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BY petevanepps

If You Want To Change The World…

About six months ago, my colleague, Rob Davis, published a great blog post on the importance of having a growth mindset based on Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset. You can read Rob’s post here. In the post, Rob linked a segment of Admiral (Ret.) William McRaven’s 2014 University of Texas Commencement Address.

In light of it being “graduation season,” I had the opportunity to view the address again recently in its entirety and was truly inspired by Admiral McRaven’s advice. Admiral McRaven is a Navy SEAL and the former head of U.S. Special Operations Command. In the commencement address, he gives the 2014 UT graduates 10 lessons from Basic SEAL Training that we can all use to change the world in a positive way. The speech is not only inspirational, but also very useful. The ten rules are:

1. Start each day with a task completed (make your bed)

2. Surround yourself with people to help you through life
3. Respect everyone

4. Know that life is not fair

5. You will fail – it happens

6. Take risks

7. Step up when times are tough

8. Face down bullies
9. Lift up the downtrodden
10. Never, ever give up

When you have a moment, do yourself a favor and watch the full address, then pick one or two things that you want to do differently to positively affect the world around you.

Best,
Pete Van Epps