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| website = [https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/admiral-william-h-mcraven/make-your-bed/9781455570249/ grandcentralpublishing.com]
| website = [https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/admiral-william-h-mcraven/make-your-bed/9781455570249/ grandcentralpublishing.com]
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📘 '''''Make Your Bed''''' is a concise self-help book by retired U.S. Navy admiral William H. McRaven that expands his 2014 University of Texas at Austin commencement address into ten everyday principles for resilience and leadership.<ref name="HBG9781455570249" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Adm. McRaven Urges Graduates to Find Courage to Change the World |url=https://news.utexas.edu/2014/05/16/mcraven-urges-graduates-to-find-courage-to-change-the-world/ |work=UT Austin News |date=16 May 2014 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> Drawing on SEAL training and operational experience, it offers brief, anecdote-driven chapters that translate military lessons into civilian habits and leadership practice.<ref>{{cite web |title=Make Your Bed (review) |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/NCO-Journal/Archives/2019/March/Make-Bed/ |website=Army University Press – NCO Journal |date=6 March 2019 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> The book is structured as ten short chapters—each built around one rule—and includes the text of the UT speech.<ref>{{cite web |title=Make your bed : little things that can change your life-- and maybe the world |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/Make-your-bed-%3A-little-things-that-can-change-your-life-and-maybe-the-world/oclc/992743501 |website=WorldCat |publisher=OCLC |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> It was published by Grand Central Publishing on 4 April 2017 and runs 144 pages in the first U.S. hardcover edition.<ref name="HBG9781455570249" /> The publisher bills it as a #1 “New York Times” bestseller.<ref name="HBG9781455570249" /> Trade reporting showed strong early sales—25.7k print units and #1 in Hardcover Nonfiction in its third week—scaling to 354k U.S. print copies by October 2017 and 811k by mid-2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=This Week’s Bestsellers: May 1, 2017 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/73473-this-week-s-bestsellers-may-1-2017.html |work=Publishers Weekly |date=28 April 2017 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=This Week’s Bestsellers: October 30, 2017 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/75224-this-week-s-bestsellers-october-30-2017.html |work=Publishers Weekly |date=27 October 2017 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=This Week’s Bestsellers: June 3, 2019 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/80326-this-week-s-bestsellers-june-3-2019.html |work=Publishers Weekly |date=31 May 2019 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref>


== Chapter summary ==
== Chapter summary ==
Line 46: Line 48:


🏁 '''10 – Never, ever quit!.'''
🏁 '''10 – Never, ever quit!.'''

== Background & reception ==

🖋️ '''Author & writing'''. McRaven is a retired four-star admiral who commanded U.S. Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014 and later served as chancellor of the University of Texas System from 2015 to 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=Admiral William McRaven |url=https://www.navy.mil/Leadership/Flag-Officer-Biographies/BioDisplay/Article/2235999/admiral-william-mcraven/ |website=United States Navy |date=2 February 2022 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Former Chancellors |url=https://www.utsystem.edu/offices/chancellor/former-chancellors |website=The University of Texas System |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> The book grew directly from his UT Austin commencement address and keeps its spare, imperative voice, with each rule illustrated by brief vignettes from SEAL training and operations; the publisher notes the original speech “went viral” with over 10 million views.<ref name="HBG9781455570249" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Adm. McRaven Urges Graduates to Find Courage to Change the World |url=https://news.utexas.edu/2014/05/16/mcraven-urges-graduates-to-find-courage-to-change-the-world/ |work=UT Austin News |date=16 May 2014 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> Structurally it comprises ten stand-alone chapters capped by a reprint of the speech, reinforcing a direct, anecdote-driven style aimed at practical takeaway.<ref name="MarmotTOC" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Make your bed : little things that can change your life-- and maybe the world |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/Make-your-bed-%3A-little-things-that-can-change-your-life-and-maybe-the-world/oclc/992743501 |website=WorldCat |publisher=OCLC |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> McRaven has since published additional trade books in a similar register, including ''Sea Stories'' (2019) and ''The Hero Code'' (2021).<ref>{{cite web |title=SEA STORIES (review) |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/william-h-mcraven/sea-stories-mcraven/ |website=Kirkus Reviews |date=21 May 2019 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Hero Code |url=https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/admiral-william-h-mcraven/the-hero-code/9781538719961/ |website=Hachette Book Group |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref>

📈 '''Commercial reception'''. The hardcover went on sale on 4 April 2017; within three weeks it hit #1 in Hardcover Nonfiction with weekly print sales of 25.7k units, according to ''Publishers Weekly'' and BookScan.<ref>{{cite news |title=This Week’s Bestsellers: May 1, 2017 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/73473-this-week-s-bestsellers-may-1-2017.html |work=Publishers Weekly |date=28 April 2017 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> It spent 34 weeks on ''Publishers Weekly’’s 2017 Hardcover Nonfiction list,<ref>{{cite news |title=The Bestsellers of 2017 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/75817-the-bestsellers-of-2017.html |work=Publishers Weekly |date=12 January 2018 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> and had sold 354k U.S. print copies by late October 2017, rising to about 811k by mid-2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=This Week’s Bestsellers: October 30, 2017 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/75224-this-week-s-bestsellers-october-30-2017.html |work=Publishers Weekly |date=27 October 2017 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=This Week’s Bestsellers: June 3, 2019 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/80326-this-week-s-bestsellers-june-3-2019.html |work=Publishers Weekly |date=31 May 2019 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> It also appeared repeatedly on ''The Washington Post’’s weekly nonfiction bestseller charts through summer 2017, reflecting broad retail momentum.<ref>{{cite news |title=Washington Post bestsellers: 30 July 2017 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/2017/07/27/87347708-72d2-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014_story.html |work=The Washington Post |date=27 July 2017 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref>

👍 '''Praise'''. ''The Wall Street Journal'' reviewed the book on publication, describing McRaven’s rules-based program as a brisk guide to refocusing daily discipline and leadership (“Reset Your Life in an Hour,” 3 April 2017).<ref>{{cite news |title=Reset Your Life in an Hour |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/reset-your-life-in-an-hour-1491261280 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=3 April 2017 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> The U.S. Army’s NCO Journal endorsed its plain style and practical emphasis, calling it “a blueprint for becoming not just a great leader, but a decent human being.”<ref>{{cite web |title=Make Your Bed (review) |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/NCO-Journal/Archives/2019/March/Make-Bed/ |website=Army University Press – NCO Journal |date=6 March 2019 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> A ''Financial Times'' column later highlighted the broader appeal of McRaven’s keep-it-simple approach to communicating life lessons to wide audiences.<ref>{{cite news |title=The world-changing power of making your bed |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a28fa3b7-9101-4b28-9417-27470eb883ca |work=Financial Times |date=5 October 2022 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref>

👎 '''Criticism'''. ''The Guardian’’s “Digested Read” lampooned the book’s military aphorisms and straight-line moralizing, suggesting its lessons can come off as pat or overliteral in civilian life.<ref>{{cite news |title=Make Your Bed… – digested read |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/30/make-your-bed-little-things-change-life-maybe-world-admiral-william-mcraven-digested-read |work=The Guardian |date=30 July 2017 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> A ''Washington Post'' feature questioned the universal value of bed-making as a happiness tactic, arguing the habit can be counterproductive for some—an implicit caution about one of the book’s signature prescriptions.<ref>{{cite news |title=Making your bed can change your life. Or it can bum you out. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/12/18/making-your-bed-and-changing-your-world/ |work=The Washington Post |date=18 December 2021 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> Even favorable notices have framed it as a slim, highly condensed program, emphasizing brevity alongside utility.<ref>{{cite news |title=Reset Your Life in an Hour |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/reset-your-life-in-an-hour-1491261280 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=3 April 2017 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref>

🌍 '''Impact & adoption'''. The publisher reports that McRaven’s original UT speech surpassed 10 million views, helping the book circulate as a graduation-gift staple and a shorthand for habit-first leadership.<ref name="HBG9781455570249" /> The message has also been referenced in public-sector leadership talks—for example, a 2019 U.S. SEC speech used McRaven’s ten lessons to frame entrepreneurial guidance.<ref>{{cite web |title=Start Off by Making Your Bed: Translating Military Lessons to Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/miller-translate-military-lessons-entrepreneurship |website=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |date=9 October 2019 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> The franchise extended to younger readers with the picture-book adaptation ''Make Your Bed with Skipper the Seal'' from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.<ref>{{cite news |title=William McRaven Adapts ‘Make Your Bed’ for Kids |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/william-mcraven-adapts-make-your-bed-for-kids/ |work=Kirkus Reviews |date=14 February 2021 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref>


== Related content & more ==
== Related content & more ==

Revision as of 11:59, 4 November 2025

"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, step up when times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden, and never, ever give up—if you do these things, then you can change your life for the better… and maybe the world!"

— William H. McRaven, Make Your Bed (2017)

Introduction

Make Your Bed
Full titleMake Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World
AuthorWilliam H. McRaven
LanguageEnglish
SubjectPersonal development; Leadership; Motivation
GenreNonfiction; Self-help
PublisherGrand Central Publishing
Publication date
4 April 2017
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover, paperback); e-book; audiobook
Pages144
ISBN978-1-4555-7024-9
Websitegrandcentralpublishing.com

📘 Make Your Bed is a concise self-help book by retired U.S. Navy admiral William H. McRaven that expands his 2014 University of Texas at Austin commencement address into ten everyday principles for resilience and leadership.[1][2] Drawing on SEAL training and operational experience, it offers brief, anecdote-driven chapters that translate military lessons into civilian habits and leadership practice.[3] The book is structured as ten short chapters—each built around one rule—and includes the text of the UT speech.[4] It was published by Grand Central Publishing on 4 April 2017 and runs 144 pages in the first U.S. hardcover edition.[1] The publisher bills it as a #1 “New York Times” bestseller.[1] Trade reporting showed strong early sales—25.7k print units and #1 in Hardcover Nonfiction in its third week—scaling to 354k U.S. print copies by October 2017 and 811k by mid-2019.[5][6][7]

Chapter summary

This outline follows the Grand Central Publishing hardcover edition (4 April 2017; ISBN 978-1-4555-7024-9).[1][8][9]

🛏️ 1 – Start your day with a task completed.

🤝 2 – You can't go 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!.

Background & reception

🖋️ Author & writing. McRaven is a retired four-star admiral who commanded U.S. Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014 and later served as chancellor of the University of Texas System from 2015 to 2018.[10][11] The book grew directly from his UT Austin commencement address and keeps its spare, imperative voice, with each rule illustrated by brief vignettes from SEAL training and operations; the publisher notes the original speech “went viral” with over 10 million views.[1][12] Structurally it comprises ten stand-alone chapters capped by a reprint of the speech, reinforcing a direct, anecdote-driven style aimed at practical takeaway.[8][13] McRaven has since published additional trade books in a similar register, including Sea Stories (2019) and The Hero Code (2021).[14][15]

📈 Commercial reception. The hardcover went on sale on 4 April 2017; within three weeks it hit #1 in Hardcover Nonfiction with weekly print sales of 25.7k units, according to Publishers Weekly and BookScan.[16] It spent 34 weeks on Publishers Weekly’’s 2017 Hardcover Nonfiction list,[17] and had sold 354k U.S. print copies by late October 2017, rising to about 811k by mid-2019.[18][19] It also appeared repeatedly on The Washington Post’’s weekly nonfiction bestseller charts through summer 2017, reflecting broad retail momentum.[20]

👍 Praise. The Wall Street Journal reviewed the book on publication, describing McRaven’s rules-based program as a brisk guide to refocusing daily discipline and leadership (“Reset Your Life in an Hour,” 3 April 2017).[21] The U.S. Army’s NCO Journal endorsed its plain style and practical emphasis, calling it “a blueprint for becoming not just a great leader, but a decent human being.”[22] A Financial Times column later highlighted the broader appeal of McRaven’s keep-it-simple approach to communicating life lessons to wide audiences.[23]

👎 Criticism. The Guardian’’s “Digested Read” lampooned the book’s military aphorisms and straight-line moralizing, suggesting its lessons can come off as pat or overliteral in civilian life.[24] A Washington Post feature questioned the universal value of bed-making as a happiness tactic, arguing the habit can be counterproductive for some—an implicit caution about one of the book’s signature prescriptions.[25] Even favorable notices have framed it as a slim, highly condensed program, emphasizing brevity alongside utility.[26]

🌍 Impact & adoption. The publisher reports that McRaven’s original UT speech surpassed 10 million views, helping the book circulate as a graduation-gift staple and a shorthand for habit-first leadership.[1] The message has also been referenced in public-sector leadership talks—for example, a 2019 U.S. SEC speech used McRaven’s ten lessons to frame entrepreneurial guidance.[27] The franchise extended to younger readers with the picture-book adaptation Make Your Bed with Skipper the Seal from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.[28]

Related content & more

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Load video
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UT Austin commencement address (19 min)
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References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Make Your Bed". Grand Central Publishing. Hachette Book Group. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  2. ↑ "Adm. McRaven Urges Graduates to Find Courage to Change the World". UT Austin News. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  3. ↑ "Make Your Bed (review)". Army University Press – NCO Journal. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  4. ↑ "Make your bed : little things that can change your life-- and maybe the world". WorldCat. OCLC. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  5. ↑ "This Week's Bestsellers: May 1, 2017". Publishers Weekly. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "This Week's Bestsellers: October 30, 2017". Publishers Weekly. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "This Week's Bestsellers: June 3, 2019". Publishers Weekly. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Make your bed : record & contents". Marmot Library Network. Buena Vista Public Library. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  9. ↑ "Admiral William H. McRaven — Title details (includes page count)" (PDF). Hachette Book Group. Grand Central Publishing. 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  10. ↑ "Admiral William McRaven". United States Navy. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  11. ↑ "Former Chancellors". The University of Texas System. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  12. ↑ "Adm. McRaven Urges Graduates to Find Courage to Change the World". UT Austin News. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  13. ↑ "Make your bed : little things that can change your life-- and maybe the world". WorldCat. OCLC. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "SEA STORIES (review)". Kirkus Reviews. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  15. ↑ "The Hero Code". Hachette Book Group. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "This Week's Bestsellers: May 1, 2017". Publishers Weekly. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  17. ↑ "The Bestsellers of 2017". Publishers Weekly. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  18. ↑ "This Week's Bestsellers: October 30, 2017". Publishers Weekly. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  19. ↑ "This Week's Bestsellers: June 3, 2019". Publishers Weekly. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  20. ↑ "Washington Post bestsellers: 30 July 2017". The Washington Post. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  21. ↑ "Reset Your Life in an Hour". The Wall Street Journal. 3 April 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  22. ↑ "Make Your Bed (review)". Army University Press – NCO Journal. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  23. ↑ "The world-changing power of making your bed". Financial Times. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  24. ↑ "Make Your Bed… – digested read". The Guardian. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  25. ↑ "Making your bed can change your life. Or it can bum you out". The Washington Post. 18 December 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  26. ↑ "Reset Your Life in an Hour". The Wall Street Journal. 3 April 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  27. ↑ "Start Off by Making Your Bed: Translating Military Lessons to Entrepreneurship". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  28. ↑ "William McRaven Adapts 'Make Your Bed' for Kids". Kirkus Reviews. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
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