One of the graduation speeches that’s trending on social media right now is from Naval Admiral William H. McRaven, who spoke to graduates at the University of Texas about lessons he learned from his basic SEAL training. If you have not already read his speech, I urge you to do so. Here is one of my favorites of the 10 lessons he shares:
The mud [during ‘Hell week’ training] consumed each man till there was nothing visible but our heads. The instructors told us we could leave the mud if only five men would quit—just five men and we could get out of the oppressive cold. Looking around the mud flat it was apparent that some students were about to give up. It was still over eight hours till the sun came up—eight more hours of bone chilling cold.
The chattering teeth and shivering moans of the trainees were so loud it was hard to hear anything and then, one voice began to echo through the night—one voice raised in song. The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm. One voice became two and two became three and before long everyone in the class was singing. We knew that if one man could rise above the misery then others could as well.
The instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept up the singing—but the singing persisted. And somehow—the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little tamer and the dawn not so far away. If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person—Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan—Malala—one person can change the world by giving people hope.
So, if you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud.
Here’s to changing the world.
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