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Make Your Bed: Advice for SEALs and Investors

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By Getmilitaryphotos @ Shutterstock.com

Originally posted May 18, 2017.

Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) is a little blue-book about little things that can change your life…and maybe the world. It was inspired by the commencement speech McRaven gave on May 21, 2014.

Start your day with a task completed. Make your bed. And, as he explains in Chapter Ten: Never Quit. McRaven told Business Insider in an interview:

Admiral McRaven: We used to have a saying in SEAL training, “Take it one evolution at a time.” Meaning don’t look six months down the road. Don’t ask yourself or don’t look and say, “My gosh, I’ve got more swims and more runs and more PTs.” If you do that, that event horizon becomes a little too far and I think it can be frightening. If all you do is try to do the very best you can at that very moment, you take it one step at a time and then six months goes by and you took it one evolution at a time and you made it. 

It is easy to quit in SEAL training. All you have to do is ring the bell three times and you’re out. You don’t have to talk to anybody. You don’t have to do anything. You ring the bell, you take your helmet off, you put it down, and that’s it. And you find that in tough times, there’s always kind of a way out and that’s quitting. That’s just deciding you’re not going to tackle this problem — you’re going to let the problem or the situation win.

And so the one thing I’m always asked is, “How do you get through SEAL training?” I had a young man who was going off to SEAL training about a year ago and he was a phenomenal athlete. I had lunch with him and he said, “Well, do I need to run more?” I said, “No, I don’t think so.” He said, “Do I need to swim more?” I said, “Nope.” “Do I need to lift more?” and he said “What is the key to going through SEAL training?” I said, “It’s simple — you just don’t quit.” 

Great advice for everyone, including Navy SEALs and investors.

University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address – Admiral William H. McRaven

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.