Top 35 William H. McRaven Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.”

— William H. McRaven

Featured in: Inspirational Quotes for Work, Short Inspirational Quotes, Common Sense Quotes, Excellence Quotes, Work Ethic Quotes

2. “If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle.”

— William H. McRaven

Featured in: Collaboration Quotes

3. “I realized that life is actually pretty simple. Help as many people as you can. Make as many friends as you can. Work as hard as you can. And, no matter what happens, never quit!”

— William H. McRaven

4. “I think the best way to get a good night sleep is to work hard throughout the day. If you work hard and, of course, work out.”

— William H. McRaven

5. “You cant change the world alone – you will need some help – and to truly get from your starting point to your destination takes friends, colleagues, the good will of strangers and a strong coxswain to guide them.”

— William H. McRaven

6. “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.”

— William H. McRaven

7. “True leaders must learn from their failures, use the lessons to motivate themselves, and not be afraid to try again or make the next tough decision.”

— William H. McRaven

8. “You can’t avoid The Circus. At some point we all make the list. Don’t be afraid of The Circus.”

— William H. McRaven

9. “You cannot paddle the boat alone. Find someone to share your life with. Make as many friends as possible, and never forget that your success depends on others.”

— William H. McRaven

10. “Sometimes no matter how hard you try, no matter how good you are, you still end up as a sugar cookie. Don’t complain. Don’t blame it on your misfortune. Stand tall, look to the future, and drive on!”

— William H. McRaven

11. “At some point we will all confront a dark moment in life. If not the passing of a loved one, then something else that crushes your spirit and leaves you wondering about your future. In that dark moment, reach deep inside yourself and be your very best.”

— William H. McRaven

12. “Without courage, men will be ruled by tyrants and despots. Without courage, no great society can flourish. Without courage, the bullies of the world rise up. With it, you can accomplish any goal. With it, you can defy and defeat evil.”

— William H. McRaven

13. “If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.”

— William H. McRaven

14. “Hope is the most powerful force in the universe.”

— William H. McRaven

15. “Hope is not a strategy.” But.”

— William H. McRaven

16. “Life is a struggle and the potential for failure is ever present, but those who live in fear of failure, or hardship, or embarrassment will never achieve their potential. Without pushing your.”

— William H. McRaven

17. “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.”

— William H. McRaven

18. “It is easy to blame your lot in life on some outside force, to stop trying because you believe fate is against you. It is easy to think that where you were raised, how your parents treated you, or what school you went to is all that determines your future. Nothing could be further from the truth. The common people and the great men and women are all defined by how they deal with life’s unfairness:.”

— William H. McRaven

19. “Making my bed correctly was not going to be an opportunity for praise. It was expected of me. It was my first task of the day, and doing it right was important. It demonstrated my discipline. It showed my attention to detail, and at the end of the day it would be a reminder that I had done something well, something to be proud of, no matter how small the task.”

— William H. McRaven

20. “But let me tell you something,” he said. “If you quit, you will regret it for the rest of your life.”

— William H. McRaven

21. “Life is a struggle and the potential for failure is ever present, but those who live in fear of failure, or hardship, or embarrassment will never achieve their potential. Without pushing your limits, without occasionally sliding down the rope headfirst, without daring greatly, you will never know what is truly possible in your life.”

— William H. McRaven

22. “They all understood that life is hard and that sometimes there is little you can do to affect the outcome of your day.”

— William H. McRaven

23. “Hope is the most powerful force in the universe. With hope you can inspire nations to greatness. With hope you can raise up the downtrodden. With hope you can ease the pain of unbearable loss. Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a difference.”

— William H. McRaven

24. “Throughout history, there have always been warriors who understood the risks of serving. They understood that there was a chance their lives could be lost in the pursuit of a greater goal. They understood that they could perish while trying to protect others.”

— William H. McRaven

25. “Who Dares Wins.”

— William H. McRaven

26. “Quitting never makes anything easier.”

— William H. McRaven

27. “The common people and the great men and women are all defined by how they deal with life’s unfairness: Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela, Stephen Hawking, Malala Yousafzai, and – Moki Martin. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, no matter how good you are, you still end up as a sugar cookie. Don’t complain. Don’t blame it on your misfortune. Stand tall, look to the future, and drive on!”

— William H. McRaven

28. “Our goal, which we believed to be honorable and noble, gave us courage. And courage is a remarkable quality. Nothing and nobody can stand in your way. Without it, others will define your path forward. Without it, you are at the mercy of life’s temptations. Without courage, men will be ruled by tyrants and despots. Without courage, no great society can flourish. Without courage, the bullies of the world rise up. With it, you can accomplish any goal. With it, you can defy and defeat evil.”

— William H. McRaven

29. “None of us are immune from life’s tragic moments. Like the small rubber boat we had in basic SEAL training, it takes a team of good people to get you to your destination in life. You cannot paddle the boat alone. Find someone to share your life with. Make as many friends as possible, and never forget that your success depends on others.”

— William H. McRaven

30. “I realized that the past failures had strengthened me, taught me that no one is immune from mistakes. True leaders must learn from their failures, use the lessons to motivate themselves, and not be afraid to try again or make the next tough decision.”

— William H. McRaven

31. “The day you no longer believe you have something to prove, the day you no longer believe you must give it your all, the day you think you are entitled to special treatment, the day you think all your hard days are behind you, is the day you are no longer the right leader for the job.”

— William H. McRaven

32. “Show up early. Work hard. Stay late. Have a plan. Deliver on your promises. Share the hardships with the employees. Show that you care. Admit your mistakes. And – did I mention? – work hard.”

— William H. McRaven

33. “He often challenged my decisions, forcing me to defend my position and thereby ensuring a better outcome. But when I made a decision, he accepted it as his own and supported me completely.”

— William H. McRaven

34. “To the warrior, peace has no memories, no milestones, no adventures, no heroic deaths, no gut-wrenching sorrow, no jubilation, no remorse, no repentance, and no salvation. Peace was meant for some people, but probably not for me.”

— William H. McRaven

35. “That courage is within all of us. Dig deep, and you will find it in abundance.”

— William H. McRaven

36. “Be decisive. Don’t take too much counsel of your fears. Be thoughtful, but not paralyzed by indecision.”

— William H. McRaven

37. “I know that anything I achieved in my life was a result of others who have helped me along the way.”

— William H. McRaven

38. “To live above the common level of life: to be noble when others may be unprincipled, to be honorable when others may be shameless, to be men and women of integrity when others may resort to dishonesty. What I found in leading an being led by great officers from all branches of service was the importance of character and having a personal code of honor to help guide you through the difficult times.”

— William H. McRaven

39. “I’ve learned that life has a mystical aspect to it. As a man of faith, I have felt the hand of God too many times not to know that it exists. But when you see his handiwork up close, when you examine all the possible outcomes and determine that only one outcome is possible – but then something else happens – that’s when you know there is more to life than meets the eye.”

— William H. McRaven