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PERSONNAL OPENING THOUGHTS

After reading Goggins’ first book Can’t Hurt Me, I am thrilled to discover his second one. I already loved the fact that, before the publishing of Never Finished, he stated that it wasn’t a “self-help” book, based on temporary fixes or fake motivation. At first, Goggins didn’t even want to write a second book, as he didn’t want people to think he was doing it just for money. Instead, this book focuses on building true mental resilience, pushing beyond perceived limits, and embracing the grind of continuous self-improvement. Goggins doesn’t sugarcoat the journey; he emphasizes that real growth is uncomfortable, but necessary for lasting transformation. I can’t wait to dive deeper into this next level of his uncompromising mindset.

INTRODUCTION

• Improvement alone is often not enough – we must drill down and rewire those cut connections in our hearts, minds and souls
  • It is the only way to attain belief
• Two levels of belief:
  • Surface level belief, told by our coaches, teachers, therapists and parents
  • Belief born in resilience that comes from working through pain, fatigue, and reason. It comes from within
• Not only did I find it (David talks about finding his potential), I learned to maximize it
• People are often motivated to change, but crumble at the slightest challenge and return to being unsatisfied
• Damaged people often chase instant gratifications, immediate dopamine fixes and fill their void with material, meaningless things
• It’s about constant effort, learning and adaptation, which demands discipline and belief
  

CHAPTER ONE: Maximize minimal potential

• How long will you allow your past to hold you back before you finally take control of your future?
• David’s dad was a victim that became the abuser
  • After visiting his dad after almost 12 years, David realized that he didn’t hate his dad because he finally understood him
• Hoping and wishing are like gambling on long shots

Audio book’s comments

• Find enough courage to stay in the dark tunnel, after some time, your eyes will adjust, and ultimately that darkness will become the light
  • This makes me also think about the quote in one of Kanye West’s song where it says ‘Even if you’re not ready for the day, it cannot always be night‘

EVOLUTION 1

• When you spend your life regretting what was or asking ‘Why me?‘ you end up dying without accomplishing nothing at all

Because our sad stories enable us to grade ourselves on a forgiving curve. They give us latitude and justification to stay lazy, weak-minded motherfuckers, and the longer it takes for us to process that pain, the harder it is to reclaim our lives

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• We often wait and think we’re owed to receive an apology or confession to move on with our lives
  • We become entitled and sorry for ourselves and it takes a form of self rebellion
• You don’t have to wait for anybody to free yourself from your past and traumas. You can do it by yourself
• I was my main problem and primary obstacle
• In order for Goggins to move on from his past traumas with his father, which he considered as a demon, he humanized him. Which made his father small
• There is no towel in our corner. There is water and a cut man.

Audio book’s comments

• Even if it hurts and without dismissing the problem and pain, you have to move on as soon as possible, you have to continue fighting
• David never talks about something he haven’t experienced
• We have to believe that those difficult circumstances will make us stronger

CHAPTER TWO: Merry Fucking Christmas

• I saw things as they really were, and that made me a fighter
• Accepting yourself entirely will allow you to evolve and help you reach your full potential
• The fact that David’s story and first book was rejected proved him once more that he was the ultimate underdog
  • It made him maintain faith in himself and his vision and inspired him to work harder
  • Publishing the book by himself was the biggest bet David has ever made
• You cannot be afraid to disappoint people, live the life you want to live
• Trailblazers never take routes that have already been taken
• You need to accept for the fact that life will throw you some potholes, even when you least expect it
  • MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS, MOTHERFUCKER!

EVOLUTION 2

• By audio recording your traumas, challenges, obstacles, doubts, fears… You can turn those into energy and confidence
  • A lot of people are afraid to do that, they fear exposure
• Whining and soft self-talk wont get you to get up and to keep moving

The way we speak to ourselves in moments of doubt is crucial, whether or not the stakes are high. Because our words become actions, and our actions build habits that can coat our minds and bodies with the plaque of ambivalence, hesitancy, and passivity and separate us from our own lives.

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• True winners will find strength and energy in everything they experience, hear and see
  • Bullying, heartbreak, defeats, failures…

Audio book’s comments

• We gotta learn to laugh at our haters
  • Use them to your advantage and to fuel you
• Every single human has haters
• If you’re strong enough to speak about your trauma and to listen to it, you start to get control back of your life
• You’ll never meet a hater doing better than you

CHAPTER THREE: The Mental Lab

• David Goggins used to cultivate an alter ego who refused to quit under any circumstance (Goggins)
  • That alter ego was powered by the dark side of his soul that wanted to become the hardest motherfucker to ever live
• We often say no to things that we already know will require the maximum of our dedication and that have no guarantee of success
• Professional fighters train for their biggest bouts by rediscovering their primal nature and that hunger that made them hard
  • Goggins also used to stay primal
• When you are a full time savage, it’s a lifestyle. There is no ‘want to’. There is only ‘must do’
• Even we should never stop seeking for growth, we have to remember the core of who we are, or else we could lose ourselves
• Mental toughness and resilience are like muscles: if we stop training them they will fade
  • You’re either getting better, or you’re getting worse
• Doing things that nobody would even consider doing proved Goggins that he was in fact uncommon amongst the uncommon

Audio book’s comments

• Goggins started creating his alter ego in the mental lab back when he was doing the water evolutions. He realized that he was not mentally equipped enough
• You become what you tell yourself

EVOLUTION 3

• Many dreams die while suffering
  • We plan our most crazy goals and dreams while were the most comfortable, when anything feels possible
• We go from being driven to becoming convinced that we had no business even trying
• Your comfort and warmth cost you a piece of your soul, and a lifetime of regret
• During Hell Week, David was able to see that the life he desired was on the other side of surf torture, which kept him from giving up
• Life is built on seconds that you must repeatedly win
  • Regaining control of your mind in a split second
• Everything in life is finite. But the outcome of those finite things comes down to your One-Second Decisions
• Quitting on a dream stays with us – it can affect our self-confidence, the way we see ourselves and our future life decisions
  • While not giving up on a dream can make us learn some powerful skills like perseverance
• When you quit something, always make sure you do not react in the heat of the moment when it is hard and based on your emotions

Audio book’s comments

• Life is an endurance race
• You cannot always be a control freak in life
• Everyday, David has a morning meeting where he would identify some important aspects for the day to mentally prepare himself
  • He would ask himself ‘Do you really wanna be here?‘ ; ‘What happens if you quit?‘ ; ‘What are you gonna do with your life if you quit?‘

CHAPTER FOUR: A Savage Reborn

• A prepared mind is always ready for the worst and knows that pressure brings our its best and exposes almost everyone else
• The only competition that should matter is you against you
• Life is not pass/fail. It’s about impact and effort.

When the distance is unknown, it is even more critical that you stay locked in so the unknown factor doesn’t steal your focus. The end will come when it comes, and anticipation will only distract you from completing the task in front of you to the best of your ability. Remember, the struggle is the whole journey. That’s why you’re out there.

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• Why not spend one single day doing something I’ll be proud of for the rest of my life?
• Complaining about the pain makes you unfocused and it only prolonges the pain
• Your strongest moments will often make you think of your weakest
• To become great in any field, you must become imbalanced and embrace your savage side, at least for a period of time. Your obsession and dedication will be misunderstood and may break some relationships, but an imbalanced lifestyle only appears selfish on the outside
• Always beware when you spit in the wind...

Audio book’s comments

• David is not a self-help guy
• There is a big difference between 99% and 100%, and to get to that 100%, it takes ignoring your comfort
• Hard times are there to test your ability to go the distance, even if everyone is against you

EVOLUTION 4

• Often, victims who experience trauma lose their self-respect and self-awareness
• Destruction leads to creation
• When your self-worth goes away and you don’t deal with or accept your demons, they will continue to own you, and you will become a bottom feeder
• Hard Stop: Arrest the slide before you hit rock bottom
  • You will be damaged, but not completely broken
• Controlled anger can help you to wake the fuck up and make you realize that what you went through was not right

Audio book’s comments

• David chilhood was like a front row seat of a horror movie
• I rather you hate me and get better than like me and stay the same.
• Goggins’ father would repeatedly tell his mother ‘Don’t think,’ throughout the years he abused her, keeping her in a trance-like state (hearing this made me sick)
• Jackie (Goggins’ mom) had two different personas, a private and a public one
  • For example, deep down, she always was ashamed that she had kids without getting married. However she never showed that embarassement in public
• You gotta find help with the people who are qualified to help your situation out
• The more we speak about our traumas and abuse, the less it holds us prisonner of them
• His mom knew that, even if it was hard to watch, David needed to destroy himself in order to renew himself
• What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly

CHAPTER FIVE: Disciple of Discipline

• Mental and emotional scars can open up just as easily as physical scars unless we take care of them
• Transformation comes from breakdown
• We all need an elder or a teacher who refuses to tell us what we want to hear in the way we want to hear it
  • We must prepare our kids for the world as it is
• In the military, the is a saying that says ‘If you are stupid, you better be hard‘.
• Accept the fact that you are on your own, nobody will come to save you
• David craved discipline because he knew it will save him
  • Only discipline can alter your DNA
  • I am at my best when I am a disciple of discipline
• Never treat yourself as a victim, you must find the lesson is every shitty situation and use it to become stronger, wiser and better. That requires humility

EVOLUTION 5

• No one gives a shit of your past, everybody is dealing with their own issues
• Comfort brings pity, which makes you seek external validation which will make you less independent + feeling sorry for yourself will lower your chances of success
• Everyones starts at the bottom and from there it is attitude and action that will determine your future
• Humility keeps you rooted in reality and your emotions in check. You can’t rise with bitterness and entitlement

People who feel sorry for themselves are obsessed with their own problems and their own fate. Is that really much different than the greedy and egotistical people who want to feel better than everybody else?

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• Trained humility: no matter how succesful you are in your field, always be humble enough to never stop learning and growing. When you are humble enough to remember that you’ll never know it all, each lesson you learn makes you hungrier to learn more
  • Once a teacher, always a student !

Audio book’s comments

• David never had a childhood, the ‘good’ thing about it is that he understood from a young age how the world works
• The only way he was able to survive was with hardcore discipline

CHAPTER SIX: The Art of Getting Hit in the Mouth

• David Goggins did the MOAB 240 race only 6 weeks after finishing Leadville (!)
• Our goals are as elastic as our sense of self
• When you constantly overthink about a thing, it is a sign that you need to evaluate and address that issue, before it becomes a serious obstacle you may never overcome
• If you stay in the same place, you will never know if you have what it takes
• Never get emotional or over-excited at the beginning of something hard
  • Always stay calm, focused and aware
• Three crucial requirements for a high level of Situational Awarness (SA)
  • Perception – knowing where you are and where are the pitfalls
  • Comprehension – understand the entire picture
  • Projection – think like a chess master, strategize your moves
• We often blame and point fingers at others instead of calling ourselves out – never fixes anything in the short or long term
• Picking yourself up from the canvas is the hardest and longest step in order to regain your momentum
• The goal is always to complete the mission, with no regrets and a clear head – especially in things that require endurance. Perspective helps you to understand that
• You need to be able to perform without purpose
  • Anywhere I lack, I will improve because I exist and I am willing
• You must be your own motivator, your own drill instructor
• One step is all that is required to take the next one
• Goggins explains that a lot of people think that he’s a masochist, or that he only does what he does to impress others. In reality, he does it because the body and mind never fail to amaze him

Audio book’s comments

• Most of the things we get mad about are because of our fault
• I’m not crazy, I’m just not you!

EVOLUTION 6

• In military terms, a foxhole is a small dugout used by soldiers for protection and concealment during combat. However, a foxhole can easily become your grave
• Your inner circle is very important, you should always chose people that understand your future goals and past limitations
• Not every person who knows you for a long time have your best interest
• Before chosing a foxhole, know who you are as an individual and shake off your old belief system and your concept of society and the world
• When you change, a lot of people will be resistant of your evolution
  • Don’t bother trying to please everybody
• Your inner circle should always evolve with you
• Better to fight alone than with the wrong foxhole

Audio book’s comments

• Think about it as finding your co-fighters or a team that will push you and help you achieve what you want to achieve
• It’s not always about finding like-minded people, it’s the people who can pull the best out of you
• Sometimes, people who always support you will also support you when you skip one training, being lazy…
• Sometimes, it is best to fight alone but ultimately, you will need reinforcements
• Your foxhole knows what you’re capable of, and they will push you all the way to succeed, and you will push them too

CHAPTER SEVEN: The Reckoning

• The minute Goggins got home from Moab, he went for a run (!)
  • For Goggins, running had become like breathing for him, it became like a reflex
• The only thing more infectious than a good attitude, is a bad one
  • The more you focus on the negative, the weaker you feel
• Roger that = Received, order given, expect results
• Your fate depends on your approach
• Smile to remind them that you are most dangerous when you’re cornered
• There was a challenge buried in the bad news
• Make sure that your goals are not too easily attainable
  • Goggins like to set audacious goals during dark times
• Expecting the worst removes the fear of failure, prepares you for all outcomes and can make you focus more on the positive
• When your entire day is fucked up, make sure that you achieve something positive before lights out
• I am a student of life
• For a long time, David entered monk mode, where his whole existence revolved around training for the next Moab 240, visualization, and the recovery of his knee
• You cannot rely on others to attain our goals. You need to learn personal ownership and self-leadership
  • I am commited to my own success
• A person who refuses to quit has a lot of tools at their disposal
• Your willingness to keep doing something you’re afraid of will help you make peace with it. You may even be inspired to try master it

‘I’m not a freak’, I said. ‘I’m just a guy who believes in himself more than most. I am aware of what we are all capable of and that to get there, I have to harness every bit of power and energy I can. Power that is all within all of us and all around us. I use your weakness as strength. I use your aggravation as strength. I ignite my competitive spirit with yours to get me moving even faster. Because if I can drop a hard motherfucker like you this deep into a race, what the fuck does that say about me?’

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Audio book’s comments

• David used to give himself 24 hours to whine about something bad happening to him, before getting back to it and start grinding again
• When you hit a big massive goal, even if it’s hardly attainable, you will still achieve a whole lot of smaller goals

EVOLUTION 7

• During the Tactical Air Control Party in 1996, there was a man in David’s group (Captain Conolly) who did more than the double of all of the training that they did
  • The Captain did not need any external motivation. He had his own standart
  • David viewed his insane work as a way for him to drop breadcrumbs for anybody who was awake and aware enough to follow him
  • He made David uncomfortable because he exposed his lack of dedication to giving his best effort every day
  • Being around people like Captain Conolly forces you to try harder and be better
• Humans love standarts because it gives our brain something to focus on
• Leaders are made through unseen work
  • They set example through actions, not words
• The best way to lead a group is to live the example and showing what is possible through dedication, effort, performance and results
• You live and perform differently when you think you’re being watched
  • Goggins imagined he was being watched by the Captain
• He was the first one to show me how to do more with less
• David uses every challenge as an arena for his own self-development

I live with a Day One, Week One mentality. This mentality is rooted in self-discipline, personal accountability, and humility. While most people stop when they’re tired, I stop when I am done. In a world where mediocrity is often the standart, my life’s mission is to become uncommon amongst the uncommon.

David Goggins’ oath to himself ; Page 243

• When you live by your oath, you will never need anyone else to lead you, because no matter what happens, you will never be lost

Audio book’s comments

• In your unseen work, it is just you against you
  • 99% of your work is unseen
  • No coach, no witnesses… just you and yourself
• Think as you are your own carver of the sculpture you want to create
• When you get around people like Captain Conolly it exposes yourself and all of your ugly truths. And it may bother you
• Being a self-leader is lonely

CHAPTER EIGHT: Play until the whistle

• When you produce heavy doses of mental and physical suffering to yourself, you will become mentally tougher
• David’s mind is never fixed, he’s always searching for his new 100%
• No matter what you are dealing with, your goal should be to maximize the resources and capabilities you do have
  • Some people are scared to change their circumstances because they know they are no longer who they used to be
• Pain will always be there, it comes down to how much you are willing to endure

Audio book’s comments

• No matter what happens, always keep playing until the whistle
• Life is the greatest competitor
• You cannot fight with your head down
• The moment you start to be bitter, everything will go down. You will lose your focus

EVOLUTION 8

• There are no prerequequisites to becoming great
• Your demons will always find a way to limit you and to take you back to your comfort zone

Audio book’s comments

• Fascination and wonder sets your imagination up and often makes us realize that everything is possible
• David realized that he did not have talent like a lot of succesfull athletes, but he did have courage, resilience and guts
  • As he got older, David realized that his only way out was through strength
• From a young age, David realized that he needed to create his own reality
• Often our loved ones are terrified to see you fail, so they do everything to prevent you to fail, but it is actually from our failures that you truly get to know what you’re capable of and what you need to get to the other side
• Talent is not required. What is truly needed is heart, passion, drive and that willingness to never give up even though we are facing very high odds
• Goggins is always asking himself ‘Can you take another step?‘ and the answer is almost always YES

CHAPTER NINE: Wringing Out the Soul

• Willing warriors don’t find excuses
• David found inspiration in the shocked eyes of people who saw him doing fucked up things
  • The what-the-fuck looks
• David did not seek to take the souls of his PLF group members , he wanted to push them like they were pushing him
• Back in SEAL training, David loved to see people quit, it elevated him in some way. But now, he realized that this way of thinking was ego-driven and immature. Today, he takes responsibility to help out everyone so that they can become better. No matter the situation
• Never drop your head down
  • It gives your brain the message that you are giving up
• Never be scared to ask for help
• A leader is not someone who is the best at everything, it is someone who faces big odds, yet always continues to try
• It’s good you’re not a natural. I can see your will, and I respect that.
• No matter who you are, there are things that you’ve been told that your kind cannot do
  • You have to be willing to be an outlier, to prove those stereotypes wrong
• There is no use in a smooth road to success, we have to be tested

I don’t evem look at it as failure anymore. It is simply my first, second, third, or tenth attempt. That is what belief does to you. It takes failure out of the equation completely because you go in knowing the process will be long and arduous, and that is what the fuck we do.

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PERSONNAL CLOSING THOUGHTS

I absolutely loved this book. Like Can’t Hurt Me, Never Finished features challenges called ‘evolutions’ that, while perhaps less actionable, offer valuable philosophies we can all learn from. It was fascinating to see how, despite the enormous success following the publication of his first book, Goggins remained unchanged—and it seemed to fuel his pursuit of suffering even further. I will always be captivated by David Goggins’ relentless spirit.