Goggins intimately understands how we hold ourselves back by telling ourselves we are incapable. He grew up in an abusive home where his father beat him up, was bullied at school, stuttered and was, at one stage, obese. The first time he ran, he made it only 400 metres. "I saw myself as the weake...

You wouldn't know it, but Goggins hates running. 

He hates it with a passion. Growing up, Goggins has always been on the larger side. He loved powerlifting and had the physique to show for it. But in the world of Ultra, such a large frame is virtually unheard of. It was just inefficient to ...

most of us spend our lives trying to avoid pain, whereas David seeks it out. He believes that you can’t possibly reach your true potential without truly pushing your limits. To get there will take some tough challenges and, yes inevitable pain.

In other words, David Goggins is the modern day stoic. But unlike the ancient philosophers who advised that we should periodically embrace suffering, Goggins has actually made suffering a habit.

the point is that you have to see yourself accomplishing something before it really happens. The mind has to conceive it before the body can achieve it.

The question he asks himself in times of struggle contains only two simple words: “what if?”

When he first walked into the Navy SEAL...

To understand your “why” and what motivates you, “you first have to spend time alone,” he adds, especially in today’s fast-paced environment. “Everybody’s walking around looking at their phone. … They go home and flip through channels. They go home and talk on the phone. How are you going to figu...