Book notes: Never Finished by David Goggins

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Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within by David Goggins

Synopsis:

“This is not a self-help book. It’s a wake-up call!

Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins’ smash hit memoir, demonstrated how much untapped ability we all have but was merely an introduction to the power of the mind. In Never Finished, Goggins takes you inside his Mental Lab, where he developed the philosophy, psychology, and strategies that enabled him to learn that what he thought was his limit was only his beginning and that the quest for greatness is unending.

The stories and lessons in this raw, revealing, unflinching memoir offer the listener a blueprint they can use to climb from the bottom of the barrel into a whole new stratosphere that once seemed unattainable. Whether you feel off-course in life, are looking to maximize your potential or drain your soul to break through your so-called glass ceiling, this is the only book you will ever need.” -Audible

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Opening thoughts:

David Goggins first book was insane and I’m excited to listen to this one. I’m glad to hear that he’s been doing so well and has continued to make an impact and inspire others even after the success of his first book.

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Key notes:

Introduction

• Belief is what changes people into a different “animal”

Chapter 1: Maximize Minimal Potential

• When you’re born a loser, your goal is to survive, not thrive

Podcast 1

• If you can manage to stay in the darkness in the scary tunnel of life, eventually your eyes will begin to adjust

Evolution No. 1 

• You don’t need anyone to free you from your trauma. You can do it on your own

Podcast 2

• No matter what life setbacks you have, you have to remember to keep moving forward

Chapter 2: Merry Fucking Christmas

• Denial is self-protecting, but it’s also self-limiting
  • Accepting your full truth, including all your faults, imperfections and missteps allows you to evolve, expand your possibilities, seek redemption, and explore your true potential
• Everyone in the book publishing industry said he was a fool for turning down a publishing deal so that he could self publish
• You cannot be afraid to disappoint people. You have to be willing to live
  • Sometimes that means being the motherfucker who puts a middle finger up to everyone in the room and being comfortable with that
• Merry Fucking Christmas is about the surprise gifts life has wrapped up just waiting for you to stumble into

Podcast 3

• He recounts his AFIB episode right after reaching NYT best seller

Evolution No 2.: Never waste a fucking thing

• David turns the negative words of haters into positive progress
• Make your own mixtape of recording yourself saying all the doubts you have and ones others have against you
  • Use this as fuel and as a way to lessen their impact

Podcast 4

• He has a friend who used the recording technique and if he doesn’t like the self-talk, uses it as a way to reorient and change until he likes what he hears about his inner thoughts
• You’ll never meet a hater doing better than you

Chapter 3: The Mental Lab

• Create yourself in your own mental lab
  • Somewhere you can be alone with your thoughts and wrestle with the substance of what and who you want to be in your one and short life on earth
• You’re either getting better or getting worse. You’re never staying the same
  • Long before the body goes soft, the mind will have softened

Podcast 5

• His alter ego Goggins is a savage

Evolution No. 3

• Many dreams die while suffering
• Life, like hell week, is built on seconds that you must win. Repeatedly
• The best person in any combat scenario is the one who is composed enough to take a knee while the bullets are flying to evaluate the situation and landscape to find a way forward 
• You have to remind yourself of what you’re good at and where you excel so that when things are hard, it doesn’t overwhelm you
• Respect is earned every day by waking up early, challenging yourself with new dreams or digging up old nightmares, and embracing the suck like you have nothing and have never done a damn thing in your life

Podcast 6

• He has a “morning meeting” with himself to try and dissect the possible stressors of the day to potentially prepare for it

Chapter 4: A Savage Reborn

• A prepared mind craves the worst conditions because it knows that pressure brings out its best and exposes almost everyone else
• Life is not about pass-fail. It’s about impact and effort
• We have to stop looking for a sign that the hard time will end; aka false summits 

Podcast 7

Evolution No. 4

• When your self-worth goes away and you don’t deal with or accept your demons, they’ll continue to own you
  • Sometimes you have to have a hard stop when you’re in a bad situation and use your anger to claw your way out of your own prison

Podcast 8

• He had a tough interview with his mom Jackie Gardner about all her abuse and trauma over the years
• It’s important to have a hard stop and get the help you need from people who can help

Chapter 5: Disciple of Discipline

• There is no transformation without breakdown
• When a half-assed job doesn’t bother you, it speaks volumes about the kind of person you are
  • Until you start feeling a sense of pride and self-respect in the work you do, you will continue to half-ass your life
• We must prepare our kids for the world as it is, not make them comfortable and entitled
• Accept that you are on your own and nobody will come to save you
  • They may show you an example, but you must do the work
    • Then you must become a disciple of discipline

Podcast 9

• His grandfather Sergeant Jack never said “well done” or “I love you” but when he graduated from basic training in the Air Force like him, he saw him shed a single tear and was clearly beaming with pride
• Discipline is the only thing in this world that will change your DNA

Evolution No. 5

• Humility is the antidote to self-pity
• Trained humility is service and strength
  • Each lesson learned makes you hungrier to learn more
  • Continued growth only comes when you’re willing to become humble

Podcast 10

Chapter 6: The Art of Getting Hit in the Mouth

• There is never a time in your entire life where you should give in to that autopilot mentality
• Once a mistake has been made in the heat of battle, the only thing that matters is dealing with the aftermath with a clear head 
• The best life lessons don’t appear when things go well. It’s when all your goals and pretty plans turn to shit that you can see your flaws and learn more about yourself
  • You must take every opportunity to strengthen your resolve 
• If you have the mindset that the rewards you seek are internal, you’ll find opportunities for growth everywhere
  • During tough times, that growth can be exponential
• Quitting chips away at your self-worth, and always requires some level of mental rehab
• He finished the 240 mile race despite the mishaps and medical meltdowns, and was already planning out and mentally preparing for next year

Podcast 11

Evolution No. 6

• Small minds and weak people kill big dreams
• Be careful if who you invite in to your foxhole – your fighting position that you need to be willing to die in
  • You never want someone in your foxhole who lacks faith or will try to steer you away from your full potential by giving you permission to pack it in
  • The right foxhole can bring your from the depths
    • They know what you’re capable of and they’ll push you all the way until you succeed 

Chapter 7: The Reckoning

• It’s an unwritten natural law of the universe that you will be tested
  • It’s inevitable for all of us, yet we are not formally taught how to handle unexpected adversity
• Whatever happens to us in life, we must aim to keep things net positive
  • Even if you have to stay up later, try to end your day with something positive to balance out the negative
• Each task is a reflection of your mindset, values, and future prospects
  • It’s an opportunity to be the person you ve always wanted to be
• Sympathy has no power. Humor on the other hand picks everyone up
  • It’s a huge morale booster
• He finished the 240 race with one of the fastest times in 2nd place, 90 minutes behind the leader
• He became the first person ever to finish a 200-mile Florida race in under 3 days
  • It was a total of 500 miles run in 6 weeks at that point
  • He was in the best shape of his life at 44 years old

Podcast 13

Evolution No. 7

• It is the uncommon story, the uncommon leader, that inspires others to seek more of themselves, work harder, and rise to the occasion
  • Setting an example through action rather than words will always be the most potent form of leadership
    • It’s available to all of us. The best way to lead a group is simply to live the example and show your team what’s truly possible

Podcast 14

• There’s a lot of unseen work you need to put in in order to be ready for life’s opportunities

Chapter 8: Play Until the Whistle

• He had a failed knee surgery that ultimately lead to an even bigger one to try and recover his leg functionality
• He completed the 440-mile bike race in 2nd place 12 weeks after major surgery and after only being on a bike 10 or so days prior

Podcast 15

Evolution No. 8

• Greatness is possible for anyone and everyone
  • Greatness is a state of letting go of your faults and imperfections, scavenging every last bit of strength and energy, and putting it to use, to excel at whatever you put your mind to

Podcast 16

Chapter 9: Wringing Out the Soul

• He believed his best quality as a leader is that he knows his entire class will graduate
• We all stumble and have things to work on in life
  • It’s important not to drop your head because it tells your brain you don’t have what it takes to succeed
    • And if you need help, ask for it, and don’t be ashamed of it
• Belief in yourself takes failure out of the equation because you go in knowing the process will be long and arduous
• This world needs us to evolve into the very best versions of ourselves

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Closing thoughts:

This was a fantastic book and a great follow-up to his last book, Can’t Hurt Me. I also loved that in this book he does the podcast sections in between each chapter, as well as the Evolution breakdowns in between. It’s a great way to get “behind the scenes” commentary on what’s going on in the story, as well as reinforce the main points that the author is making.

In general, a lot of the ideas are similar to the last book, but I really enjoyed how it’s a sequel because we get to follow up on what David has been up to since the last book. And it’s crazy how his life has gotten even harder and he’s still risen to the challenges each time.

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One Takeaway / Putting into practice:

There are a lot of great takeaways in this book, and any one of them would be a great place here. However, my choice for my one takeaway would be:

• The world needs us to evolve into the very best versions of ourselves

It’s the last point I wrote down for this book and I think it’s the most encompassing takeaway because it sums up what I think David Goggins represents. He is a guy who tries to become the most badass version of himself because he knows that it’s his way of making the world a better place. Him overcoming his obstacles helps to inspire others to seek their own better versions of themselves.

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Nutshell:

A peek into the mind of David Goggins, one of the hardest and most savage people on the planet.

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Similar books:

• Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
• Kick Ass with Mel Robbins
• Unfu*k Yourself by Gary John Bishop
• Relentless by Tim S. Grover
• Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

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Rating:

4/5

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