^10 WORTHY LESSONS^ by WILLIAM H. McRAVEN

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS?

William H. McRaven is a former U.S. Navy four-star admiral. Because of his commencement speech at the University of Texas at Austin as a chancellor in 2014, he got recognition/fame all over the world. He shared his stories and experiences in the military and also mentioned the 10 worthy lessons he learned from the basic seal training. ( Video is Linked Below: ) 

10 WORTHY LESSONS :

1. Start off by making your bed

William mentioned that at the seal training they(he and his batchmates) were supposed to make their bed correctly every morning. The reason behind it is that it will give you a small sense of pride, that you have accomplished the first task of the day, it doesn't matter how mini it was but you did it and encourages you to do another task, then another and then another one. He said that "Little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right you'll never be able to do big things right." And if you have a wrong day, you'll come home to a bed that is neatly made, which will give you hope that tomorrow would be much better.

2. Find someone to help your Paddle

William mentioned that you can't succeed alone, you need others to help you succeed in your path, you need others to paddle your boat. Even in the book named 'Think and Grow Rich', author(Napoleon Hill) explained that you need Master Mind (a group of people with specialized knowledge ) who reinforce you to turn your definite plans into action.

3. Measure a person by the size of their Heart. Not by the size of their Flippers

William mentioned that "Seal training was a great equalizer. Nothing mattered but your will to succeed, not your color, not your religious background, not your education, not your social status." He shared a short inspiring story that at the seal training the best boat crew they had was made of little guys. The big guys always made fun of their tiny little flippers which they put on their tiny little feet. But those little guys were faster than all of them. They were always first to reach the shore long before the rest of them.

4. Get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward

William mentioned that "Sometimes no matter how well you prepare or how well you perform you still end up as a sugar cookie. It's just the way life is sometimes." He wanted to convey the message that Life isn't easy, it is filled with a lot of struggle and a lot of failures but you need to keep moving forward, you gotta have to scuffle through a bad spell of time to have a good one. He shared an experience that their instructors used to randomly line up the class for the uniform inspection and check whether their uniform is complete, perfectly pressed, and organized or not. But it always went unappreciated. No matter how perfect it is, they ended up having more fatigue which he called 'Sugar cookie Effect'.

5. Don't afraid of Circuses

William mentioned that "Life is filled with circuses. You will fail, you will likely fail often, it will be painful, it will be discouraging, and at times it will test you thru your very core but if you want a change don't afraid of circuses." He wanted to convey the message that everyone would face circuses (challenges and problems) in their lives, but don't be afraid of them, they will make you a better person, a stronger person, and leave you with a life lesson.

6. Slide Down the Obstacle Headfirst

  

William mentioned that twice a week they were supposed to run an obstacle course and the most challenging one is 'Slide for Life'. He described that it had a 200 m long rope with a three-level 30-foot tower at the one end and a one-level tower at the other. All you had to do is to climb that 30-foot tower and then swung underneath the rope and pulled yourself hand over hand until you got to the other end. He also mentioned that no one had broken that record for the years. But one day one of the students did it, he climbed up bravely and instead of swinging underneath the rope, he swung headfirst and thrust himself forward. It was dangerous but he succeeded. Be fearless, overcome your anxieties, trust your abilities, and don't be afraid to take challenges, what worst could happen you would fail but you have the opportunity to do it again. If you think you can't do a particular job in a pre-realized way, then find another way to do it. 

7. Don't back down from the Sharks

William mentioned that "There are a lot of sharks in this world. If you hope to complete the swim you will have to deal with them." By this, he meant that you will meet a lot of gloomy and negative people in your life who will try to poke you, pull you down, and demotivate you. But if you wanna succeed don't give a shit damn to them, punch them on the face and move forward.

8. Be your Very Best in the Darkest Moments

William mentioned that one of the tasks at the seal training was to swim 2 miles underwater to get to the darkest part of the ship 'Keel' (the centreline of a ship) where you can't even see your hand in front of your face. He told that initially when you dive, there was some light below the surface but as you approach deeper, light appears to fade. His words," Every seal knows that under the keel at that darkest moment of the mission is a time when you need to be calm, when you must be calm, when you must be composed. When all your tactical skills, your physical powers, and your inner strength must be brought to bear."

Everyone would face the darkest moments in their lives. In which some would give up while some would be in depression but only a few % of people would have the courage to come out of those moments. So learn to be calm, to have patience, to have hope, to be very best in the darkest moments.

9. Start Singing when you're up to your neck in mud.

William mentioned that in the ninth week of the seal training they were forced to spend 15 hours in mudflats. It was difficult to survive in freezing cold and howling winds. He also shared that they had an option that if any five of them quit would then, all of them could leave the cold mud. When a few of the batchmates showed the signs of giving up, one mate started singing, then another joined in, and soon the whole class was singing. The singing made the cold mud a little warmer, lifted their spirits, and gave them the strength to survive. His words, "Power of Hope can change the world."

When you feel you can't take it anymore, start giving yourself a pep talk, a hope that you can do it and everything would be perfect soon. This gives you the strength to survive and to do more.

10. Don't ever, ever ring the Bell

William mentioned that there was a bell at the seal training and those who wish to quit waking up at 5'o clock in the morning, the freezing cold swims, obstacle courses, and all the hardship, all they had to do is to ring that bell. "If you wanna succeed don't ever, ever ring the bell." By this, he meant, never ever quit. 

In the book named Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill shared a story named 'Three Feet from Gold'. The story was about a man who was caught by gold fever. He went where the gold mines were located with the hope that he will dig and dig and will become rich. But after a few months of hardship, he gave up and sell the mining machine to a junk man. Now the junk man was clever, he hired an engineer and made calculation where he might find the mines and then, started drilling. After few days, he successfully found a gold mine just three feet far from where that man had left drilling. The moral is Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach. 

I believe that there is a 'Give-er' in this world (who made all of us), who gives to those who are deserving, to those who pass the Give-er test. Its the test of hope, patience, hard work, and not quitting. Those who pass the test get what they desire.

So that's all from this Blog. Do tell me your thoughts in the comment section below, I would love to read them.