Take it from someone who has read more than 1500 books in his life, Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins is one of the most inspirational & motivational books you will ever read. This will sound like hyperbole, but reading this book will literally expand what you believe a human being is capable of doing. Just as a teaser to give you an idea of what you’re getting into, here’s the intro from Amazon:
For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare – poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a US Armed Forces icon and one of the world’s top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him The Fittest (Real) Man in America.
David Goggins is genuinely one of the most incredible human beings on earth and what follows are his 20 best quotes.
1) “Most of this generation quits the second they get talked to. It’s so easy to be great nowadays because most people are just weak, If you have any mental toughness, any fraction of self-discipline – the ability to not want to do it, but still do it – you’ll be successful.”
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2) “You want to be uncommon amongst uncommon people. Period.”
3) “I’m a big believer of doing something that sucks every single day of your life. I believe it’s a key component into strengthening your mind.”
4) “Mental toughness is a lifestyle. It’s something that you live every single day of your life. When I was growing up, I was a lazy kid. I was a lazy kid, and everybody goes, ‘How did you get to where you’re at today? How did you get to where you’re running 200 miles at one time in 39 hours? Being so disciplined?’”
5) “Every morning in our lives, we have a choice to make. You have the choice to stay in bed and say ‘Forget it, I’m not going to work out today.’ or ‘Forget it, I’m not going to work hard today.’ That’s your choice that you make every single day of your life. Make the right decision.”
6) “Everyday you’re trying to find more of what you’re capable of – and that’s the big question. What are you capable of? Stop doing the things that you do every day. If you run every day, go swim.”
7) “If you want to get better, do the sh*t that no-one else wants to do. Do the sh*t that no-one is even thinking about doing.”
8) “The more things you can do to get outside of that zone that makes you feel good, the stronger your mind is going to get. It starts getting used to doing sh*t like this. It’s not fun, but now my mind is used to it.”
9) “If you can get through doing things that you hate to do, on the other side is greatness.”
10) “You have to build calluses on your brain just like how you build calluses on your hands. Callus your mind through pain and suffering.”
11) “Remembering what you’ve been through and how that has strengthened your mindset can lift you out of a negative brain loop and help you bypass those weak, one-second impulses to give in. Even if you’re feeling low and beat down by life right now, I guarantee you can think of a time or two when you overcame odds and tasted success.”
12) “To those people who say ‘I’m good’ – You ain’t good man, you ain’t never f*cking arrived. That’s just my mentality. You may have more than I do, but you’ve never f*cking arrived.”
13) “The biggest thing is to stop thinking you deserve anything. You, me, or anyone else doesn’t deserve sh*t! So whenever you think you deserve a day off “just because” …rethink that sh*t! It’s that kind of attitude that makes you like most people.”
14) “Teach yourself that it isn’t ok to take the easy way out. Make sure you are bothered by the things you set out to do but did not complete or make time for in the day.”
15) “There is no better way to grow as a person than to do something you hate every day.”
16) “No one is going to help you. It’s you against yourself forever.”
17) “A lot of us when we have bad times even life, even the hardest person in the world, we forget how bad*ss we are during that hard time.”
18) “When you think you’re done, you’re only at 40% of your body’s capability.”
19) “When you’re exhausted, weak, and tired and everyone around you looks just as bad as you or even worse – that’s the perfect time for you to make a statement. You let everyone around you know that when their life ends, that’s when yours begins.”
20) “Somewhere in your life, there’s going to be a point where you have a decision to make. You’re going to have to choose between taking the easy route and the hard route. A lot of people take the easy route and they have a good life that way. But, the better life was by taking the hard route. You may have 20 years of pain and suffering to try and get past it, but a lot of us die before truly starting our journey.”
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