Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy The Odds by David Goggins.

5/5 rating. 356 pages.

Book #47 of 2021. Read May 30, 2021.

After reading this, I believe that David could get me to run through a brick wall. This man is one badass mutherfucker and if you have ever wanted to get motivation for anything, I have never read a book that does a better job in amply supplying it! Simply put, if you want to live a better life in any way, read this book!

David had about the worst imaginable upbringing. He was not going anywhere and was probably on the path to a life of misery and unfulfillment. Towards the end of high school, he finally realized that he needed to do something to change. He turned his life around before again falling into a similar trap. This second time, he lost over 100-pounds in 3 months in order to start SEAL training. His days were used up like this:

“Around 5 a.m., I’d take [the ASVAB study] book to my stationary bike where I’d sweat and study for two hours…After that I’d drive over to Carmel High School and jump into the pool for a two-hour swim. From there I hit the gym for a circuit workout that included the bench press, the incline press, and lots of leg exercises…I needed reps, and I did five or six sets of 100-200 reps each. Then it was back to the stationary bike for two more hours.”

This was only one of the absolutely insane physical challenges he overcame, as he also completed 4,030 pullups in under 24 hours and has run many 100-mile-plus races.

He is a complete stud, and a great role model for how to climb up from nothing in life. David certainly doesn’t sugar-coat anything and believes that we are totally in charge of how our lives are led, as the work we put in to become what we are is up to us.

As David says: “Don’t stop when you are tired. Stop when you are done.”

Go read this damn book and start living an uncommon life!

Quotes:

“We all have the potential to be so much more.”

“There will always be the 1 percent of us who are willing to put in the work to defy the odds.”

“Those raised in abusive households have an increased probability of being arrested as a juvenile by 53 percent. Their odds of committing a violent crime as an adult are increased by 38 percent.”

“Tell yourself the truth! That you’ve wasted enough time, and that you have other dreams that will take courage to realize, so you don’t die a fucking pussy.”

“Just another zombie selling his time on earth, going through the motions.”

“Food was my drug of choice and I always sucked up every last crumb.”

“‘In a society where mediocrity is too often the standard and too often rewarded,’ [the Navy SEALs Commanding Officer] said, ‘there is intense fascination with men who detest mediocrity, who refuse to define themselves in conventional terms, and who seek to transcend traditionally recognized human capabilities.”

“Was I willing to let my sorry present become a fucked-up future? How much longer would I wait, how many more years would I burn, wondering if there was some greater purpose out there waiting for me?”

“You cut corners and you are not gonna fucking make it…”

“This is not about changing your life instantly, it’s about moving the needle bit by bit and making those changes sustainable. That means digging down to the micro level and doing something that sucks every day.”

“This was war alright, but it wouldn’t be fought on some foreign shore. This one, like most battles we fight in life, would be won or lost in our own minds.”

“But sometimes the unexpected descends like chaos, and without warning even the bravest among us must be ready to take on risks and tasks that seem beyond our capabilities.”

“Choose any competitive situation that you’re in right now. Who is your opponent? Is it your teacher or coach, your boss, an unruly client? No matter how they’re treating you there is one way to not only earn their respect, but turn the tables. Excellence.”

“Whoever you’re dealing with, your goal is to make them watch you achieve what they could never have done themselves. You want them thinking how amazing you are. Take their negativity and use it to dominate their task with everything you’ve got. Take their motherfucking soul!”

“Very few people even bother to try to control the way their thoughts and doubts bubble up. The vast majority of us are slaves to our minds. Most don’t even make the first effort when it comes to mastering their thought process because it’s a never-ending chore and impossible to get right every time.”

“Physical challenges strengthen my mind so I’m ready for whatever life throws at me, and it will do the same for you.”

“At the same time, being worn the fuck down is the price of being hard and I knew if I quit, those feelings and thoughts wouldn’t just go away.”

“Because it’s the small sparks, which start small fires, that eventually build enough heat to burn the whole fucking forest down.”

“Before me was an opportunity, and if you give me an opportunity, I will break that motherfucker off!”

“I loved waking up at 5 a.m. and starting work with three hours of cardio already in the bank while most of my teammates hadn’t even finished their coffee.”

“That’s what getting up at the ass crack of dawn and putting out will do for you. It makes you better in all facets of your life.”

“The lesson: you never know who you’re affecting.”

“If you want to master the mind and remove your governor, you’ll have to become addicted to hard work. Because passion and obsession, even talent, are only useful tools if you have the work ethic to back them up.”

“It may be satisfactory, but that’s another word for mediocrity.”

“It’s about wanting it like there’s no tomorrow – because there might not be.”

“A true leader stays exhausted, abhors arrogance, and never looks down on the weakest link. He fights for his men and leads by example.”

“It meant being one of the best and helping your men find their best too.”

“Not that anybody else was watching, but when it comes to mindset, it doesn’t matter where other people’s attention lies. I had my own uncommon standards to live up to.”

“We can always become stronger and more agile, mentally and physically. We can always become more capable and more reliable. Since that’s the case we should never feel that our work is done. There is always more to do.”

“One thousand pull-ups before breakfast became our new mantra.”

“Instead of getting angry that your colleagues can’t keep up, help pick your colleagues up and bring them with you!”

“Torch the complacency you feel gathering around you, your coworkers, and teammates in that rare air.”

“Most wars are won or lost in our own heads, and when we’re in a foxhole we usually aren’t alone, and we need to be confident in the quality of the heart, mind, and dialogue of the person hunkered down with us. Because at some point we will need some empowering words to keep us focused and deadly.”

“Take aim on what you are willing to earn!”

“[P]eaceful but never satisfied.”

“We live a life defined by the limits we imagine and desire for ourselves because it’s comfortable as hell in that box. Not just for us, but for our closest family and friends. The limits we create and accept become the lens through which they see us. Through which they love and appreciate us.”

“But it’s not the external voice that will break you down. It’s what you tell yourself that matters. The most important conversations you’ll ever have are the ones you’ll have with yourself. You wake up with them, you walk around with them, you go to bed with them, and eventually you act on them. Whether they be good or bad.”

“It’s a reminder that you don’t really know what you’re capable of until you put everything you’ve got on the line.”

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