10 Lessons That Can Change the World (Inspired by Admiral McRaven)
🌍 10 Lessons That Can Change the World (Inspired by Admiral McRaven)
This post is going to be a little different than my usual.
Because this one… this one comes from a message that shook me awake.
Years ago, I stumbled across a speech by Admiral William
McRaven — a graduation address for the class of 2014. It was powerful. It was
raw. It was exactly what I needed at the time.
It wasn’t sugar-coated. It wasn’t another “rah-rah” feel-good
pep talk. It was ten clear, simple, unforgettable lessons about how to change
the world.
I’ve listened to that speech more times than I can count.
I’ve shared it with strangers. I’ve tucked it away in my journal — not just
anywhere in my journal, but in that special journal where I write down
the messages that change me at my core.
I wrote it down on August 13th, 2022. And now, three years
later, I want to honor that anniversary by sharing it with you. Because these
lessons? They’re not just “nice ideas.” They’re anchors. They’re ways to live.
Here’s the link to the condensed version of the speech (about
16 minutes long). I highly recommend you bookmark it and listen when you can —
not as background noise, but with your whole attention. It’s worth every
second:
🎥 Admiral McRaven Leaves
the Audience SPEECHLESS | One of the Best Motivational Speeches
10 Ways to Change the World 🌟
Here’s my reworded, soul-centered version of Admiral McRaven’s
list:
1. Begin
Each Day with a Small Victory
2. Seek Out
Companions for the Journey
3. Honor the
Worth of Every Person
4. Accept
Life’s Unfairness and Keep Moving
5. Fail
Forward, Fail Often
6. Dare to
Take Bold Risks
7. Stand
Tall Against Bullies
8. Rise
Strong in the Hardest Moments
9. Be a
Light for the Brokenhearted
10. Refuse to
Quit—Ever
Now, let’s go deeper into each one.
I’m going to tell you what each means to me, the ways I’ve tried to live them,
and why they’ve stayed with me all this time.
1. Start the day with a task
completed/ Begin Each Day with a Small Victory
For me, that task is making my bed. Just like he said.
It sounds so small, doesn’t it? But here’s the thing — I don’t
do it for anyone else. I do it for me.
There’s something about walking back into your room and seeing
it in order. The covers smoothed out; the pillows fluffed. Even if my dogs or
my kid rumple it again later (and they always do), I still do it every morning.
I remember a time I skipped it for a week — and every time I
glanced into my room, it felt… off. A little chaotic. Like the day had already
gotten away from me before it began.
Making the bed became my way of saying: I can create order. I can start my
day with a win.
If you’ve never tried it, give it one week. See if that small
moment shifts your mindset. Because when the first thing you do is complete
something — no matter how tiny — it sets the tone for the rest of the day.
2. Find someone to help you
through life/ Seek Out Companions for the Journey
The truth? No one gets through this life alone.
I have people who have stood in my corner on my hardest days —
the kind of people who don’t just show up for the celebrations but for the
ugly, messy moments when everything is falling apart.
One night, years ago, I was going through something deeply
personal. I didn’t ask for help, but a friend called and just sat with me on
the phone and we watched tv. No advice, no fixing — just presence.
That moment cemented something for me: we need each other.
If you walk through life convinced you can (or should) do it
all alone, you’ll eventually burn out. We are wired for connection, for mutual
support, for shared burdens. Find your people. And be that person for someone
else.
3. Respect everyone/ Honor the
Worth of Every Person
You never really know what someone is carrying.
That’s the thing: you can’t possibly know the whole of
someone’s story. And judging without knowing the truth doesn’t make them
smaller — it makes you smaller.
Respect costs you nothing. Grace costs you nothing.
Live by that old saying: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
And until someone truly shows you, they don’t deserve your respect, give it
freely.
4. Life is not always fair, move
forward/ Accept Life’s Unfairness and Keep Moving
I’ve had my share of moments when life felt like it was
working against me — where I was doing all the “right” things and still ended
up hurt, broke, or blindsided.
I remember once being passed over for something I had poured
my whole heart into. It stung. Badly.
But here’s the truth: staying in that place of bitterness doesn’t change the
outcome.
Life will deal you unfair hands. That’s just the way it is.
What matters is whether you pick yourself up and keep moving.
5. Don’t be afraid to fail often/
Fail Forward, Fail Often
I used to be terrified of failure. I thought failing meant I
wasn’t good enough, smart enough, strong enough.
Then I started seeing it differently: failure is just data.
It’s a lesson pointing you toward what doesn’t work so you can find what does.
I once launched something I was sure would succeed —
and it flopped. Completely. I was embarrassed, but it taught me more than any
success could have. It helped me to go in a new direction.
Now I see failure as part of the path, not the end of it.
6. Take risks/ Dare to Take Bold
Risks
Fear will tell you to stay safe. To avoid stepping out. To
keep doing what you’ve always done.
But here’s the thing: you can be scared and still do it
anyway. True courage isn’t the absence of fear — it’s moving with fear
still in your chest.
I remember a time I said yes to something that terrified me —
my voice shook, my palms were sweaty, but I did it. Unfortunately, this was my
grandfather’s eulogy. The room was full, I stood at the podium. I cried during
as the words came out speaking of the man I loved so much. My heart broke but I
did it. I honored him the best way I could.
Sometimes the risk is the bridge to the place you’re meant to
be.
7. Face down the bullies/ Stand
Tall Against Bullies
Bullies aren’t always playground kids. Sometimes they’re grown
adults who prey on the vulnerable because they know they can.
I’ve never gone looking for a fight — but I’ve finished a few.
Not out of pride, but out of principle.
Once, someone came after a friend of mine who didn’t have the strength to stand
up for themselves. I stepped in. It wasn’t pretty, but it sent a message: you
don’t get to tear people down without consequence. That was one of those
moments I said everything I had been holding in. All of it was truth and cut to
the bone.
If you can stand, stand. Even if your voice shakes.
8. Step up when the times are the
toughest/ Rise Strong in the Hardest Moments
When the darkness hits — whether it’s loss, depression, fear —
the temptation is to shrink, to stop, to give in.
I’ve been there. I’ve had days where just getting out of bed
felt like climbing a mountain. But those are the moments when stepping forward
matters most.
It’s not about doing everything. It’s about doing something.
One step. One call. One decision that says: I will not disappear.
9. Lift up the downtrodden/ Be a
Light for the Brokenhearted
Sometimes you’ll know exactly what someone’s going through.
Other times you won’t. But kindness has power either way.
A kind word. A hug — if they welcome it. A meal. A note left
on their desk. These small things ripple further than you might ever see.
I recently had to talk to a close friend who is battling
cancer. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time they have battled this. All I could
do I remind them of the impact they have made, what they meant to me and how
having them has been a blessing to many people.
You don’t have to fix someone’s whole world. Just be a light
in their darkness.
10. Never give up/ Refuse to
Quit—Ever
This one… it’s the hardest and the most important.
Quitting is easy. Walking away when it’s tough is easy. But
living with the knowledge that you didn’t give it everything you had? That’s
hard.
There was a point in my life where giving up would have been
the most logical choice. No one would have blamed me. But I didn’t. And because
I didn’t, I’m here — writing this to you.
Anniversary Reflection
On August 13th, 2022, I wrote these 10 lessons down in my
journal. Not in the middle, not as a side note, but in the pages I save for the
truths I want to keep for the rest of my life.
Three years later, they’re still guiding me.
Some of them I was already living before I heard McRaven’s speech. Others
challenged me to grow in new ways. But together, they’ve been a steady compass
— especially on the days I feel lost.
So, here’s my hope for you: don’t just read this list and move
on. Let it sink in. Try one thing. Then another. See how it shifts the way you
move through the world.
Changing the world might feel impossible. But maybe it starts
with something as small as making your bed.
Affirmation 🌿
"I will begin each day with intention, walk
in kindness, rise in courage, and never give up on the good I can bring to this
world."
Bible Verse 📖
"Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in
due season we will reap, if we do not give up." —
Galatians 6:9
🎵 Why I
Chose This Song
"Waiting on the world to change" by John Mayer
So, you may not be able to change the world entirely but that
doesn’t mean you can’t be the change. Even it starts in your house, family or
neighborhood. Don’t think global. Think local. You can be that!
With hope in my heart for a better tomorrow,
Angel
🌟 Let’s
Stay Soulfully Connected
✨ You’re part of something sacred here.
#AMCRiseandThrive #bethechange
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