David Goggins. A once 300 pound man who went through failure, hardship and learning setbacks, is the same man running ultramarathons, motivating millions of people, completing Navy SEAL training, and raising millions of dollars for charity, all while being 100 pounds lighter.

David Goggins is a motivational speaker, ultra-marathon runner, retired US Navy SEAL, world record breaker, and is considered to be the “toughest man on earth”.

Wait. How did he get here? How did he build so much discipline and mental strength?

Early Life

David Goggins was born in Buffalo, New York, 1975, a city known for its high crime rates (even today) and immense segregation and racism. (U.S department of justice, 1979). 

As a child, Goggins’ life was never easy; not financially, not socially, and even being among his family was rough.  He grew up in extreme poverty, faced an abusive, alcoholic father, racism, school struggles, and even worked long hours at the age of 6.

David Goggins describes his father to be a “tyrant” who severely abused him, his mother, and his brother on a daily basis. He once recalled receiving harsh beatings after attempting to stop his father from beating his mother. The beatings were so bad, even his mother was horrified by the amount of bruises from the neck down.

His struggle doesn't end there. Throughout his life, Goggins experienced difficulties in school, only to discover he had an underlying learning disability, forcing him to restart second grade. His toxic environment at home and lack of education caused him to develop a severe stutter, hindering his daily speech and therefore, his quality of life.

The building of his mindset

At a very young age, Goggins’ grades were low, and he struggled in class, facing constant stress, pressure, and even anxiety. At one point he turned to cheating, and passed many exams at the cost of his own real learning.

This is the moment Goggins came to the realisation that no one was coming to save him, and he took his future into his own hands. He rigorously began studying, reportedly writing down information thousands of times just so that it would stay stuck in his head. This strategy is one of the reasons why Goggins passed many of his exams in 11th grade onward. However, his overall GPA was still quite low, and sadly he ended up graduating high school with a GPA of 1.6 (10-18/45 in comparison with IB scores)

Goggins came to the conclusion that he had to lock in, and his method was smart, but brutal. He began repeatedly copying down entire textbooks, page by page, tirelessly, until it became engraved into his memory. He created an “accountability mirror” where he stuck up sticky notes, each containing his weaknesses and specific goals, raw, no sugar-coating. This did not demotivate Goggins, it in fact, forced him to confront his lack of discipline and academic struggles every day - fueling him to continue. All of this pain proved to be worth it, as his grades skyrocketed tremendously, causing him to find more purpose in his life.

Military Life

How did Goggins ever think about joining the military at this point?

Scott Gearen was parajumper in the U.S air force and served as Goggins inspiration and motivation. Goggins stalked Gearen for over 7 days, reaching out to every air force base just to meet him.

Goggins’ life took a pivotal moment, and at the age of 15-16 in 1990, he applied for the United States national air force. However, before he could even get enlisted, he had to pass the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery), which is essentially a mandatory exam virtually to all people enlisting in the military (except for officers, the higher ranked people). For Goggins to get enlisted as a pararescueman, he had to score a minimum of 50 out 99 on the ASVAB. 

He got 20, then got 18, but it wasn’t over.

For the next 6 months, he studied relentlessly, cramping years of material from high school and higher studies into his mind.

Did it pay off?

On his third attempt,

Goggins scored so high on his exam that officials initially thought he cheated and was required to complete it again. On the fourth attempt, he scored even higher, and was enlisted. 

Now that Goggins was enlisted, all is good, right?

Oh nah

The Downfall

After several months of tedious and intense training, he was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia and unfortunately had to be temporarily removed with just 10-14 days left of his training. Despite this, the military eventually allowed him to rejoin., However, he had to start all the way back to day 1, week 1. Goggins stated that he didn't have the mental willpower back then to restart the entire process, and he described it as having just “quit” in his mind. After his departure from the military, Goggins felt this overwhelming shame that creeped up on him, which led to a period of depression. He had a hard time controlling his weight, and eventually, gained weight up to  300 lbs. He had hit rock bottom. He soon picked up a job working as an exterminator and worked during night shifts. During this time, his diet consisted of a large chocolate milkshake from Steak & Shake, plus a box of mini donuts from 7-Eleven. He was severely depressed, out of shape and felt as if he was “floating through life” without a clear direction.

The Comeback

After his shift one night, he got home, switched on the TV, and the Discovery Channel showed up. A documentary showcasing the intense and brutal training of Navy SEALS was broadcast, and Goggins watched intensely. Goggins recalled his previous military experience and this is where his life changed, for good.

Inspired, Goggins called up every recruiter he knew, until someone gave him a chance. He called him to his office for questioning and basic information.

Goggins pulled up and the recruiter laughed at him. He told Goggins that he needed to lose 106 lbs in under 3 months to be eligible for Navy SEAL training. Goggins accepted.

Over the course of 3 months, Goggins locked in and trained his body and mind relentlessly to meet the requirements. 3 months later, he showed up 106 lbs lighter and was enlisted into BUD/S training (a 6 month basic training to become a Navy SEAL, with Hell Week typically being featured in the fourth week). He completed the first 3 weeks of BUD/S training and had to face the notorious Hell Week: a brutal five and a half day training session making soldiers work with minimal sleep, cold and wet conditions, in addition to constant mental and physical exertion, designed to deplete a person of all energy and willpower. It leaves only the toughest and strongest people standing and those people are the ones to most likely be enlisted.  Within the first few days of Hell Week, Goggins suffered stress fractures (from his previous intense and rapid weight loss) and double pneumonia. Therefore, he was forced to be moved back to day 1, week 1. He reentered Hell Week, but was sent back again due to a broken patella (kneecap) and was forced to repeat Hell Week for a total of 3 times before successfully graduating in class 235. He was assigned to be in SEAL team 5. Goggins later went on to be deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting for his nation.

The Running

While being deployed in Afghanistan, Goggins witnessed the losses of multiple teammates. At that point, they weren't just teammates, they were brothers. Fueled by their losses, Goggins started running ultramarathons to raise money for the special operations task force and to push his own limits. Goggins first ran the San Diego One Day 24-Hour Ultramarathon in 2005, where he ran, without any prior marathon experience, 100 miles in under 19 hours. This resulted in him qualifying for the brutal Badwater 135 race.

The Badwater 135 is a grueling 135-mile ultramarathon taking place in California’s blistering Death Valley. Goggins showed no fear and completed the race in 30 hours within a 48 hour time limit, finishing 5th overall. He raised over 17,000 USD towards charity, and did it all with kidney failure and torn muscles. This race was the true game changer that led Goggins to keep pushing his limits and chasing personal records, creating his infamous motto “Stay Hard”, symbolising mental toughness and pushing past your comfort zone to go from soft to hard.  He later went on to break the pull up world record in 2013 by completing 4,030 pull ups in just over 17 hours.

 Inspired by his own accomplishments, he proceeded to publish two books showcasing his background and extreme mental toughness, inspiring millions to change their lives as well. His 1st and 2nd books are named “Can’t Hurt Me” and “Never Finished”.

The Conclusion

David Goggins proves to be an ultimate testament of pushing beyond mental and physical limits to truly discover what you are worth. Despite being 50 years old, Goggins still actively runs ultramarathons and completes hurling workouts and has been named “The toughest man on the planet”. Even you can discover what you are truly capable of both physically and mentally by just taking that first step.

Will you take that first step?

Stay Hard.