Yesterday was the anniversary of 9/11 and we have recently had two major hurricanes come through.

All of these events are a stark reminder that tomorrow isn’t promised.

We (and our loved ones) aren’t guaranteed to be free from something bad happening.

We don’t control the weather.

We don’t control other people.

We can’t predict and control all the variables.

We are not in control of what happens around us.

We can only control our reaction.

Today, my hope for you is that you let these events spur you on to love more.

Reach out in love to family members and friends you haven’t seen in a while.

Be a little nicer to the waiter or waitress today at lunch.

Take the kids outside to do whatever it is they are begging you to do.

Hold on a little more tightly to that special someone in your life.

Make the most of the day.

You aren’t promised you’ll get another one.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever ring the bell.

This is the last one in the series of lessons learned by William McRaven as he gave them in a recent commencement speech.

It is fitting that he gave this one last.

Never give up.

Is there something in your past that you have given up on that you need to get started on again?

Are you closing to giving up on something right now?

Don’t ring the bell.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Here is the text from this section of his speech:

Finally, in SEAL training there is a bell. A brass bell that hangs in the center of the compound for all the students to see.

All you have to do to quit is ring the bell. Ring the bell and you no longer have to wake up at 5 o’clock. Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the freezing cold swims.

Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the runs, the obstacle course, the PT — and you no longer have to endure the hardships of training.

Just ring the bell.

If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever ring the bell.

https://youtu.be/nTSU8MDDgzY

We all have a choice when it comes to the stuff that is in our lives.

If it doesn’t add to your life, maybe you need to get rid of it.

Don’t let others or impulse decisions decide for you how much of your life you are investing in stuff you don’t need.

Make it a great day.

Jake ​

So, if you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud.

This story is my favorite of the short ones shared by William McRaven about his time in Navy SEAL basic training.

It is a story about the power of hope.

Never underestimate the power of a little hope.

Never miss a chance to be the one to give a little hope.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Here is the text of this part of the speech:

The ninth week of training is referred to as "Hell Week." It is six days of no sleep, constant physical and mental harassment and one special day at the Mud Flats — the Mud Flats are the area between San Diego and Tijuana where the water runs off and creates the Tijuana slues — a swampy patch of terrain where the mud will engulf you.

It is on Wednesday of Hell Week that you paddle down to the mud flats and spend the next 15 hours trying to survive the freezing cold mud, the howling wind and the incessant pressure to quit from the instructors.

As the sun began to set that Wednesday evening, my training class, having committed some "egregious infraction of the rules" was ordered into the mud.

The mud consumed each man till there was nothing visible but our heads. The instructors told us we could leave the mud if only five men would quit — just five men — and we could get out of the oppressive cold.

Looking around the mud flat it was apparent that some students were about to give up. It was still over eight hours till the sun came up — eight more hours of bone chilling cold.

The chattering teeth and shivering moans of the trainees were so loud it was hard to hear anything and then, one voice began to echo through the night — one voice raised in song.

The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm.

One voice became two and two became three and before long everyone in the class was singing.

We knew that if one man could rise above the misery then others could as well.

The instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept up the singing, but the singing persisted.

And somehow, the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little tamer and the dawn not so far away.

If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person — Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan, Malala — one person can change the world by giving people hope.

So, if you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud. ​

So, If you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks.

Another lesson learned by William McRaven in his Navy SEAL training.

Sharks and bullies are a fact of life. At some point, we all will be faced with the decision of whether or not to stand up to them.

And each of us will have a moment when we need to summon up all the courage we can muster and decide not to back down.

Not just for our own sake, but because it is the right thing to do.

It doesn’t have to be the traditional bully from the playground.

It could be a disease and you could be supporting a local chapter of an organization to fund research and search for a cure.

It could be a political issue you feel strongly about and you could be making your voice heard.

It could be supporting our troops as they stand up to the bullies all over the world for us.

It could be any kind of wrong that requires that the forces of good stand up.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Here is the text from the speech:

During the land warfare phase of training, the students are flown out to San Clemente Island which lies off the coast of San Diego.

The waters off San Clemente are a breeding ground for the great white sharks. To pass SEAL training there are a series of long swims that must be completed. One is the night swim.

Before the swim the instructors joyfully brief the trainees on all the species of sharks that inhabit the waters off San Clemente.

They assure you, however, that no student has ever been eaten by a shark — at least not recently.

But, you are also taught that if a shark begins to circle your position, stand your ground. Do not swim away. Do not act afraid.

And if the shark, hungry for a midnight snack, darts towards you, then summon up all your strength and punch him in the snout and he will turn and swim away.

There are a lot of sharks in the world. If you hope to complete the swim you will have to deal with them.

So, If you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks. ​

If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.

More words of wisdom from William McRaven’s commencement speech.

He tells the story (below) of how during a particular training exercise there is a moment that requires their very best in order to succeed.

Jim Collins said it by saying that not all time is created equal.

There are moments in our lives that require more from us.

More patience.

More skill.

More endurance.

More love.

More grit.

And these moments can define us. They can be the difference between victory and defeat.

We get to choose whether we give it our all or give in.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Here is this section of the speech:

As Navy SEALs one of our jobs is to conduct underwater attacks against enemy shipping. We practiced this technique extensively during basic training.

The ship attack mission is where a pair of SEAL divers is dropped off outside an enemy harbor and then swims well over two miles underwater using nothing but a depth gauge and a compass to get to their target.

During the entire swim, even well below the surface there is some light that comes through. It is comforting to know that there is open water above you.

But as you approach the ship, which is tied to a pier, the light begins to fade. The steel structure of the ship blocks the moonlight — it blocks the surrounding street lamps — it blocks all ambient light.

To be successful in your mission, you have to swim under the ship and find the keel, the centerline and the deepest part of the ship.

This is your objective. But the keel is also the darkest part of the ship, where you cannot see your hand in front of your face, where the noise from the ship’s machinery is deafening and where it is easy to get disoriented and fail.

Every SEAL knows that under the keel, at the darkest moment of the mission, is the time when you must be calm, composed — when all your tactical skills, your physical power and all your inner strength must be brought to bear.

If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment. ​

https://youtu.be/-LxEo0McFzs

Wouldn’t it be great to give away a million bucks?

Who would you give it to?

What charity would you send money to first?

Most of us don’t have a million to give away, but we could probably spare 5 or 10 or 20 or 100.

Find somewhere to make a donation today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

In case you didn’t think of anything.

Click below to donate to the disaster relief efforts in Houston:

https://www.redcross.org/donate/disaster-relief?scode=RSG00000E017&gclid=Cj0KCQjw557NBRC9ARIsAHJvVVNHoQQRIR74BbOnH6SlK8m6pJl3DW5JdIQADHvptRu1i4GbBKHsN1EaAjiyEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CL7PwN_jgtYCFQRUAQod94wGRQ

So, If you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks.

Another lesson learned by William McRaven in his Navy SEAL training.

Sharks and bullies are a fact of life. At some point, we all will be faced with the decision of whether or not to stand up to them.

And each of us will have a moment when we need to summon up all the courage we can muster and decide not to back down.

Not just for our own sake, but because it is the right thing to do.

It doesn’t have to be the traditional bully from the playground.

It could be a disease and you could be supporting a local chapter of an organization to fund research and search for a cure.

It could be a political issue you feel strongly about and you could be making your voice heard.

It could be supporting our troops as they stand up to the bullies all over the world for us.

It could be any kind of wrong that requires that the forces of good stand up.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Here is the text from the speech:

During the land warfare phase of training, the students are flown out to San Clemente Island which lies off the coast of San Diego.

The waters off San Clemente are a breeding ground for the great white sharks. To pass SEAL training there are a series of long swims that must be completed. One is the night swim.

Before the swim the instructors joyfully brief the trainees on all the species of sharks that inhabit the waters off San Clemente.

They assure you, however, that no student has ever been eaten by a shark — at least not recently.

But, you are also taught that if a shark begins to circle your position, stand your ground. Do not swim away. Do not act afraid.

And if the shark, hungry for a midnight snack, darts towards you, then summon up all your strength and punch him in the snout and he will turn and swim away.

There are a lot of sharks in the world. If you hope to complete the swim you will have to deal with them.

So, If you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks. ​

If you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses.

A circus was an extra two hours of workouts a SEAL trainee would have to do if they didn’t meet standards on their daily tests.

McRaven talks of how those who consistently had to go through the extra circuses ended up being stronger and better. As long as they didn’t quit.

The lesson comes through clear as a bell. Embrace the extra work and lessons that come from failure.

We will all fail at one point or another. The question is what will you learn from it?

Maybe you are overweight and are now going to have to diet and exercise much harder to make up for poor choices in the past.

Maybe you’re in debt and behind on your bills and your budget isn’t going to be much fun until you pay off the debts.

Maybe your marriage isn’t doing so well and it is going to take a lot of hard work to rebuild trust and love in that relationship.

Whatever your challenge, use it to make you stronger.

We all will face adversity. Successful people use those moments to build inner strength and experience.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Here is the text of this section of his speech:

Every day during training you were challenged with multiple physical events-long runs, long swims, obstacle courses, hours of calisthenics-something designed to test your mettle.

Every event had standards — times you had to meet. If you failed to meet those standards your name was posted on a list and at the end of the day those on the list were invited to-a "circus."

A circus was two hours of additional calisthenics — designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, to force you to quit.

No one wanted a circus.

A circus meant that for that day you didn’t measure up. A circus meant more fatigue — and more fatigue meant that the following day would be more difficult-and more circuses were likely.

But at some time during SEAL training, everyone — everyone-made the circus list.

But an interesting thing happened to those who were constantly on the list. Over time those students — who did two hours of extra calisthenics — got stronger and stronger.

The pain of the circuses built inner strength — built physical resiliency.

Life is filled with circuses.

You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core.

But if you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses.

If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.

This was the third lesson offered by William McRaven as he made a commencement speech based on his time as a Navy SEAL.

We all make assumptions and judgments about others as we go about our day. It is a necessary part of interacting in so many ways at the pace at which we move today.

McRaven has an important point to make about those assumptions and those judgments we make: don’t judge a book by its cover.

I know I often make these assumptions only to be proven wrong in the end.

But we must learn a new way of doing things – judging others by their hearts.

This is harder, to be sure, but I think it is worth it in the end.

Who in your life do you need to spend time looking at their heart instead of their flippers?

Is there a situation or a group of people who deserve a closer look?

How could you build more empathy for others into your daily interactions?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Here is the text from this section of the speech:

Over a few weeks of difficult training my SEAL class which started with 150 men was down to just 35. There were now six boat crews of seven men each.

I was in the boat with the tall guys, but the best boat crew we had was made up of the little guys — the munchkin crew we called them — no one was over about 5-foot five.

The munchkin boat crew had one American Indian, one African American, one Polish America, one Greek American, one Italian American, and two tough kids from the mid-west.

They out paddled, out-ran, and out swam all the other boat crews.

The big men in the other boat crews would always make good natured fun of the tiny little flippers the munchkins put on their tiny little feet prior to every swim.

But somehow these little guys, from every corner of the Nation and the world, always had the last laugh — swimming faster than everyone and reaching the shore long before the rest of us.

SEAL training was a great equalizer. Nothing mattered but your will to succeed. Not your color, not your ethnic background, not your education and not your social status.

If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers. ​