David Goggins is the most influential author I’ve read to date.

In the self-development genre, there are many people sharing advice, but not everyone is practicing what they preach. The most inspiring thing about David Goggins’ story is that he continues to practice the tools he shares to this day.

After reading Can’t Hurt Me, I started thinking a lot more about accountability. Looking at his life and comparing it to his present self forced me to question how much potential I was leaving on the table.

Before reading the book, I definitely believed that some people were special, and this was the main reason I wasn’t doing what I actually wanted to do. But while reading, it became impossible to deny that I was selling myself short.

I started really asking what I wanted to do with my life and being brutally honest with what was holding me back. It was obvious I had a lot of work to do. But his story also helped put into perspective the amount of time and effort required to achieve big dreams. I started to become more comfortable with playing a more long-term game.

At some point on this journey, I found out that he released a second book, Never Finished. Already well invested in his work, I listened and re-listened to Never Finished. What resonated with me most was the concept of unseen work and how important it is to succeed as both an individual and a leader. I had just crossed the two-year mark of consistently putting in work towards established goals, but occasionally struggled with the loneliness of it. It helped to see real-life examples from the Captain at Air Assault training and Goggins himself putting in years of unseen work to accomplish their goals.

I also spent a lot of time thinking about how relentless he was to complete both MOAB 240 and Smoke Jumper training in the midst of failed knee surgeries. Many other people in this situation would have given up, but he pushed through with his drive to accomplish his goals. It spoke to me a lot because that’s how I feel about my goals. There are a lot of things nowadays that I don’t want to do, but because I care so deeply about my goals, I make it happen. So his story only made me feel more empowered to keep pushing through whatever obstacles are thrown in my path.

In addition to his books, I watch a lot of his short-form videos on YouTube (they are not on his channel; he only has Instagram and Facebook). He lives what he preaches:

• “The struggle is real. It doesn’t get any easier. You gotta get harder.”
• “It doesn’t matter what you did yesterday. What are you doing today?”
• “Be unapologetic about who you are.”
• “The most important conversation you have is the one with yourself.”