Ch10: Never, Ever Quit!
*These are just my thoughts and summary, all in my own words regarding this topic so I may omit some information that was taught in this book or course.
In this chapter, we learn to never, ever quit and to have resilience to difficult times in your life and to have persistence with your dreams, goals, and desires to be great and successful in life!
Admiral McRaven takes us to the first day of SEAL training as he and other 150 students stood before an officer yelling at them and setting expectations. The SEAL officer said that he will do everything in his power to make them quit. For the entire duration of the training, he said there will be lots of pain, harassment, embarrassment, and forcing them beyond their comfort zone and limit.
As an offer, the SEAL instructor gave all of them the option to ring this particular bell three times and this would end all the pain and discomfort they would eventually experience. Although as a caveat, he said that, "If you quit, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Quitting never makes anything easier."
The SEAL instructor succeeded in making at least 80% of them quit because there were only 33 of them remaining at their graduation event. Admiral McRaven says that, "Of all the lessons I learned in SEAL training, this was the most important. Never quit."
Then the story then changes its attention to this young Army Ranger that Admiral McRaven met in a hospital in Afghanistan, in which he found deep inspiration from than any other men and women he encountered in his military career.
His name was Adam Bates, a 19 year old soldier in his first combat mission and got to meet Admiral McRaven in the most unfortunate way. One night the Admiral received word that one of his men was rushed to the combat hospital after stepping a land mine in Afghanistan. Being in a leadership role, he had to visit his soldier to show support and strength. When he got there, he described his condition in such a gruesome and horrid way, yet accepting the fact that this is the reality of war. He said, "The soldier lay in the hospital bed, tubes extending from his mouth and chest; blast burns streaked up his arms and across his face. The blankets covering his body lay flat to the bed where his legs would normally have been. His life was no changed forever." The nurse said that Bate's legs were amputated for the sake of his survival. As Admiral McRaven approached and leaned over Adam, he started to wake up. The nurse suggested that this would be a good time to talk with him in sign language as he couldn't speak yet. The boy communicated, "I will be okay." After leaving the hospital Admiral McRaven said that he "could not help but cry." He recalled that out of all the people he met at the combat hospital, none of them complained. In fact, they were proud of their service as he described it, and even of this unlucky event, all they wanted to do was to get back in the field to be with their fellow soldiers. A year later as he visited the Seventy-fifth Ranger Regimental Change he got to meet Ranger Bates again, this time looking sharp dressed in his uniform and standing tall on his new prosthetic legs. He remembered him looking futile lying in the hospital bed, but now he saw him laughing and smiling, and enjoying the life he has with his fellow mates. As promised by Ranger Bates, he was going to ok, and he was! Admiral McRaven then ends this lesson on this chapter with, "Life is full of difficult times. But someone out there always has it worse than you do. If you fill your days with pity, sorrowful for the way you have been treated, bemoaning your lot in life, blaming your circumstances on someone or something else, then life will be long and hard. If, on the other hand, you refuse to give up on your dreams, stand tall and strong against the odds-then life will be what you make of it-and you can make it great. Never, ever, ring the bell!" For one final reminder, to sum up all the ten lessons he learned, the Admiral adds, "Remember... start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But if you take some risks, set up when times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift the downtrodden, and never, ever give up-if you do these things, then you change your life for the better... and maybe the world!"
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*These are just my thoughts and summary, all in my own words regarding this topic so I may omit some information that was taught in this book or course.
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Rapid Intake Summaries: Make Your Bed
Ch01: Start Your Day with a Task Completed
Ch02: You Can't Go It Alone Ch03: Only the Size of Your Heart Matters Ch04: Life's Not Fair - Drive On! Ch05: Failure Can Make You Stronger Ch06: You Must Dare Greatly Ch07: Stand Up to The Bullies Ch08: Rise to the Occasion Ch09: Give People Hope Ch10: Never, Ever Quit! BUY THE RAPID INTAKE SUMMARIES: MAKE YOUR BED EBOOK
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