Leadership Lessons From David Goggins

Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 11:01 PM

“The only easy day was yesterday…”

It’s the U.S. Navy SEAL way of life. It is posted in their training facility in Coronado, California and is truest definition of their training I have ever seen.

If I could write in explicit detail what it takes to become a SEAL, you’d quit reading before you got to the end of my essay. It is that brutal.

David Goggins is a U.S. Navy SEAL, and he makes the training, work schedule and lifestyle of this elite commando unit look like a warm-up exercise.

I first heard Goggins speak on a conference call several months ago. I was taken by the blend of humility and intensity, sacrifice and dedication to something he “hates” and his unbelievable threshold for pain and endurance.

I say “unbelievable” and immediately show my cards. Goggins is not like everyone else. He is not even like every other SEAL. Goggins is special. Goggins doesn’t just have “another gear” to help him accomplish his remarkable tasks, he has a whole different mindset universe.

David Goggins is not only a U.S. Navy SEAL, he is also an ultra-marathoner. A typical marathon is 26.2 miles (Goggins will run twice that in a typical week). An ultra-marathon can be 100 miles or more.

100+ miles, run all at once. Without stopping. With. Out. Stopping.

Here is the part that is ASTOUNDING about David Goggins, and why I consider him one of my teachers. In Goggins’ own words, he “hates running”. He gets up at 3:30 every morning (can you do that?) and goes for a 15 mile (or longer) run. Then he bikes to work (a modest 25 minute bike ride). Then puts in a full day of kicking ass and taking names (he’s a SEAL).

Then he takes a break.

At lunch, he’ll go for a “short” 3-5 mile run. Kicks more ass, takes more names. Then he bikes home. Then he does another short run. But he “hates” it.

What the HELL is going on here?

David is committed. He does what he “hates” because he is committed to the Special Ops Warrior Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising money for children of soldiers killed in combat.

More on why David Goggins is one of my teachers.

He lost some valued members of his team in a mission in Afghanistan. He could have mourned (which I’m sure he did), said it wasn’t fair, asked why they had to die, and used their deaths as an excuse to be mediocre.

But instead he Googled “10 hardest things to do” and did it. And “hates” it.

Leadership is often times about doing what we don’t want to do. It is about enduring pain, sacrificing personal comfort, and going all-out when we feel we have nothing left to give.

It’s also about dedicating oneself to a cause bigger than ourselves.

To this day, when I feel like “it’s not worth it”, or the comfortable blanket of procrastination snuggles tight around my mind, I remember Goggins getting out from under his blankets at 3:30 and doing the thing he “hates”.

Come to think of it, I might hate running more than him, but he has inspired me to get back into it.

David Goggins is a true leader and inspiration. I hope he has the same impact on you, and your business!

Go to www.DavidGoggins.com and see what I mean. Read his amazing story and tell me if you agree that Goggins is a true leader.

Go Big,
~JT