Retired Adm. McRaven on making your bed and other life lessons from Navy SEAL training
For almost four decades, Admiral William McRaven served as a Navy SEAL. He oversaw the raid on Osama Bin Laden and ended his career as commander of all United States Special Operations Forces.
McRaven reflected on his SEAL training in a 2014 address to University of Texas graduates that went viral. The video of his speech has nearly 25 million views online and starts with the importance of a simple task: making your bed.
Admiral McRaven wrote a book based on that speech called "Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life... And Maybe the World."
He is now chancellor of the University of Texas system and joined "CBS This Morning" Friday to discuss James Comey's testimony, as well as the ten life lessons outlined in his book.
McRaven started off by saying he may be a "little biased" because he knows former FBI Director Comey, who appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday.
"So I can tell you I trust Jim Comey implicitly. I do not know the president so it's not a fair calculation but again it's unfortunate that we, the American people, even have to kind of go through this."
"I do not believe he would lie, no," McRaven said of Comey.
McRaven said the testimony was "difficult" for him to watch.
"This isn't necessarily about the FBI and it's not about the president, this is about the United States of America and what we value and what is important to us," he said.
Of Robert Mueller, who was appointed as the special counsel to investigate Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, McRaven said, "I think nobody is better positioned to do this than former [FBI] director Bob Mueller. One, he understands how the process works. He is also a man of incredible integrity and he will get to the bottom of it."
McRaven said that when he was writing the graduation speech that inspired his book, he actually had writer's block. So, he consulted his wife, who told him to write about something he knows.
"I said, 'Well I've been a Navy SEAL my whole life I don't know that students are going to want to hear about being a Navy SEAL." Again, she told him to write about what he knows.
He took her advice.
"I took SEAL training, which really is kind of life in about six months. You learn everything I think you need to learn in those six months. You learn how to fail, you learn how to be your best in your darkest moments, you learn the importance of making your bed."
The most important rule – don't quit.
Here are his ten lessons:
1. Start your day with a task completed.
2. You can't do it alone.
3. Only the size of your heart matters.
4. Life's not fair—drive on!
5. Failure can make you stronger
6. You must dare greatly
7. Stand up to the bullies
8. Rise to the occasion
9. Give people hope
10. Never, ever quit!
