To get things done, I’ve always placed a higher value on discipline over motivation, but this book is far more than motivation.
David Goggins presents a masterclass on conviction. Can’t Hurt Me show’s the mentality of the Hardest Man on Earth.
He is superhuman in his ability to suffer, work, and achieve.
When I feel like I am at the end of abilities I think of David and he haunts me with his not so gentle encouragement and the reminder to stay hard and never quit.
Lesson 1: Choose Our Suffering
Most people are programmed to seek comfort. The high achievers grind through the suffering because what is desired is more important than what is felt.
It doesn’t have to be giant leaps and bounds, but every day, there must be an effort to improve. Small incremental improvements over a long enough period of time equals massive progress.
To get there we must make the choice to move out of the comfort zone and push aside the ego.
Know that there will be setbacks and bad days, but each obstacle, each hurdle, is an opportunity to set yourself apart.
The idea of being a real estate investor is glamorous and attractive. But most people won’t do the work.
- It is easy to want the luxury house, the sleek car, the private jet
- It is easy to want the shopping sprees and big bank accounts
- It’s not easy to pick up the phone when a call comes in
- It’s not glamorous to get rejected again and again
- It’s not enjoyable to start an eviction
Challenge yourself to rise to the occasion and hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone could ask of you.
March down the path even when times are tough. Demand excellence from yourself in all that you do.
Life is a game and you are either playing to win or playing not to lose. Get better or get passed by, there is no other choice.
Lesson 2: Remove Excuses
To a man that has been a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, Air Force TACP, and Smoke Jumper forest firefighter there are no excuses.
Do you think you don’t have the inborn talent to be a real estate investor? It doesn’t matter. It isn’t about talent. It is about focus and hard work.
Do you think you don’t have the time to be an investor on top of your already busy life? It doesn’t matter. Manage your time as if your life depended on it.
Put out. Win the morning, schedule the rest, and say no to everything and everyone that doesn’t help you complete the mission.
You are not a victim, you can never be the victim, so fight the victim mentality tooth and nail.
Seems overly aggressive and simplified? Good, that is exactly what it takes to become uncommon. That is what you want correct?
- Common people live paycheck to paycheck
- Common people have no emergency savings to fall back on
- Common people have a single source of income (their job)
Notice I said, common, not bad. Common is a measure of the frequency of occurrence, not a moral judgment.
Reading this you might even fall into the categories I just listed. That is OK.
But if you want to be among the uncommon, the business owners, the financially independent, it takes effort.
As another Navy SEAL we covered on this site would say, all your excuses are lies.
Our self-talk, the inner voice is what causes us to fail. Our enemies, friends, family, or critics, the outside voices, cannot make us quit. It is our own internal voice that submits to defeat.
Goggins believes in work ethic above everything.
Focus all that you have into the task at hand no matter what it is. Running 100 miles through Death Valley? Sitting at a desk and writing evaluations? It didn’t matter, he gave 100%.
Did he love it all the time? Absolutely not. That is the point of choosing what you want to suffer through to accomplish the mission.
Lesson 3: It’s All Mental
To a man that is an ultra-marathon runner, that set a world record for the number of pull-ups done in a day, and once lost 100 lbs in a month, life is all a mental game.
The greatest question in that game is, “what am I capable of”?
We have untapped potential within us to achieve our goals once we push past the barriers of discomfort, but you have to know your “why”.
I remember when I was in the Army and suffering through, let’s call it, unpleasant conditions, how badly you want to quit and go home. Being a soldier is all pride and glory until the sun goes down and you’re tired, wet, cold, and hungry.
The same temptations to quit happen in real estate investing. There is no boss, so there is less accountability. No one is there to tell you what to do or how to use your time. If you leave it till tomorrow maybe things will turn out fine. It is easy to be excited at REIA meetings where everyone knows you and is pulling for you.
- But what is the choice you make when you go door knocking and pull up to see a homeowner out there with wife and child?
- What choice do you make when you show up to a seller’s property and there is another investor there already chatting?
- What choice do you make when your tenant falls behind on rent?
- Do you fight the discomfort?
- Do you go home, because no one is watching no one will ever know?
- Why do you make one more call?
- Why do you post one more article?
Are you optimizing for the long game? True greatness is sustained over the long run. It is years if not decades of effort in the mission-driven life.
Don’t just read David Goggins’ book. Do the work he assigns you after each chapter.
Follow him on social media. I suggest Instagram where he is constantly running and grinding out messages of inspiration.
I kid you not, I have started running again after reading this book (and I’ve always hated running).
Knowledge is powerful, execution is everything.
Stay hard.
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