📚𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗗 (Summary)🛏️

A Navy SEAL’s simple secrets for success. The titular action of Make Your Bed (2017) is a subtle nod to the author’s key message. Collated from the life lessons he learned during his time as a Navy SEAL, Make Your Bed is an… MAKE YOUR BED Introduction How do you start your day? Do you have a routine or a certain thing you like to do to bring order and structure to your day? In my case, that means that every morning, I make my bed. It’s an integral part of my morning routine and the first thing I do to start my day. And that’s one thing I have in common with retired Navy SEAL Admiral William H. McRaven. McRaven learned the value of structure, routine, and simple things like making your bed in his basic training camp as a young man and it had a powerful impact on his life. And because he still lives by the rules that were taught to him during his career as a SEAL, McRaven knows firsthand how these principles can change your life for the better. That’s why he wants to share them with others: so that people who find their lives to be unfulfilling can learn to find joy in the simple things. And by that, McRaven really does mean the simplest things — even small tasks like making your bed. So, throughout this summary, we’re going to explore the life lessons that have served McRaven well and learn how you can apply them to your own life.

Chapter 1: Make Your Bed It’s only fitting to begin our first chapter with the book’s titular command, so without further adieu, let’s dive right in! During his basic training program in Coronado, California, McRaven was taught two things out of the gate: always make your bed and always make it immediately after you get out of bed. This might seem like an overly simplistic command — indeed, perhaps so simplistic that it’s not worth doing — but McRaven soon learned that this was precisely the point. And here’s why: if you’ve ever been to college, you know that a horde of young people living on their own for the first time can quickly become chaotic. It also quickly shows your true colors as people begin to discover who was taught to be responsible and organized and who arrived at college without so much as the basic skill of doing your own laundry. The same is true for the Navy. However, these environments are separated by several key differences, including the fact that at college, you can get away with wearing your underwear inside out instead of washing it. You can leave your bed unmade for days and leave your dorm littered with potato chip packets and candy wrappers. And because your parents aren’t there to correct you, you can get away with it until you grow up and get some common sense. But that doesn’t fly in the Navy! As McRaven quickly learned, the ability to obey basic tasks and form a good persona; and hygiene habits say a lot about your character as a person. It also says a lot about your ability to represent your country and its Navy. And that’s why it’s vitally important to start your day with simple but necessary tasks like making your bed.

However, many of McRaven’s compatriots disagreed. It wasn’t clear whether that was because they hadn’t been required to make their beds at home or because they thought the task wasn’t important enough. But one way or another, many of them forgot or willfully ignored this direction altogether. As a result, their commander required anyone who failed to make their bed to complete “the sugar cookie challenge.” That might sound tasty and delicious — after all, who doesn’t love sugar cookies! — but don’t be fooled! The sugar cookie challenge involved a cadet diving into the frigid Pacific Ocean, then rolling around in the scorching sand until they were covered in shimmering sandy “cookie crumbs.” This unpleasant mix of incompatible sensations was extremely uncomfortable, but it might not be so bad if you got to wash off, right? Wrong. Cadets who were “sugar-cookie’d” had to stay like that for the rest of the day, performing all of their usual drills and tasks with the hot, gritty sand under their clothes — and being disciplined if they appeared to wilt under the discomfort. As you can imagine, this served as a painful reminder to cadets that they should always make their beds. Fortunately, however, you don’t have to complete the sugar cookie challenge — you just get to read about it and use this example to motivate you to make your bed on your own. And if you still find yourself wondering why making your bed is important, let’s put it this way: as you can see from McRaven’s example, accomplishing a simple task is a great way to infuse your day with accomplishment and motivation. If you start your morning by doing something that brings order, structure, and cleanliness, it sets a good tone for the day and communicates to your subconscious that you want those same things for your mind. So, what do you have to lose? Start the day by making your bed!

Chapter 2: Rely on Your Buddy McRaven’s time as a Navy SEAL also taught him another valuable lesson: he learned that you can’t make it in life without a buddy who has your back. Because SEALs — much like the Army or the Marines or any other defense organization — are united against a common enemy, it’s important to avoid petty in-fighting and competition that could tear the unit apart from the inside. McRaven learned that in life, as in the Navy, if you want to fight together, you have to look out for each other. Unfortunately, however, McRaven learned this through painful first-hand experience when an ordinary parachute jump resulted in unexpected and disastrous consequences. This occurred when another SEAL’s parachute collided with McRaven’s, disrupting the author’s flight and causing his parachute to get twisted. Unfortunately, it twisted around his leg before it deployed. This meant that the sheer pressure of gravity acted not only on McRaven’s parachute but on his leg as well, and the pull was so strong that it shattered McRaven’s pelvis and disconnected his stomach muscles from their very bones. I think it’s pretty safe to say that McRaven experienced unimaginable pain in this instance — pain that left him severely injured and damaged his career as a Navy SEAL. Under these circumstances, no one would have blamed him if he had succumbed to despair. In fact, if he had allowed it to do so, his story might have ended very differently. Perhaps the necessity of pain medication might have led him to develop an addiction. Perhaps he might have spent the rest of his life wallowing in his misfortune. And indeed, either path would have been easy to take; McRaven was certainly tempted by those prospects. But even though his SEAL “buddy” hadn’t looked out for him that day, ensuring that McRaven was safely out of the way before taking his own plunge, the author had another life partner who was there for him: his wife Georgeann. She definitely had his back and she stuck by him through his long and painful road to recovery. To this day, McRaven credits his recovery — and the trajectory of his future — to Georgeann and her support, acknowledging that he would have given up without her. So, this story goes to show that you really can’t make it in life without a buddy who has your back. Make sure you find a good one.

Chapter 3: Failure is an Opportunity Have you ever failed an important test or a job interview and said, “Woo-hoo, I’m so glad I failed!” Probably not, right? That’s because nobody views failure as a good thing; if we had our way, we would all win all the time. But as you’ve probably already noticed, that’s not really how life works. However, that doesn’t mean you should give up when you inevitably fail! Instead, you should try applying the life lesson McRaven has learned firsthand and live as though failure is an opportunity. Because as contradictory as it sounds, the truth is that failure is indeed a chance to learn, grow, and get better. McRaven learned this the hard way as well when he was part of a diving team that somehow just never won. While practicing their Basic Underwater Demolition drills, McRaven’s team always came in last. And if you thought the sugar cookie punishment was bad, just wait until you hear what losers had to endure! The price for finishing last was “competing” in The Circus. This exercise was not optional and it was meant to be so grueling as to inspire many hopeful SEALs to give up and drop out of the program. When you think about it, that’s pretty scary for a program that’s already branded as the most intense unit of defense our country has to offer. So, what could be too grueling for the best of the best? The Circus is an intense, non-stop, two-hour drill of physical endurance exercises at the end of the day. As you can imagine, it’s not as if SEALs don’t spend all day every day completing intense workouts, so by this point in the day, most people have nothing left to give. They definitely don’t have the strength to withstand two hours of brutal harassment from their commanders who are literally screaming at them to give up.

But that’s the entire point of the exercise. The SEAL commanders are smart enough to know that if you can’t hack the Circus, you can’t make it as a SEAL. So, they want to ensure that only the strongest and most committed survive. McRaven knew that and he knew it was going to be tough. But he also knew that he had to be tougher than anything he was going to face. So, he made up his mind that he wouldn’t be afraid of the Circus and that he would win, no matter what. And that’s exactly what he did. He didn’t want to fail and go through the Circus, but he knew that this was an opportunity that would make him better. So, he used it as a chance to grow, and his swimming time started to improve. This experience also helped him set an example that encouraged his fellow cadets, and before you knew it, the whole team’s time had improved! By the time their graduation endurance exercise rolled around, McRaven’s team was ready for the swimming portion. They were so ready, in fact, that they finished first. So, from this experience, McRaven learned an important life lesson: you can’t be afraid of failure and you can’t be afraid of the Circus. Because in life as in the SEAL program, you’re going to face a lot of both. So, you can’t let it destroy you. Instead, you can choose to view your failure as an opportunity and reap the rewards. And having seen them at work in his own life, McRaven believes that these lessons can be beneficial in life, leadership, and entrepreneurship; you don’t have to be a Navy SEAL to put these lessons to good use. Because there are going to be times when your business will fail. There will be times when your employees don’t appreciate you or when your competitors try to stab you in the back. There will be times when you have to do the same thing over and over again just to finally get it right. But don’t be afraid of those times.

Chapter 4: Swim With the Sharks What do you want most in life? What would you do to get it? If you were told that everything you wanted was just on the other side of a short body of water, would you jump right in and go for it? What about if that body of water was infested with sharks? That information would cause most of us to pause for a second and re-consider our options. Do we really want something badly enough to risk being eaten alive? Although this might sound like an overly scary hypothetical, McRaven and his unit were faced with the exact same situation as part of their basic training. (That’s right — Navy SEALs are so intense that swimming with sharks is just another day in the park for them). And to make matters even scarier, they had to accomplish this feat in the dark. On the occasion in question, McRaven and his buddy were told to swim four miles at night through pitch-black water. They would be unable to see anything. And they would most definitely be swimming with sharks. The only question was which kind.Their intel had already confirmed that these waters were heavily populated by hammerhead sharks and leopard sharks, but there was also a strong possibility that during this time of the year, the water would be infested with an influx of great whites. (Not scary at all, of course — just the literal inspiration for JAWS!) It would have been easy to turn back or say it wasn’t worth it. For many, it might have been easier to surrender their dream of being a Navy SEAL than it would have been to accept the risk of plunging into shark-infested waters. But McRaven knew that some goals are more important than fear or his personal comfort zone. So, he pushed past his fears and dove straight in.

And he argues that the same is true for us. You may not be called to literally swim with sharks but there may be times that your situation is so hostile, it feels as though you’re surrounded by people who want to rip you apart or eat you alive. But McRaven believes that you can’t allow those circumstances to bully you into giving up. As he has seen first-hand, courage will take us as far as we let it. So, dive in, swim with the sharks, and let your courage carry you! Chapter 5: Final Summary Most people reading this are unlikely to become Navy SEALs; rather, there’s a better chance that you’re going to be an entrepreneur or a leader of some kind. And although the life of a Navy SEAL might seem impossibly far removed from your own, McRaven argues that the life lessons he learned during his time in the Navy can benefit everyone. So, no matter what you plan to do with your life, take a page from McRaven’s book and let his secrets for success guide you. Start each day by making your bed. Find a buddy you can rely on and always have their back as you expect them to have yours. Don’t be afraid of getting sugar cookie, don’t be afraid of the Circus, and don’t be afraid to swim with sharks.

The perfect guide for learning how a simple mantra can change your life and give you the motivation to achieve your dreams. Think that you don’t have the tools to change your life? Marie Forleo is here to prove that you can… "Everything is Figureoutable" Summary Introduction Marie Forleo’s mother was a woman of many talents and knowledge. With money being tight, she had little money to replace items around the home or hire a repairman. So, she learned how to fix everything. Marie witnessed her mother do this for years always wondering how her mother was able to know so much. When her mother explained to Marie that “eve-rything is figureoutable” Marie lived by this phrase and even built a career around it. Three little words. Three little words that contain immeasurable power and can incite change. She wants you to realize the power this phrase can have in your life too. Once you realize that everything is figureoutable, you will never encounter a problem that you can’t overcome. Marie shares her story to teach you that you can accomplish your dreams and are deserving of success. So, continue reading to discover an inspiring story of one woman’s journey to success based on just three little words.

Chapter 1: The Lessons from a Tropicana Orange “The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply.” -Kahlil Gibran Marie Forleo watched her mother at a young age consistently fixing everything around the house. She was frugal to a fault and believed that she could accomplish everything that needed to be done. It was because of this belief that her mother saved enough proof of purchase to receive a free transistor radio from Tropicana Orange, and yes, it was in the shape of an orange. She loved that radio, it was her favorite thing in the world, but it was because of this Tropicana Orange radio that Marie began to believe that anything was “figureoutable.” It’s true. Reality can be a pain. We deal with the loss of loved ones, illnesses, break-ups, and losing jobs, we all struggle and go through hardships. But we get through those hard times whether we want to admit it or not, those situations are all figureoutable.

“No matter what you’re facing, you have what it takes to figure anything out and become the person you’re meant to be.” The road to figuring out the person you’re meant to be is rarely an easy one. It will take lots of hard work, growth, and self-doubt but if you stick with it, you can use the ideas in this book to accomplish your goals. Yes, this is a self-help book that can teach you everything you need to know, but it will be up to you to decide what you are going to do with the information. The possibilities of change are endless, whether it’s saving a relationship, becoming less stressed, or building a company, whatever change you wish to make in your life is up to you to make. The philosophy of “everything is figureoutable” isn’t meant to ignore the hardships of life, instead, it’s about teaching you how to tackle those hardships and use your fear of the unknown to guide you to your goals.

Chapter 2: Changing Your Mindset “You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” -Shirley Chisholm Just like learning most new skills in life, it won’t be easy. Whether it’s jumping on a scooter in Italy, building a business, or taking a dance class, learning something new not only takes patience but takes a change in mindset as well. You can accomplish the same mindset by applying the philosophy that everything is figureoutable, but this requires self-exploration, hu-mor, and patience. But, there’s a road map to help get you there. Train your brain for growth. Imagine your brain is like computer software. You click on one email and allow a flood of viruses to fill your computer. Your brain is similar, but with virus-es of negative thoughts. You may begin thinking that you can’t. You’re scared and you don’t know if you can accomplish your goals. These are viruses of doubt, fear, and confusion, and once you allow one to enter your mind, you start a vicious cycle of negative thoughts. This is normal. But it’s important to be aware of these viruses and destructive thoughts.

Destructive thoughts like “I know this already” and “This won’t work for me” are inevitable thoughts that many people experience. However, it’s important to be open-minded. Maybe you already know something, but there’s more to learn about it. You’ll never know if you immediately disregard opening yourself up to learn more. Additionally, you need to train your brain to think “how” this could work for you. You’re capable, and you can change your life, but training your brain to think about “how” this could work is imperative. Imagine if Leymah Gbowee thought that she couldn’t change the world. What if she allowed the destructive viruses in her head to control her actions? A war may have never ended if Leyhmah hadn’t believed in herself and her cause. Training your brain for growth can most certainly change the world. Leymah was from Monrovia, Liberia in 1972, she wanted to be a doctor around the time the civil war hit and she and her family became refugees. Now a mother and the victim of abuse by soldiers, Leymah knew she had to make a change for peace. 

In 2003 she helped organize the Liberian Mass Action for Peace where thousands of women marched wearing shirts with “We demand peace.” Never taken seriously, she was stubborn and consistent and eventually, they stormed the hotel where the peace delegates were and formed a human wall, refusing to let them out until peace was made. Threatening to curse the men by removing her clothing, she was suc-cessful in restoring peace and ending the war and went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in Africa. While Leymah’s story is extreme, you can apply the same philosophies to your own life. It all started with a small step. A small step to make a change, from recognizing a need for change to organizing a march and then a “sit-in,” Leymah didn’t allow negative thoughts to plague her mind. But, if you still need convincing, continue reading about the magic of belief.

Chapter 3: The Magic of Belief Alice: This is impossible The Mad Hatter: Only if you believe it is. -Alice in Wonderland (2010 film) The magic of belief may sound like a philosophy straight out of Alice in Wonderland, but there’s proof that believing in yourself is one of the first steps to changing your life and is crucial to adopting an “everything is figureoutable” philosophy. In her early twenties, Marie had graduated from college and was working a respectable job at the New York Stock Exchange. With a great salary, and insurance (something not offered when out on your own), she looked like she had it all, but still, she felt like a failure. Something wasn’t right. She eventually found herself in a church asking God to reveal a backup plan. “Is there something else out there? How do I just leave my cushy job without a backup plan?” After trying out many different careers like publishing, editing, etc. she stumbled upon a new profession called ‘coaching,’ focusing on helping people set and achieve goals. About building a future. This was it. This was exactly what she had been looking for. But who would listen to a 23-year-old give life advice? But, she believed in herself and pushed her doubts aside. She started a three-year program, studying at night and editing during the day. She even turned down a promotion from Vogue magazine and quit her editing job to begin to build a business while waiting tables and bartending to pay the bills. Two decades later, it’s safe to say that she made the right decision.

“Beliefs are the hidden scripts that run our lives.” Nothing exists in our world that does not first exist in our minds. Our universal gift is the power to bring imagination to reality. Separate us from animals and nature, we are born creators with the ability to shape and transform our world. Ever wonder how Buddhist monks can transcend pain? Part of their practice is believing that life is about suffering, but they can transcend that suffering and eventually achieve a cessation of the suffering allowing them to experience nirvana. Jerome Goodman, author of Anatomy of Hope wrote how researchers are finding that the mindset has tremendous power over neurochemistry and that even pain can be blocked out with a strong enough belief that endorphins get released in the process. Our brains can be tricked, and beliefs are the core of everything. They shape everything we are, everything we can do, and everything we represent. “Long term, your beliefs determine your destiny.” Our beliefs have the power to change the way we live but can be detrimental as well. If you believe you’ll never be good enough, then guess what? You’ll never be good enough. Take the famous story of Thomas Edison’s mother who, with tears in her eyes, relayed a note to Thomas telling her that he was far, far too intelligent when in actuality the note said that he was far, far too stupid. Children rely on adults to give them a starter set of beliefs. If we tell them they can’t do something, they’ll carry that belief with them long into the future.

The most powerful words in the universe are the words you say to yourself. Repetition is the key to habit-forming. If you say it enough times every single day, it’ll eventually become a solid foundational belief you rely on. Everything. Is. Figureoutable. This simple phrase, if repeated enough times, will eventually become the cornerstone of your reality. You’ll be amazed at what it can do for you. Chapter 4: Eliminate Excuses “The worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves” -Richard Bach “Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Only assholes do that.” -Haruki Murakami How many times do you set an alarm a few hours earlier with plans to get up early, enjoy a nice cup of coffee, and maybe get in a workout, but end up hitting snooze until the last possible minute? But what about when you’re actually looking forward to something? You wake up early with no problem and sit around and wonder if you should just head out now and get an early start. How come it’s so effortless at times when other times it’s so difficult? The answers lie within. Yes. Within. We already have the answers. Our own minds are our biggest roadblocks. How many excuses do you make for not going to the gym or not applying for that dream job? “I can’t do this” is one of the biggest hindrances to success and can put us into a negative spiral that keeps us from doing the things. When we say “can’t” we really mean “won’t,” as we don’t want to. Changing our mindset from “can’t” to “won’t” forces us to take responsibility for our decision to not do something.

While there may be some extenuating factors that may make your situation more difficult, the end result is always a direct response to your own actions. Malala Yousafzai is a young woman from the Middle East fighting for women’s rights. When she was just fifteen the Taliban attempted to assassinate her to silence her. She was shot in the head and survived to continue fighting. We can learn a lot from Malala’s story. We may encounter trauma and obstacles that seem insurmountable, but what matters most is that we keep trying. One of Marie’s biggest accomplishments was when she had to go on a retreat in South America. She thought it was impossible, she could never afford it. But, she didn’t let her thoughts influence her actions. Instead, she successfully negotiated with the organizers to allow a payment plan, she went on that trip and ended up meeting the love of her life on that retreat. Had she allowed her excuses to control her actions, she would have never gone on that trip. There’s always something or someone to blame when things don’t go our way, but you are in control of your life. Don’t allow yourself to make excuses. One of the biggest excuses is not having enough time. We’re all crazy busy navigating life with family, friends, and jobs, it seems as if we never have time to get everything done. But, we all have the same number of hours in a day, it’s just up to you to decide how you use them. Take responsibility for your time and then use it wisely.

The second excuse is that you don’t have enough money. Today there are so many opportunities to earn more money. From working for apps like Uber, and Postmates, and dog-walking services, there are plenty of opportunities for a side hustle. If a second job doesn’t work, then sell some items. eBay and Facebook Marketplace are great places to list belongings that you can earn money from. The final excuse is not knowing where to start. We live in a digital age! There are so many resources online to learn something new. Need to change the oil in your car? YouTube shows you how! Obviously, changing your life won’t start with changing your oil, but you get the idea. You can learn anything through the power of the internet. There are countless excuses you can come up with to not get something accomplished. But if you keep doing this, then when do you think you’ll ever get around to accomplishing your dreams?

Chapter 5: How to Deal with the Fear of Anything “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” -Attributed to Marie Curie After getting excuses out of the way, there’s another obstacle to overcome, the F-word: fear. We all live with fear every day especially when it comes to fear of the unknown. But, Marie introduces her own acronym for FEAR to help overcome obstacles that seem scary. Face Everything and Rise. While visiting Sicily with Josh, Marie was attempting to learn to ride a scooter. It’s the best way to get around Italy and she didn’t want to take the easy way and ride on the back of Josh’s bike, she knew she would never become a better driver if she didn’t try to drive herself. Well, she crashed. A lot. But, she got back on the scooter and learned how to drive the damn thing. By the end of her vacation, she had overcome her fear of driving a scooter and had the time of her life. The lesson here is that we all wipe out. We all make mistakes. We all have our dumb moments. It’s all part of our growth. So, how do you overcome fear? Take action. Action is the antidote to fear. Imagine the emotions that come along with fear. You’re shaking, sweating, heart pumping fast, and adrenaline rushing through your body. You simply need to learn how to interpret these emotions. 

Many people interpret this fear as a reason to stop, to not keep going. But, in Steven Pressfield’s The Art of War, he stresses that the more scared we are of something, the more we realize how important it is to us. The more fear we have then the more sure we are in our belief that we must overcome that fear. Just like riding a scooter in Italy, Marie was afraid, but she knew the only way to overcome that fear was to get on and just do it. So how can we tame our fears and turn those fears into actions? Fear is never going to go away, it’s something that you are going to live with forever. When it comes to making big life decisions like moving or starting a business, or when it comes to smaller decisions like learning how to ride a scooter, fear is going to be there. If you find something terrifying you to the point of irrational fear, write it down. Then, write down the worst possible scenario that can happen if you face that fear. Rate the scenarios from 1-10 in terms of terribleness. Next, write down an action plan if those scenarios come true. Finally, you’ll want to write down the best-case scenarios as well. You’ll usually find the pros far outweigh the cons and help put the situation in perspective. This helps you calm down and rationalize the situation. So, whether you're riding a scooter or starting a business, just do it. Action is the only cure for fear, and you won’t ever accomplish your dreams if you allow fear to control your actions.

Chapter 6: Define your Dream “Everything’s in the mind. That’s where it all starts. Knowing what you want is the first step toward getting it.” -Mae West Ever wanted to pick up a new hobby? Maybe you want to travel the world or start a new business. Whatever your goals are, you have them for a reason. Perhaps it’s been a small thought in the back of your head that continues to resurface over the years. Why haven’t you just started? Easy. There’s usually one thing stopping us: indecisiveness. So what did Marie want to be when she grew up? She always thought she’d figure it out in college, but clearly, that didn’t happen. Living with a friend, working as a bartender and waitress, struggling to set up a business, and fighting anxiety, she was now working towards her dream job but she still felt incomplete. She craved creativity and found herself at the Broadway Dance Center for dance lessons. After a few minutes of fumbling around, she finally found a rhythm and felt confident, like this was right. She was indecisive at first, scared to take that first step of going to dance class, “what if I looked like a fool?” Indecisiveness is detrimental to your goals. You never know how you’ll re-spond to something until you try. You just have to know what you want, and that can seem im-possible at times. Marie wants to help guide you and help you figure out what you want the most.

Think about what you want most in life. Deep down you know you can achieve that want. You have the tools, you just need to learn how to use them. Take Laverne Cox for example. Raised as a boy in Alabama, Laverne knew that she was different and was frequently bullied for acting outside the norm of how young males should act. After a tumultuous childhood and an attempt at suicide, Laverne finally attended Alabama School of Fine Arts where she was able to express herself and wear women's clothing. Finally feeling comfortable in her skin, Laverne moved to New York and sent out over 500 postcards to casting directors. Now, Laverne has ap-peared on Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black and has won two Emmys. She now encourages oth-er trans actors to pursue their dreams regardless of the obstacles. Laverne had fear, but she de-cided that she knew what she wanted and she did everything she could to accomplish her goals. So decide on what you want out of life, and guess what? Write it down! Yes, write it down. Writing your goals down has proven to give you a 42% greater chance of achieving your goals than if you don’t. Write down your dreams. Post them on the fridge. Stuff them in your wallet. Look at it every single day and chances are, it’s gonna happen someday.

Chapter 7: Start Before You’re Ready “Are you ready?” Kalus asked finally. “No,” Sunny answered. “Me neither,” Violet said, “But if we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.” -Lemony Snicket, The Ersatz Elevator What’s your calling? What do you dream about doing? This may be a difficult question, but that’s normal. Maybe your thoughts are flooded and you can’t focus on just one dream. That’s normal! You see, after her stint in taking dance classes, Marie was told that her passion and effort in dancing had shown and that she could be a good teacher. After much consideration, she realized she would regret never having tried, so she tried out to become a dance teacher. And guess what? She became a substitute dance teacher and during this time she had an epiphany! She was a multi-passionate entrepreneur. She was doing a multitude of jobs, all of which she was passionate about. She wasn’t doing life the “typical” way with just one career. But why do we think our calling has to be just one thing? We worked on that one thing for fifty years and then retired and acted like it didn’t mean anything. She wanted more than that. Life is far too unstable to rely on just one job to see them through to the end of their lives. Her epiphany gave her the strength to just do it.

You never feel ready to do the important things you’re meant to do. For example, Marie caught the eye of an MTV producer during one of her dance classes and was asked to interview with his boss. She wasn’t ready. At least that’s what she initially thought. But, she pushed those thoughts to the side and she got the gig. This choice led to even more gigs for brands like Nike, that one small step led to an abundance of opportunuity. Marketing herself, building an image, she was able to do it all before she was ready. Stop lying to yourself by telling yourself that you aren’t ready. It takes one small step. All progress begins with one brave decision. To help you get there, break down your dream into manageable chunks. Say, your dream is to travel the world. Start with a surfing trip to California. Don’t procrastinate and just do it. Make a commitment and follow-through, you literally have nothing to lose. It’s all about growth, and making one small step towards progress is better than staying stagnant and accomplishing nothing. Speaking of growth, your growth and progress should be celebrated and valued. Reach out for help when you need it, but keep moving forward. The growth zone will eventually be-come your comfort zone and you’ll wonder why you ever felt that fear in the first place.

Chapter 8: Refuse to be Refused How do you get what you want? Refuse to be refused. Don’t take no for an answer when you know that you are capable of exceeding expectations. As mentioned previously, Leyhman Gbowee didn’t refuse to quit fighting for peace in Africa, and you shouldn’t refuse to get what you want either. Margaret Thatcher once said, “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” This can be applied to the time Marie found a space for rent that was perfect for her business, so she put in an offer. However, the owner rejected the offer, citing that her business wasn’t stable enough, so they were going to give the space to a tech company. But she didn’t give up. Instead, she wrote a letter detailing to the owner the thirteen-year success of her business and what she intended to do with that space. She then hand-delivered the letter, and a few days later received an email stating the owner wanted to meet with her ASAP. She went into the meeting with plans to state the facts and she walked out with a lease. She refused to be refused.

Many people struggle with this because of fear. Fear of the critics telling you that you aren’t good enough, that your dreams are only that...dreams. The critics can say hurtful things to try and bring you down, it happens. But, you can’t let it get you down and you can’t let what others say affect you. The fact is that you are already being judged. You are criticized all the time for what you own, what you wear, what you do in your spare time, etc. So, don’t let the critics get to you. Let the hate fuel your fire and force you to become more productive than ever. It’s also important to remember that everything you love is despised by someone else. Pleasing everyone all the time is impossible and is a pretty terrible way to live. Don’t let the opinions of others get to you, the more you care about what others think, the more they own you. Live life according to your standards, not others. Determine which criticism is useful and which is useless. Constructive advice can be a great tool to help you build and grow, so listen to others when they are being helpful. It hurts to hear the truth at times, but it can help you immensely. On the other hand, ignore the haters. Ignore those who spew hate just to put others down. There’s a difference between constructive criticism and straight-up criticism, learn which advice to take and which to ignore.

Chapter 9: Final Summary: Everything is figureoutable. One last example of this is when Marie needed a trip to Barcelona to save her relationship but encountered an obstacle when they arrived at the airport too late and couldn’t check their luggage. Trip ruined. But, Marie didn’t allow it. Instead, she went to the airport shop and bought a duffle, and stuffed every last bit of their belongings into the bag. They ditched the big suitcase and made the plane on time. It worked and it saved their relationship. You see, everything is figureoutable, you just need to learn how to use the tools you already have inside of you. If you’re thinking that there’s not enough space in the world for you to influence others. Then maybe this story will change your mind. Josh was a health nut, but Marie wasn’t into the health trend until she met Kris Carr, a cancer thriver who believed in the benefits of healthy superfoods and juices. When she talked to Josh about Kris, he asked her why she had never listened to him when he shared the same sentiments. Sometimes you just need to hear it from someone else, and that someone could be you. Just because others are doing the exact same thing you are doing doesn’t mean you can’t put your own unique spin on it. You do have a chance to change the universe. You can change lives and you can make a difference.