Can’t Hurt Me - David Goggins (?????)

Book 19/52

This is unlike any motivational or self help book you will ever read. Honestly, it is neither. It is the story of a badass son of a bitch who pushed himself beyond boundaries any sane human would even consider. This is a graphic book that describes grueling pain in acute detail and is not for the faint of heart. It is also not a book that tells you how to be the top 20% or 10% or even 1%. It is the hard and irrefutable truth of what it takes to be in that 0.001%, the elite among elites. If that is a goal you wish to pursue in your life, you will ABSOLUTELY LOVE this book. There is no political correctness in Goggins’ story, no room for emotional weakness, feelings, mental well-being, none of that. He explicitly calls out repeatedly how today’s generation has gone extremely soft and how we tell ourselves a bunch of bullshit stories about our mental and emotional wellness and how it is good to be a well balanced all rounder. These are nothing more than excuses we tell ourselves to make ourselves feel better.

David’s story is that of one of the hardest lives you can imagine. He had an extremely and intensely abusive childhood, experienced violent deaths up close multiple times as a kid and hit absolute rock bottom in his teenage years. And then his journey began; he is who he is today because one one single life principle; never quit.

My key takeaways from the book were:

1. The Accountability Mirror

Every day I will set my goals, look into my mirror and hold myself brutally and honestly accountable. I will not make excuses or bullshit my way out of what I have set out to do. There is no sugar coating the truth; it needs to be cold, hard and bitter at times for it to be effective.

2. The Cookie Jar

I will fill my mental cookie jar with the victories I have won through hard struggles and tough battles. When I’m feeling particularly challenged to the point of wanting to quit, I will open up my cookie jar and pull out the motivation I need to keep me going. The challenge can’t hurt me.

3. The 40% rule

Most of us find the edge of our comfort zone at 40% of our true potential. Some of us who like to push ourselves beyond our comfort zone might make it to 50%. But to achieve true greatness, to master the task you have set out to do, you need to be willing to break through those shells over and over again and tap that untapped potential. Think of Ultra Instinct Goku.

4. Settling for success leads to complacency

Many of us tend to get comfortable once we achieve our goal. This leads to complacency. The pursuit is a personal endeavor that never ends. It is up to you to keep raising the bar and challenging yourself to be better tomorrow than you are today. The competition is never against others, it is always against yourself.

5. Get comfortable being uncomfortable

This for me was the biggest takeaway. Those of you who have known me for a long time know that something I have said very often for years together is “Just because something is hard is no reason to not do it”. This resonated so well with me; it is the philosophy by which I try to live my life.


The one thing I had been doing wrong all these years and am still trying to learn to get better at is being more accepting of the fact that each person has a different bar they set for themselves and that is okay. I have always had certain personal aspirations and goals and have pushed myself all my life to inch towards them. Often times, when I see people give up so early on or accept mediocrity and complacency, it really bugs and annoys me. But I’ve realized that this will only alienate me from people and that I need to learn to accept that people will always have different priorities and just because someone else doesn’t share mine doesn’t make me superior in any way. Goggins has beautifully depicted how much this attitude cost him in the long run.

I also want to point out that I’m by no means a fan boy. There are a LOT of things I don’t necessarily admire about Goggins and some things in fact that go against my very core beliefs. But that is okay. We can be very different and still draw inspiration from people and that is what this book is all about. If you’re that hard mofo who is willing to do what it takes to get to where you want to be and refuse to let anything stop you from doing so, this book will resonate well with you.

p.s. Highly recommended as an audiobook on Audible. They have made it part book part podcast where between chapters, Goggins and the host discuss things they just read, go into back stories and finer details and take you well beyond what is covered in the book.

p.p.s. Each chapter ends in a challenge (not the saree photo kind but the real thing) that Goggins expects you to start and never stop. These will genuinely help and keep you on track as you work towards your goal and embark on your journey.

#52booksIn2020 #CantHurtMe

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Vinay Madhav Jonnalagadda

Software Engineer at Geico

4 年

I'd read this book recently mate Rohan Kamath . My favourite part was the Taking Souls chapter. I've always been a hyperactive person and a watered down version of taking souls has been a coping mechanism. If you observe closely, you can find the taking souls mentality in Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Ali.? #TheyDontKnowMeSon#ImGonnaShowYouHowGreatIAm

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Parijat Bhatt

SWE@Google | Ex OSU

4 年

Rohan Kamath Thanks for sharing this review. It has been a part of my reading list for quite some time. Hopefully, I'll be done with it before the end of quarantine.

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