I always find interviews with authors so interesting. William McRaven is a former Navy Seal Admiral who has written quite a few books, but one of his most famous books, Make Your Bed, is filled with basic lessons on life. 

McRaven writes: “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And, if you by chance have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”

In one of his interviews, he points out that every day we need to make decisions, sometimes moral decisions. His advice is to “Do what is honest, do what is noble, do what is dignified, do what is respectful. Do what you know to be right by the rank and file. You know what right looks like. You just have to do it.”

He was in charge of the raid to capture Osama bin Laden. He thinks that we have a real deficit in our country today.  “I think some of the poison in our politics today comes from the fact that we don’t have enough humility.”

I really love that. More humility.

The children’s version of Make Your Bed has clever rhymes about a seal called Skipper who goes off to navy seal training. 

“Skipper started each day by making his bed,
Take a little pride, his instructor said.

This teaches the values of doing things right.
It will help you later as you go through life.”

The illustrations are adorable and there are “10 Skipper Lessons”. Two books with core messages of honor, courage and commitment. Values needed today.

No wonder McRaven is a four-star admiral.