Hey guys, I have just finished listening to Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins which is basically his biography book. I am filled with emotions as with the end of Shoe Dog By Phill Knight. I did not yet share a review of Shoe Dog, but will soon hopefully.
As soon as I settle somewhere, I surely hope that I’ll be able to put those guy’s posters on my wall along with some quotes.
In short both books made me cry.
I should also mention that this is an extention post to a Goggins Biography post I have written earlier. The post itself was the drive for me to listen to this book. Sorry if some things will be repeated, the goal is to elaborate further.
So to the review.
Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins Review
The Challenges of the Book
The Book is built in 11 Chapters, with most of them offering a Challenge at the end.
Some of those challenges I have embraced already before reading the book. But they were brought out to me again, with force. When brought by Goggins, it always does feel forceful. For example one of the challenges he offered was on time management. Part of which, I started Implying today in the morning. Before I have read it in the book. But his elaboration helped anyway, because he added a weekly period to it instead of the daily one I was going to apply.
Lousy childhood
The story is told in a manner that allowed me to connect to each step of his Journey.
Starting from his childhood and his regular beatdowns and abuse by his father. Continuing with the death he has seen at a very young age, and his stuttering and reading level.
Cheating his way through exams in school in order not to fall in the “special education” category. Which meant a stigma for him.
And onto his fights with people over the fact that they were calling him a nigger.
He was even threatened a few times just over his race.
His teachers labeled him, and childhood was basically hell for Goggins. To close on the gap between him and the other kids he would need a tremendous amount of work and mental strength. (if he ever would be able to)
How could a kid coming from that sort of background find a way to get out of the low self esteem circle? When just simply everybody around him shows him that he is good for nothing? Well maybe except from his mom that was able to give him bits of light here and there…
Goggins is back on the log
Nonetheless this kid who had his dreams shattered so many times gets one big dream of joining the navy seals. He therefor proceeds to train very hard to meet the basic requirements to get through to BUD/S*. He manages to lose 106 pounds and learn to the ASVAB* Within three months. Just to be given a chance to join. After enduring two hell weeks* he fails two of them but doesn’t get enough and goes again and passes it.
He is no longer a nobody.. But the journey is just beginning…
The thing with David Goggins is that since he took himself in his hands in his twenties, he has never stopped working and beating his as* down.
He Later went on to Ranger school that is also not a lot easier than BUD/S*, Ran multiple ultra marathons and beat a world record on pull-ups.
Apart from that he passed through many many setbacks in his life. Few surgeries, many f***d up organs and basically living on the edge of his capability.
For the full story and his life’s lessons, here’s the book: https://amzn.to/3q34jf7
Learning from the best
If we mortals could take up half his willpower to our daily life that would be amazing. And that is exactly what he tries to pass through this book. He gives the readers challenges that derive from what he learned every chapter. Every chapter of the book is a chapter of his life.
As I said this book had me emotional and I hope that it had me not just motivated but Driven, as David likes to say.
Although it is not my goal to become the best elite athlete or a seal, I take huge pride in David and the character he has built. And I believe he has many great traits that every one of us needs to succeed. No matter what it is that we are striving for. Don’t settle for average, take yourself to the next level by reading David’s Book and others to the Like of Him.
Hopefully I’ll post a review of Shoe Dog very soon aswell.
.
Acquiring options
Get can’t hurt me and two other audible originals for completely free by signing up to audible free trial
Disclosure: If you proceed through those links I’ll get a comission, for which I’ll be thankful to you 🙂Vocabulary
*Hell Week – (It is a week inside phase one of Seal training, the physical training, that consists of Non-stop physical activity and other tortures combined with 4 hours sleep a night in the good case)
*BUD/S – Basic Underwater Demolition School (Seal training)
*ASVAB – Stands for – Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. It is a placement test that decides to which units you qualify in the army.
YouTube Review
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