Who is David Goggins?
If you haven’t heard of David Goggins, don’t worry, I didn’t either until October 2019. David Goggins is a retired United States Navy SEAL who serviced in the Iraq war. He is also the former world record holder for the most amount of pull-ups done in a 24 hour period. However, it doesn’t stop there. David Goggins is also an Ultramarathon runner, Ultra-distance cyclist and Triathlete.
But, David wasn’t always so strong. David came from a very dark childhood and suffered considerably due to the various life events that left him traumatized as a young boy. The story of “Can’t Hurt Me” is one of pain, trials and tribulations.
However, this is precisely what makes the book. Through the book, we go through the past of David Goggins and learn who he really is. We find out how he rose to become the man he is today and also the power that we have within all of us.
I will go more into David Goggins as I review the book further below.
How did David Goggins Change My Life?
I won’t lie, David Goggins is one of my role models and I’m a 30 year old married man. However, there is a reason for this. I’ve had a somewhat troubling childhood growing up in a neighborhood that was deemed the heroin capital of Australia at the time. Throughout my childhood it was normal to be growing up around drugs.
Not through my family, I have one of the best families that has supported me through it all. However we all know that we channel a lot more energy from our peers due to various reasons such as acceptance and wanting to fit in. Before we realize it, everything becomes too much and we find ourselves in the spirals of addiction.
This is something that I’ve battled throughout my twenties and whilst I won’t get too graphic it is because of a variety of drugs and gambling.
Build up of debt, and constantly making the same mistakes I had reason to believe that I would never make it out of this mess. Especially when I kept repeating the same mistakes throughout most of my twenties.
Want to check out David’s book Can’t Hurt Me on Amazon? Click here.
It wasn’t until my pain tolerance was getting too high that I started looking into videos online to become a better person. I was trying to find answers everywhere and the anxiety buildup was getting quite overwhelming. I wanted to stop messing up, and with a young family which I absolutely adore I knew it had to be done.
In comes a David Goggins video, an interview with Tom Bilyeu from Impact Theory.
The video is still around. Here it is below:
If you haven’t seen the video, I suggest that you give it a go. It will give you a quick version of David’s life and it will surely get you thinking about yours. A lot of the things that David says makes a lot of sense, it’s just the way that he works through these thoughts in his mind that is different to most of us.
Once we can control our minds, and it’s constantly changing thoughts and emotions then we can become happier versions of ourselves.
This is common knowledge, but David puts it into cold-hard action.
Anyway, after this video I didn’t actually purchase “Can’t Hurt Me” yet, however I was very interested in the way David approaches life. Something about it made me really resonate with him. Could be because we’re both Aquarius? Who knows.
Long story short, David Goggins got me to finally sign up to my local gym and start getting after it. What happened next was nothing short of amazing. I started to watch a lot more content on David (Such as Joe Rogan’s podcast) and eventually bit the bullet and purchased his book via Amazon.
Firstly, check. out David’s results when he first started many, many years ago:
Looking at David’s massive change above, and reading the book, I was nothing short of impressed and MOTIVATED. I instantly started to regain control of my life by picking up a spiral notebook from the shops down the road and start documenting EVERYTHING. As you go through David’s book (Which I’ll talk more in the review) you’ll realize that David provides you with tools to start taking control of your life instantly and get out of whatever hole you think you’re in.
My instant goal was to start training for a marathon, and I even had an event planned. I had 3 months to train for it. I know that this is crazy because not many people will join a marathon 3 months after training. I also don’t recommend this for everyone unless you have absolutely considered everything. I won’t get too much into my training routine, however what happened was amazing.
Because of the fact that I started taking control of my life (By putting things in my so called diary) I started to notice a lot of changes. Firstly, I was too busy to get involved with what ruined me previously (The addictions) and the more I focused on my goals and myself the happier I noticed I became. I also became a lot more creative and wanted to pursue other goals (Not just the running).
I started to feel a massive sense of relief and trivial things such as my debt didn’t even matter (Because I knew I would eventually get rid of it). My main and primary purpose was: me.
In the early weeks, I did have two panic attacks as it was a MASSIVE change compared to the way I was living my life. But as it became the new “normal” for me, I became a lot better off than I was previously.
And hey, I managed to do (AND COMPLETE) that marathon (image on the right). It took me a while to complete (5 hours) but I was very proud of the results nonetheless. My times have improved considerably since then and it’s a passion and hobby which I’ll hold true to me for a while.
However, once I finished the marathon I managed to slump back to my old world again. This is because I set a goal, finished it but didn’t create a follow-up goal. It’s one of the most important lessons of David’s book. I had to read his book again and force myself to get back into it again.
Click here to check out David’s book: Can’t Hurt Me on Amazon.
Meeting David Goggins
Unfortunately, this all happened prior to an event where I was going to meet David. I felt a bit down during the time but now I’m happy that I attended the event and got a chance to meet David and shake his hand (Image on the right).
I vowed from that day that I would continue to get after it and chase my goals. Funny story about this website, The Ultimate Primate, is that I created it in order to keep myself accountable.
I also created it to spread awareness that through fitness, healthy living and a good state of mind that we can all live a happy life that doesn’t need to be determined by materialistic things.
I truly believe through fitness and health that we can all become the best version of ourselves and that is my goal with this website. I will constantly try to spread the message through personal experiences, reviews and also tips and tricks which I know have helped me.
Anyway, enough of the website. This is basically the story of how David Goggins changed my life. But now we should really look at if there’s anything that David Goggins can do for you. A lot of people have read his book, from 20 year olds to people that are elders. They ALL got something from his book. Hopefully you will too.
David Goggins: Can’t Hurt Me Review
THE BOOK
Without getting into the spoilers of the book, it basically depicts the life of a young man, named David Goggins who grew up in Buffalo New York. David lived in a neighborhood which was reserved for more of the higher class and his father owned and operated Skateland. David Goggins also has a mother, and an older brother.
What happens next in the book is pure INSANE. David goes on to lose 106 pounds in 3 months as he is reaching the age cutoff to become a SEAL and this is his last chance. Through nothing short of being blessed, David Goggins manages to pass the test in order to start training to become a SEAL by a single mark.Conclusion
If you’re after a good read or if you’re currently not where you want to be in my life then I suggest reading Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins. If anything, it’s an amazing story of the trials and tribulations that a man went through in order to feel some sense of provide and accomplishment within himself.
If David Goggins has suddenly gotten you into fitness such as training and running then I would recommend that you check out some other resources available on my blog as that’s what this website is all about. I’ve written a post recently on how to become a better runner. If you still don’t have the right pair of running shoes then check out my post on the best running shoes for beginners that contains a full guide as well as some of the top products people use today.
And hey, if running isn’t your thing check out the website with the menu at the top to see what else is available! What did you think about Can’t Hurt Me? Do you have your own thoughts on the book?, why not let me know in the comments below!
Marko Rakic is a trail runner and fitness enthusiast from Sydney, Australia. He is the lead writer for The Ultimate Primate and believes the best way to live a happy life is through constantly challenging yourself.