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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
inspiring
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Wow... You can't read a book like this and not be changed. David Goggins describes his path from growing up in poverty and abuse to becoming an elite athlete and recruiter for the Navy SEALs. Each chapter has an application that anyone can use to move beyond the static 40% of our potential that most of us stay stuck at. I find myself finishing the book amazed by his life and sad. I question the author's conclusions about success and achievement being life's ultimate goals and hope he continues to find healing. (FYI: This book contains heavy language well beyond F-bombs.)
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
“You have to go to war with yourself before you can find peace”.
This book is beyond memoir. Beyond motivation. Beyond self-help. This book is earth, wood, steel, water and fire. This book is what I needed to read, but not what I wanted to.
Often referred to as the hardest man alive, David is the only member of the US Armed Forces to complete SEAL training (including three Hell Weeks), the U.S. Army Ranger School (where he graduated as Enlisted Honor Man) and Air Force Tactical Air Controller Training. He is best known for his superhuman feats of strength and ultra-endurance.
But he was not born to these strengths. In fact, his childhood was by all means the very opposite of it. He cheated. Lied. Cried. Weak. His father was abusive and deadly violence whom his family had to run away from.
That said, he rose from those mess and faced life with both of his middle fingers. He overcame challenges to challenges, stepped over physical pains and mental agonies to reach his goals, and surpass them. He rose from a state of utter desperation to take complete ownership of his life and total command of his mind to manifest a most extraordinary life. To become the “The Fittest (Real) Man in America.”
This book made me look back on my journey into health and fitness in the previous 5 years and feel ashamed to not push harder. It also helped me reflect on these days of bereavement that I deliberately left myself open to the fuck head of life itself. For that I am grateful.
“Pain unlocks a secret doorway in the mind, one that leads to both peak performance, and beautiful silence.”
This book is beyond memoir. Beyond motivation. Beyond self-help. This book is earth, wood, steel, water and fire. This book is what I needed to read, but not what I wanted to.
Often referred to as the hardest man alive, David is the only member of the US Armed Forces to complete SEAL training (including three Hell Weeks), the U.S. Army Ranger School (where he graduated as Enlisted Honor Man) and Air Force Tactical Air Controller Training. He is best known for his superhuman feats of strength and ultra-endurance.
But he was not born to these strengths. In fact, his childhood was by all means the very opposite of it. He cheated. Lied. Cried. Weak. His father was abusive and deadly violence whom his family had to run away from.
That said, he rose from those mess and faced life with both of his middle fingers. He overcame challenges to challenges, stepped over physical pains and mental agonies to reach his goals, and surpass them. He rose from a state of utter desperation to take complete ownership of his life and total command of his mind to manifest a most extraordinary life. To become the “The Fittest (Real) Man in America.”
This book made me look back on my journey into health and fitness in the previous 5 years and feel ashamed to not push harder. It also helped me reflect on these days of bereavement that I deliberately left myself open to the fuck head of life itself. For that I am grateful.
“Pain unlocks a secret doorway in the mind, one that leads to both peak performance, and beautiful silence.”
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Goggins’ Grit: Inspiring Feats, Flawed Example
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins is a raw, relentless memoir that hooked me from the start. Its epic scope—spanning Goggins’ brutal childhood, Navy SEAL training, and ultramarathon feats—delivers grand stakes. From overcoming illiteracy, racial prejudice, and his father’s abuse to facing tragedies like a child’s death under a bus, Goggins’ story is a testament to defying odds. His ability to push past physical limits, like running ultra-distances on sheer will, feels unworldly.
Goggins is compelling, his raw transparency—never sugarcoating failures like repeated military setbacks or broken relationships—making him relatable. His redemption through mental toughness, especially his “40% Rule,” hits hard, but his underprepared attempts and unbalanced life dilute the catharsis.
Goggins is engaging, especially in the audiobook’s unpolished but gripping discussions, though I wished for tighter editing in those interviews to sharpen their impact. The book kept me glued, its intensity and motivational fire perfect for my running sessions, as my friends promised.
The audiobook’s extra content, while insightful, felt rough and needed polish to match the main narrative’s drive. More depth on secondary characters would’ve elevated the stakes, and Goggins’ life—marked by relentless pushing but marred by failed relationships and underpreparation—doesn’t fully reflect the balanced success his message champions, leaving me less inspired by him as a person.
Overall, Can’t Hurt Me left me fired up and reflective, its raw honesty and mental strategies resonating deeply. It’s a must-listen for anyone craving stories of grit and self-discovery, even if Goggins’ flaws keep it from masterpiece status. His journey, imperfect but inspiring, lingers like a hard-won finish line.
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins is a raw, relentless memoir that hooked me from the start. Its epic scope—spanning Goggins’ brutal childhood, Navy SEAL training, and ultramarathon feats—delivers grand stakes. From overcoming illiteracy, racial prejudice, and his father’s abuse to facing tragedies like a child’s death under a bus, Goggins’ story is a testament to defying odds. His ability to push past physical limits, like running ultra-distances on sheer will, feels unworldly.
“You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft that you will die without ever realizing your true potential,”he writes, a line that fueled my runs and sparked deep reflection.
Goggins is compelling, his raw transparency—never sugarcoating failures like repeated military setbacks or broken relationships—making him relatable. His redemption through mental toughness, especially his “40% Rule,” hits hard, but his underprepared attempts and unbalanced life dilute the catharsis.
“The most important conversations you’ll ever have are the ones you’ll have with yourself”
Goggins is engaging, especially in the audiobook’s unpolished but gripping discussions, though I wished for tighter editing in those interviews to sharpen their impact. The book kept me glued, its intensity and motivational fire perfect for my running sessions, as my friends promised.
“Our culture has become hooked on the quick-fix, the life hack, efficiency… The truth is, you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable”
The audiobook’s extra content, while insightful, felt rough and needed polish to match the main narrative’s drive. More depth on secondary characters would’ve elevated the stakes, and Goggins’ life—marked by relentless pushing but marred by failed relationships and underpreparation—doesn’t fully reflect the balanced success his message champions, leaving me less inspired by him as a person.
Overall, Can’t Hurt Me left me fired up and reflective, its raw honesty and mental strategies resonating deeply. It’s a must-listen for anyone craving stories of grit and self-discovery, even if Goggins’ flaws keep it from masterpiece status. His journey, imperfect but inspiring, lingers like a hard-won finish line.
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
I should implement minimum thresholds for rating books based on my median daily reading volume. For this book, the median daily pages was definitely 0. Frankly, I never looked forward to reading it and should have DNFed.
Should a 0 median daily reading volume require a 1-star review? Maybe not, but it also took me over a week to write and post this review, and I think those are both solid indicators of a 1-star book.
I admire toughness and discipline, but I do not admire voluntary misery and permanent injury due to poor preparation and planning just to prove your toughness. Effort is a prerequisite, not a panacea.
Two good pieces of advice from this book:
- Be excellent. Do your best regardless of the circumstances, and over time, the circumstances will improve.
- Make a "cookie jar" of your personal triumphs and look back at them when you're struggling.
Should a 0 median daily reading volume require a 1-star review? Maybe not, but it also took me over a week to write and post this review, and I think those are both solid indicators of a 1-star book.
I admire toughness and discipline, but I do not admire voluntary misery and permanent injury due to poor preparation and planning just to prove your toughness. Effort is a prerequisite, not a panacea.
Two good pieces of advice from this book:
- Be excellent. Do your best regardless of the circumstances, and over time, the circumstances will improve.
- Make a "cookie jar" of your personal triumphs and look back at them when you're struggling.
There's so much raw testosterone in this book I grew an extra penis while listening to it.