Bear Grylls is chief ambassador to the World Scout Organization, a global family of around 31 million Scouts in 216 countries and territories. He is also Chief Scout in the UK. And he’s part of a long line of scouts who have gone on to change the world:
- Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon
- Franklin Roosevelt became the President of the United States
- Steven Spielberg is a world-famous director
- Paul McCartney and John Lennon went on to form the Beatles
And just last week, actor and entrepreneur Ashton Kutcher confirmed he is a Cub Scout leader for his son’s Scout den.
Kutcher says he was a Cub Scout and then a Boy Scout himself when he was younger. “Scouts had such a deep impact on my life. It sets you in a place where you feel self-sufficient, you feel prepared, you feel capable,” he says. “It’s a powerful thing. What’s amazing is in our pack, we have boys and girls, and it’s incredible, these kids are learning all of these values and skills that will serve them in life.”
Bear notes that many tenets of scouting life are principles he lives by:
Be prepared
One of the mottos of the scouts is ‘prepared for life’. “My old sergeant used to say that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” says Bear. “Having the right kit and knowing when to use it makes a big difference,” says Bear. “Can you put up your tent in the dark, against the clock?”
Being prepared takes effort – if you are training “you have to get out there and be prepared to suffer a little”, says Bear. If you are facing a mental task, know what questions you will have to answer, and rehearse.
Practice, practice, practice
“Like they say, the harder you practice, the luckier you become,” says Bear. “If you practice enough you will get proficient; if you practice a lot, you will become an expert.”
Bear says that visualization – rehearsing a task in slow motion, opens up new pathways in the brain so that when you do the challenge for real, it is as if the brain has already done the task before. Many sports stars have said that visualization – for example, visualizing scoring the winning goal – is the key to their success.
Be trustworthy
Being trustworthy means keeping your promises and keeping your word – doing something that you say you are going to do. “This is absolutely key to good friendships, good business relationships, and living a great life,” says Bear. “A trustworthy person doesn’t deal in lies and doesn’t’ reveal secrets,” he says.
Be loyal
“Loyalty takes strength, because so many people get swayed by the crowd,” says Bear. “Loyalty is something I prize. I like the line that goes ‘A good friend walks in when the rest of the world walks out.’”
