opportunity to build inner strength and resiliency.
6. If you want to change the world sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head-first. Innovation comes from taking risks and solving problems in an unconventional way. This inherently involves risk, but calculated risk can have a big payoff.
7. If you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks. There are a lot of sharks in the world. If you hope to complete the swim you will have to deal with them. Stand your ground and don’t back down. Fear can become self-fulfilling.
8. If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment. The darkest moment often marks the apex of the challenge. Paradoxically this is where most people lose heart and give up, exactly when they are actually closest to succeeding.
9. If you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud. More things are wrought by Hope than the world dreams of. Never underestimate the power of Hope. Hope is also contagious.
10. If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever hit the Escape key. The escape hatch is usually only a keystroke away. Avoid its temptation.
Gaurav Tewari 