Self Help – By: Admiral William McRaven (129 pages)
Blurb: Never have I ever read a book with wisdom throughout the pages from front to back! Maybe a pearl of wisdom, here and there, but damn! I’ve read this book 2x, it’s tiny as hell, but I’ve cried 10x! This book is the real deal and I heard about it from one of my book friends. The admiral had given a commencement speech to the University of Texas in 2014 and me being from Texas, she thought I’d heard of it/him. Supposedly the speech was so inspiring it touched many lives that day and his words spread like wildfire. I hadn’t heard of the speech or the admiral but I researched right away and there you have it! The book was in my hands 2 days later and the rest is history.
Positives:
- Quick read
- Wisdom. Wisdom. Wisdom.
Negatives:
- A lot of “war talk” trigger warnings all over the place, to be sure!
Favorite Quotes: (so many but here’s a few)
“It is easy to blame your lot in life on some outside force, to stop trying because you believe fate is against you.”
Page 42
“In life you will face a lot of Circuses. You will pay for your failures. But, if you persevere, if you let those failures teach you and strengthen you, then you will be prepared to handle life’s toughest moments.”
Page 51
“I sometimes fell short of being the best, but I never fell short of giving my best.”
Page 53
“If you quit, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Quitting never makes things any easier.”
Page 99
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5
Parting Words: This book will only inspire you if you let it. This book came to me at a very difficult time in my life and I allowed the words to just wash over me. I can’t tell you how much it’s helped me because…there are no words. “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will reinforce that the little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And, if by chance you 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.”
Ronny Grant 