David Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL and motivational speaker. He was the first person to cross The North Pole solo, but it wasn’t until he began working with Chris Guillebeau that he really started to change his life.
David Goggins’ book “Can’t Hurt Me” is an autobiography about how he became one of the world’s greatest endurance athletes. It includes a lot of advice for those who want to start out in their own careers or find success.
Who is David Goggins, and where did he come from?
David Goggins is a former Navy Seal, the author of the New York Times best-selling book Can’t Hurt Me, and a world-class athlete who has completed dozens of ultramarathons and triathlons. He is the only member of the United States Armed Forces to have completed SEAL training, Army Ranger School, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller School (all 3 extremely rigorous). He’s also a previous Guinness World Record holder, having completed 4,030 pull-ups in seventeen hours!
Goggins grew raised in a harsh and stressful environment in New York and then Indiana. He worked long hours at his father’s company, lagged behind in school, and regularly saw his mother being physically harassed by his father. These unpleasant events left him with poor self-esteem throughout the most of his teenage years, and he felt purposeless. Goggins, on the other hand, was subsequently able to change his thinking and alter himself.
We’ll discuss about how David Goggins survived the impacts of poverty, bigotry, and abuse in our assessment of Can’t Hurt Me. Goggins became a U.S. Armed Forces icon by concentrating on work ethic and self-discipline. Can’t Hurt Me is a memoir and a guide on mastering our brains in order to overcome difficulties and achieve our full potential.
Can’t Hurt Me: A Review of What You’ll Learn
Accountability
Goggins utilized his bathroom mirror as a platform for having uncomfortable discussions with himself. He wrote out his concerns, worries, objectives, and aspirations on post-it notes and taped them to the mirror. He was able to talk himself out of his bad sentiments this manner.
Whether it’s financial, lifestyle, professional, or personal objectives, we can all assess where we want to go and what’s preventing us from getting there. This is a good moment to be honest with ourselves about what we can do to improve our chances of achieving our objectives. While Goggins recognizes that we cannot control everything, he also recognizes that many of us have more to contribute.
Let us attempt to match our everyday activities with our objectives and to stay on track until we achieve them. With a few post-it notes and a mirror, it’s easy to see what’s holding us back: ourselves!
“Whatever your objective is, you must hold yourself responsible for the modest actions necessary to achieve it.” Self-improvement takes commitment and discipline. Every day, the filthy mirror you see will disclose the truth. Don’t ignore it any longer. “Take advantage of it.”
p.73, Goggins
40 Percentage Rule
Goggins lives by a mantra called “40 Percentage Rule.” It explains that most of us give up when we’ve only given around 40% of our maximum effort! To reach the levels of performance beyond 40%, we need to identify our insecurities and shortcomings and attack them head-on.
Also, if you recognize you have more to contribute, the next natural step is to push yourself (mentally and physically) to your limit. Unless we buy into the system and decide to resign, the mechanism that tries to restrict us to 40% can’t win!
“40 Percentage Rule can be applied to everything we do…There are always challenges, and whether we are at work or school, or feeling tested within our most intimate or important relationships, we will all be tempted to walk away from commitments, give up on our goals and dreams, and sell our own happiness short at some point. Because we will feel empty, like we have no more to give, when we haven’t tapped even half of the treasure buried deep in our minds, hearts, and souls.”
211, Goggins
Scheduling that is most efficient
Goggins also emphasizes the need of knowing your daily routine and how you spend your time. If you have a fitness or professional goal, it’s critical that you replace any time gaps with useful chores that will help you meet your objectives. Unknowingly, many of us waste time on things that are irrelevant and even unneeded. So let’s take control of our calendars and work hard to remove any squandered time!
“It’s time to divide and conquer your day.” Too many of us have become multitaskers, resulting in a country of individuals who only do half of their tasks… The average person wastes four to five hours every day, and if you can learn to recognize and capitalize on it, you’ll be well on your way to enhanced productivity.”
264, Goggins
Failures as a Teaching Tool
David Goggins has not only attempted BUD/S Seal training three times, but he has also failed to complete races. Not to add, it took him three attempts to break the Guinness World Record for the most pull-ups!
As painful and tough as failing might be, learning from your errors can only improve your chances of succeeding. Goggins was rigorous in his attitude to contemplation and review after each setback. He made a list of everything that went well and everything that needed to be altered. He may not have had the drive to try again if it hadn’t been for this.
Some people live by the adage that “either you win or you learn.” David Goggins is a perfect example of this. Instead of being discouraged by our failures, we should all endeavor to learn from them.
“…Write down all of the positive aspects of your failures, as well as everything that went right.” Make a point of being thorough and generous with yourself. Many nice things will have occurred. It’s almost never altogether horrible… Now go back and compose a list of what you can do to improve things. It’s not the time to be kind or generous. Be brutally honest with yourself and write them all down. Examine them. Then take a look at your calendar and make a new effort as soon as you can.”
p.331 Goggins
What if?
You will encounter skeptics if you are doing anything special, whether in your career or personal life. Some may be found on social media, at work, or among your closest friends and family. While some people may have good intentions, their doubts tend to erode the hope and optimism you’ve built up for yourself.
Simply look them in the eyes and ask them, “What if?” says Goggins. When you pose this question, both you and the doubter may imagine how wonderful it would be to succeed and achieve that goal. Usually, just the prospect of that sensation is enough to make it worthwhile to try!
“…I know I’ll keep giving it my best and setting objectives that most people think are unattainable.” When skeptics say that, I’ll look them in the eyes and ask them one simple question. “What if?” you may wonder.
356, Goggins
Final Score: 7.7/10
David Goggins’ book Can’t Hurt Me is a fantastic guide on mastering your ideas and thinking. Self-limiting ideas and, more often than not, we are the ones that keep us back in life. On his path from an overweight exterminator to a U.S. Armed Forces legend, Goggins demonstrates how he used the ideas in this book.
The fact is that we all have the potential to be more productive. We can all move a little closer to the goals and objectives we’ve set for ourselves. We may all profit from evaluating our mistakes and trying again. Can’t Hurt Me demonstrates that our doubts and ideas only have power over us if we allow them that power. Let’s take control of our thinking, establish higher objectives, and go for them!
I strongly advise you to purchase Can’t Hurt Me on Amazon for suggestions on how to hold yourself responsible and take the first step toward developing a warrior mentality.
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, and check out our other book reviews here.
David Goggins’ book, “Can’t Hurt Me,” is a memoir about his journey to becoming the fittest man in the world. The book itself is a great read for anyone looking to get into shape and live an active lifestyle. Reference: can’t hurt me table of contents.
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