Retired U.S. Navy admiral William H. McRaven encourages you to pursue your goals and change the lives of others by showing that success is a combination of individual willpower and mutual support.

In 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven gave the commencement address at the University of Texas.

While encouraging the students to improve the world, McRaven imparted many life lessons.

The retired admiral had learned these lessons during his Navy SEAL training – six months of runs, obstacles courses, calisthenics, and continuous harassment by veterans who wanted only the strongest to continue.

McRaven learned that success doesn't depend on social status, race, or religion. It's not how good your parents were or which school you attended that determines your future.

It's a combination of little actions and help from others that makes people successful.

The admiral's speech went viral on YouTube and McRaven went on to create a book.

In Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe the World, McRaven stresses that what defines great people is how they deal with life's unfairness.