David Goggins Book Review: Can’t Hurt Me

I loved David Goggins’ book.

The man is epic. He’s an ultramarathon winner (he doesn’t just run the races — he wins them), retired Navy SEAL, and served in the military for 20 years.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He got over major insecurities, fears, and a learning disability to become who he is today.

I didn’t know what to expect going into his book — but I’m SO glad I read it.

Below are some of my key takeaways. They may not make sense outside the context of the book, so I encourage you to pick it up and give it a read too.

If you’ve read it, let me know your big takeaways in the comments below.

David Goggins Phrases

• Denial is the ultimate comfort zone.
• Nobody is coming to save your ass!
• Create a new RITUAL (I like this phrase). Get serious.
• Call yourself out! We avoid what we need to hear most.
• You’re stopping you! You are giving up instead of getting hard at work.
• “I’d accepted that reality.” What reality are you accepting? Don’t get numb to your life.
• “I first realized…” (Great way to call out an “Aha!” moment)
• Not all physical and mental limitations are real.
• “I was betting everything I had on myself with no guarantees.”
• Flip the narrative that you’re telling yourself — all the self-doubt and anxiety is confirmation that you’re no longer living an aimless life. You’re ON A MOTHERF*CKING mission.
• “Taking souls” means you’ve gained a tactical advantage, which is what life is all about.
• Stop seeing yourself as a victim of bad circumstances and start seeing your life as the ultimate training ground.
• What am I capable of? We are all leaving a lot of money on the table without realizing it.
• We habitually settle for less than our best.
• Research is one part of preparation — visualization is another.
• “I was training for opportunities that didn’t even exist yet.”
• Life will present you with similar opportunities where you can prove to be uncommon.
• Always be willing to embrace ignorance and become the “dumb” person in the classroom again.
• “There is no gift as overlooked or inevitable as failure. Make adjustments and learn how to eventually accomplish your task.”

Things David Goggins Did That I Liked

• “There was no battle plan, I had to create one from scratch.” Shows that he came up with his own ideas.
• Once he got into SEAL training, instead of coasting he went and trained even more.
• His opening story hooks are insane — “The first concussion grenade exploded at close range, and from there everything unraveled in slow motion…”
• He included a lot of his transformation moments — when he started training he was 297 pounds.
• He reflected a lot. “7 years earlier I had been rooting around the kitchen and open dumpsters zapping vermin. Now I was f*cking flying!”
• He was super open about his struggles. “My character was defined by self-rejection. I still had trouble accepting me.”
• He takes time before reacting (the sign of a powerful mind). “I cooled off for a week before I wrote him back.”
• He puts in the work. From 2007-2009 he was on the road 250 days a year and spoke to 500,000 people at high schools and universities.

MAJOR Takeaways From The Book

• We’re all probably living at about 40% of our true capabilities.
• Check in with a friend to keep yourself accountable.
• Keep a “cookie jar” of all your past victories and pick something out of it when you need some motivation.
• Do an epic physical adventure. Our minds are f*cking strong — they’re our most powerful weapon but we’ve stopped using them.
• If you audit your schedule, you’ll find time for more work and less bullsh*t.
• After Action Reports (AAR): Debrief after good or bad experiences to learn from them.
• Surround yourself with people who will tell you what you need to hear.
• Most wars are won or lost in our own heads.