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. ​

If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle.

This is lesson number two from William McRaven that he shared in the commencement speech I sent out last week.

It truly is amazing what human beings can do when they work together.

Think of any major feat accomplished and each time there were a group of people working together to make it happen.

In the SEAL training it sounds like they get a lot of very specific experience working as a team. His speech is so good because it shows you how something simple like paddling together is the difference.

Working in unison great things can be accomplished.

Think about the teams you are on.

Are you rowing in unison?

What part of getting back into unison do you own?

What is the next thing to do to get back in unison?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Below is the text for this section of his speech:

During SEAL training the students are broken down into boat crews. Each crew is seven students — three on each side of a small rubber boat and one coxswain to help guide the dingy.

Every day your boat crew forms up on the beach and is instructed to get through the surfzone and paddle several miles down the coast.

In the winter, the surf off San Diego can get to be 8 to 10 feet high and it is exceedingly difficult to paddle through the plunging surf unless everyone digs in.

Every paddle must be synchronized to the stroke count of the coxswain. Everyone must exert equal effort or the boat will turn against the wave and be unceremoniously tossed back on the beach.

For the boat to make it to its destination, everyone must paddle.

You can’t change the world alone

https://youtu.be/s56-Ta35JRk

This still cracks me up. Couldn’t resist sending it again for back to school week.

Make it a great day.

Jake

This video has been shared on the FaceBox a few times lately:

http://youtu.be/pxBQLFLei70

I thought I would break down and share each of those lessons over the next week or so.

First lesson: If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.

He explains that making your bed starts your day off with a task accomplished and reminds you to take pride in getting the little things right.

Do you make the bed every day?

Do you have some positive task that you do every morning, first thing?

If not, find one. And do it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

You don’t have to plant weeds, they grow automatically. – Tony Robbins

I’ve been listening to a lot of Tony Robbins lately.

This is one his go to sayings.

He is reminding us all that negative thoughts and emotions don’t require purposeful cultivation and practice.

Negative thoughts grow automatically.

Without effort and discipline, they take over.

I really like the analogy of the mind as a garden.

What we plant and cultivate grows.

Without proper maintenance and management, the weeds take over.

Take an honest look at your “garden”.

Are there weeds that need to be pulled?

What are you planting?

What are you cultivating?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday’s eclipse created a very unique event – there was mostly positive posting on the FaceBox.

A unique physical phenomenon somehow reminded us all of both how small and how similar we all really are.

We came together and wondered outside and looked up with goofy looking glasses on.

We wondered at the site of the sun being covered up by the moon.

We posted on the line and showed others what we saw.

We shared the moment with those around us.

My hope is that we can remember moments like these.

Remember the togetherness and wonder and forget the fighting and dissension.

Make it a great day.

Jake

I would really like to go back to school. I would love it now. Fiona Apple

Back to school day at the Davis house.

We’ve been blessed with 3 kids who love school and so the first day of school is one of excitement (tinged with a little bit of nervousness).

Each year I am reminded to seek out that feeling for myself and those around me.

To seek out opportunities to learn.

To seek out opportunities to grow.

To seek out opportunities to make new friends.

As you get older, the responsibility shifts from your parents and the school system to the individual.

You are now solely responsible for whether or not and when you move on to the next grade.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/u3AXKjlH4rQ

Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own. H. Jackson Brown, Jr

Make someone else’s happiness more important than your own today.

Show them you appreciate them.

Forget about what you want.

Do something special.

Make it a great day.

Jake