Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
“Don’t stop when you are tired. Stop when you are done.”
In a society where mediocrity is too often the standard and too often rewarded, there is an intense fascination with men who detest mediocrity, who refuse to define themselves in conventional terms, and who seek to transcend traditionally recognized human capabilities.
If I had to choose the book that had the biggest impact on my life, it would have to be this one. It truly changed my perception of the world and helped me become the person I am today. Not only is the book full of great advice, but it is also extremely interesting to read since you go on to experience everything that the author David Goggins lived through.
You should by all means read this book for yourself. Below, I have written out my book notes, but I couldn’t cover hundreds of pages in just a couple of bullet points. That is why I highly encourage you to create your notes whilst going through the book, and for the time being use mine as a guide on what this book is about.
For more books check out Best Self-Improvement Books or Best Classic Books, and for a full self-improvement guide, you can also take a look at my Roadmap to Overman.
Book Notes
- You only create more problems by taking the path of least resistance.
- Don’t stop when you are tired. Stop when you are done.
- In order to change you have to actually put in the hard work, otherwise, you are just creating an illusion to yourself and others that only makes you feel better.
- Everyone’s opinion of me mattered to me, and that’s a shallow way to live.
- When the fear kicks in, charge right down its fucking throat. Go and own that fear.
- Use your Accountability mirror. Go in front of your bathroom mirror and be brutally honest with yourself.
- In a society where mediocrity is too often the standard and too often rewarded, there is an immense fascination with men who detest mediocrity, who refuse to define themselves in conventional terms, and who seek to transcend traditionally recognized human capabilities.
- Accept the very real possibility that you might die because from now on, there is no quitting.
- All self-doubt and anxiety are confirmation that you are thinking of doing something difficult so you know you are on the right path.
- If you cut corners you are not gonna fucking make it. No shortcuts for you.
- Do something that sucks every day.
- Why am I here? Know why you are in the fight to stay in the fight!
- The way to earn anyone’s respect and take their soul is excellence. Whatever standard is set as an ideal outcome, you should be aiming to surpass that. Your goal is to make them watch you achieve what they could never have done themselves.
- The reason you should push the hardest when you feel like quitting is because these moments help you callous your mind. So use them.
- No shame in getting knocked out. Shame comes when you throw in the towel.
- I was rejecting my past and therefore rejecting myself. My foundation, my character was defined by self-rejection.
- Visualize both the success and all the challenges waiting for you, and prepare for them. That also means preparing to answer simple questions. Why am I doing this? What is driving me toward this achievement?
- Concept of the Cookie Jar. Make a list of all of your achievements. Then, when the time gets tough and when you feel like quitting, go back to your Cookie Jar and remind yourself who the fuck you are.
- The 40% rule. When you feel like you have given it absolutely everything, most probably you are around 40% of your actual limit.
- We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.
- Our culture has become hooked on quick fixes, life hacks, and efficiency. You should become addicted to hard work.
- To me 40 hour work week is 40% effort. It may be satisfactory, but that’s another word for mediocrity. Don’t settle for a forty-hour work week. There are 168 hours in a week! It means scheduling your life like you’re on a twenty-four-hour mission every single day.
- Life will always be the most grueling endurance sport.
- Use every opportunity to become uncommon among uncommon men.
- A true leader stays exhausted, abhors arrogance, and never looks down on the weakest link.
- When it comes to mindset, it doesn’t matter if others are watching, you have your own uncommon standards to live up to.
- In life you are either getting better or getting worse.
- Don’t focus on what you think you deserve. Take aim on what you are willing to earn!
- Transform your task from trying to achieve the impossible into working toward an inevitability.
- Concept of After Action Reports. First off, write out all the good things. Then find out how you were thinking at each step, because it’s all about mindset, and that’s where most people fall short.
- The most important conversations you’ll ever have are the ones you’ll have with yourself.