Admiral McRaven: A Framework for Success in Life by Greg Barden
Four-Star Admiral William Harry McRaven, who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command, delivered the commencement address at UT Austin in 2014 and provided10 lessons to use as tools when facing life’s challenges. He delivered those lessons in a manner that was influential and compelling. Through both hearing Admiral McRaven’s own experience, and my personal experience, I believe that he provided a proven and powerful framework for success in life. That framework revolves around many different principles, with an emphasis on ones such as discipline, resilience, and ownership. Though the personal experience and analogies Admiral McRaven used come from his training in the military, he stresses that this framework for success applies to everyone, because in his words, everyone’s struggles are similar.
One of the most important lessons Admiral McRaven taught us is discipline, using an example of making the bed every morning as a minimum standard. He argues that setting a goal as small as making the bed sets a positive tone every day by starting it with a win, building momentum towards accomplishing the day’s tasks and planting that seed of discipline with the small things. This lesson on discipline also highlights how bigger goals can be broken down into smaller, more achievable tasks. When I first heard this lesson in 2016, it resonated with me, and I put it to action. This helped me start building discipline and put me on a track towards removing me from the situation I was given and set me up for pursuing happiness and success in life. Today, I still use this tool to help maintain discipline; however, I also use it on days where I’m in a tough mental space and a small goal is all that’s needed to keep my head up and keep pushing forward. I can confidently say that this lesson has helped me build a foundation towards achieving many successes in my life.
Another equally important principle in this framework for success is resilience. Admiral McRaven states that sometimes people will fail, “no matter how hard [they] prepare, or how well [they] perform.” McRaven addresses the fact that failure and adversity are an inevitable part of life, and building resilience will help overcome any of life’s challenges. In my experience, this has been proven many times, whether it was going to work at a young age to find a solution to my family’s financial problems, preparing for months for a special operations pipeline only to get injured a couple weeks in, transitioning out of the Army, or going through a divorce. I have found it to be true that resilience is a key factor in achieving success in life because it strengthens my mental toughness in that I know that no matter what happens, whether in my control or not, I will keep pushing forward when others quit.
Some could say that this framework for success is not applicable to everyone, arguing that certain individuals are systemically given situations that set them up for failure, or prevent them from having the same opportunities as most people. However, resilience and ownership are universal concepts. All people have the choice of ownership and to start taking control of life, and there are many successful people from marginalized communities who were able to overcome great adversity by following these principles. In my own experience, I grew up very poor. We would spend some winter nights in Boston sharing one bed in all our hand – me – down winter clothing to stay warm because the gas bill couldn’t be paid. We’d go without meals, living off welfare and food stamps in Section 8 housing, in communities where there were drive-by shootings, other violence, and drug activity. I was raised by a single mother of 3, brought into this world and placed in a family and community of systemic victimhood. I know for a fact, that following Admiral McRaven’s principles, or even modifying them to fit specific circumstances, will provide a framework towards overcoming life’s struggles and achieving success. In fact, these actions will even influence others to do the same.
In conclusion, Admiral McRaven’s address provides a proven framework for overcoming life’s struggles and achieving success, that is founded in principles such as discipline, resilience, and ownership. From my own experience, I have seen how powerful these principles are and how they can have great effects on life and within a community. Furthermore, I truly believe that these principles are something that everyone in today’s society can use a refresher on, and they provide a path towards success on a broader scale, society as a whole.
