“From the time you take your first breath, you become eligible to die. You also become eligible to find your greatness and become the One Warrior. But it is up to you to equip yourself for the battle ahead.”

David Goggins

David Goggins is probably one of the baddest dudes on the planet. He has pushed himself to accomplish unimaginable feats of physical endurance. Here are some of his most incredible achievements :

In order to qualify for Navy SEAL training, Goggins had to lose over 100 pounds in only 3 months. Terrified of water, he started conditioning himself for hours in a pool every day, in addition to biking, running and weight training to reach his goal.

Hell Week occurs during week 3 of a 24 week intensive training program known as BUD/S: Basic Underwater Demolition/ SEAL training. During this gruelling 5 1/2 days applicants are subjected to continuous intense exercise; testing not only their physical but also mental fortitude. Sleeping for no more than 4 hours in total, and running more than 200 miles, the trainees engage in physical training for more than 20 hours per day. Only 10 percent of applicants make it through the final stages to complete SEAL qualification training.

David Goggins went through Hell Week 3 times in 2 years, the only person in history to attempt this feat. During his final attempt Goggins was suffering from excruciating stress fractures in both of his feet/ankles and had a severe knee injury. His solution was to literally just tape that shit up with duct tape, so his ankles wouldn’t move. This enabled him to push through the agony of running/swimming and lifting until his legs became numb. The final week ended one day early for Goggins when one of his teammates died in the swimming pool from pulmonary edema. You know the training is serious when people are dying.

After this Goggins became obsessed with achievement. Through 3 Hell Weeks he had proved to himself that his body and mind were capable of so much more. “If I can do Hell Week on literally two broken legs, what else can I do?” The “what if?” mentality that he had begun fostering in his mind, drove him towards higher and more astounding achievements.

“I wanted to be uncommon amongst uncommon people.”

Only the most elite athletes with the strongest mental drive and fortitude are able to successfully make it through BUD/S to become a Navy SEAL. But Goggins saw that people get comfortable with their achievements, and never drive themselves higher. He didn’t like that. According to Goggins, “You’ve never arrived”. He is always on the hunt for the next brutal challenge to overcome.

Ultra marathons were now the name of the game for Goggins.

True to his nature, he looked for only the most challenging race on the planet, and that’s where he found Badwater. Badwater is a 135 mile foot race through Death Valley, California that occurs in mid-July and ends at an elevation of over 2500m/ 8000ft. Temperatures here in the summer can reach 130 degrees F (54C). Even seasoned ultra runners have difficulty finishing this one. When he decided to apply for the race, he had never ran a single marathon in his life.

The organizer of the race told Goggins that he wouldn’t be allowed to enter the race unless he could successfully complete a few other 100 mile races first. So he set about to join his first “100miler”. David gathered the supplies for his first run – Myoplex, a type of protein shake, and a box of Ritz crackers. (uhh, water??)

Astoundingly, Goggins made it 70 miles around the track, before his body started shutting down. He sat down and couldn’t get up again. Eventually he forced his way up and limped around the track, but knew at his pace he would never cross the finish in time. His limp sped up, while he reached down into his mental reserves, incredibly finding the strength to pick up the pace and finish the final 31 miles at just over 19 hours. He did one extra lap for good measure, and collapsed. Goggins had pushed his body to the very brink, and discovered a vast inner resource within himself, that he could draw upon from that point forward.

Goggins earned his entry to the 2006 Badwater and placed 5^th, an unheard-of result for a novice runner.

Since that time Goggins has joined in more than 48 endurance events of 50 kilometres (30 miles) or more, placing amongst the top 5 in 29 of them. A full 15 of the events that he placed in the top 5 were endurance runs of more than 80 kilometres (50 miles)!

His personal record for running occurred in 2007 when Goggins ran 205 miles – read that again – 205 miles in 39 hours during a 48 hour championship, breaking a course record by 20 miles!

Goggins once ran eight 100 mile races, 8 weekends in a row. Wow!

On top of all these extraordinary acts, he is also a former Guinness World Record holder for the most pull-ups done in 24 hours, accomplishing 4030 pull ups in 17 hours in 2013. In order to achieve that goal Goggins trained for 9 months, had two failed attempts, and did 67,000 pull ups in preparation.

Interestingly, David Goggins doesn’t believe in talent. “I’m not gifted, I’m just driven… No talent required.”

In his book, Can’t Hurt Me, Goggins talks about a childhood filled with fear, vicious physical abuse; setback after setback after setback. One day at age 18, Goggins decides to take full responsibility for his life and holds himself accountable for having utterly failed to achieve anything. That was the moment he stopped making excuses and started taking action. Goggins talks about how he started to callous his mind, to crave suffering and to not avoid doing hard shit and being uncomfortable.

“I brainwashed myself into craving discomfort. If it was raining, I would go run. Whenever it started snowing, my mind would say, Get your fucking running shoes on. Sometimes I wussed out and had to deal with it in the Accountability Mirror. But facing that mirror, facing myself, motivated me to fight through uncomfortable experiences, and, as a result, I got tougher. And being tough and resilient helped me meet my goals.”

“Because when you’re driven, whatever is in front of you, whether it’s racism, sexism, injuries, divorce, depression, obesity, tragedy, or poverty, becomes fuel for your metamorphosis.”

Goggins started facing serious health issues that forced a break from physical training. A medical investigation uncovered the fact that he was born with a defect in his heart, which resulted in a quarter sized hole between two chambers of his heart! Not only that, but his joints and muscles seemed to be seizing up to the point where he could barely walk up a flight of stairs. Goggins underwent 2 heart surgeries to repair the hole in his heart, and took up an intense regimen of stretching. At age 44, Goggins still competes in races and claims to be in the best shape of his life.

Just to recap, every incredible act this man achieved with his body, he did so with an enormous hole in his heart, and he never so much as stretched his legs before a race!! You may be forgiven for thinking this dude isn’t that smart, but that just makes his story even more incredible. He did it all through sheer strength of will, through an indomitable spirit and an unbounded determinism to see what he was truly capable of. That, is phenomenal.

Goggins thinks that when you feel like giving up, you’ve only reached 40% of your potential.

Just think about what someone with his will could do, guided by reason. Truly, what heights could be achieved with that next-level strength of mental fortitude combined with a sharp logical mind?…

The best thing about Goggins, is that he doesn’t even think he’s special. He just wants to share with the world what he’s discovered about the power of the mind. That everyone has the ability to reach within and pull something remarkable out of themselves.

“Only you can master your mind, which is what it takes to live a bold life filled with accomplishments most people consider beyond their capability.”