MAKE YOUR BED

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life... And Maybe The World by Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired)   130 pages

Reviewed by Rae C.

I never understood the military's obsession with making the bed.  I've asked a number of veterans and enlisted military personnel about this, and I've gotten the same few answers: "Everything is important in the military.  Everything has to be done right." And "it's the first thing you do and you have to do it right."

But McRaven really made it clear: it's the first thing you do in the morning, and if you do it and do it well, it sets a precedent for accomplishing throughout the day.  (And if you have a bad day, you come home to a nicely made bed at least.)

If you want the motivation, just read the speech at the end of the book.  All of the points are covered.  If you are interested in Navy Seal training and anecdotes about McRaven's life, read the book.  It's a fast (under an hour), easy read, and it is motivating, but there's not much meat to it.  It's mostly just "strong survive, life isn't fair, don't give up."  But I did enjoy reading it.

Here is my favorite quote:

"...we both wanted to be SEALs so badly that nothing in the water that night was going to stop us.  If we had to fight off the sharks, then we were both prepared to do so.  Our goal, which we believed to be honorable and noble, gave us courage, and courage is a remarkable quality.  Nothing and nobody can stand in your way.  Without it, others will define your path forward.  Without it, you are at the mercy of life's temptations.  Without courage, men will be ruled by tyrants and despots.  Without courage, no great society can flourish.  Without courage, the bullies of the world rise up. With it, you can accomplish any goal.  With it, you can defy and defeat evil."