Sometimes, staying motivated feels like a battle and we’ve all been there. Many people, including psychologists and celebrities, recommend reading motivational quotes from your role model as a way to get out of that sad bubble.
That's where David Goggins comes in! He’s not exactly an ordinary motivation figure, he inspires military personnel, athletes, and anyone who needs to push harder when motivation runs dry.
On his social media, he uses the tagline “Beyond motivated” and sometimes he even says “Motivation is crap.” What does that even mean? David believes that motivation isn't enough to succeed. He teaches us that it takes more than motivation to keep going—you need to have drive and purpose. That’s the mindset he lives by! We've gathered some of his best motivational quotes from his books, podcasts, YouTube videos, and interviews. Read them to find the motivation you've been missing and channel David’s mindset to push through life!
For people who don’t know, David Goggins is one of the world’s top ultra-endurance athletes and the “toughest man alive”. Beyond his athletic feats, Goggins is a motivational speaker whose tough mindset pushes people to break their limits. Check out his interviews online, or read the quotes below for motivation! We have also given his motivational story kind of like a background to show that his quotes come from real experience, not just words.
These quotes are taken from David Goggins's three memoirs, Can’t Hurt Me, Never Finished, and Built Not Born. All books promote a no-nonsense approach to self-motivation and are filled with hard-hitting lessons for resilience. We highly recommend reading his first book, Can’t Hurt Me, if you’re looking to dig deep into his mindset. It’s especially helpful for bottom-up thinkers, as it offers detailed storytelling and practical tips at the end of each chapter.
Overall, his message is clear in all books that are “with enough mental toughness and discipline, you can rise above any challenge”. Goggins believes anyone can achieve more by pushing beyond their comfort zone and refusing to give up.
If you’re ready to embrace Goggins’ mindset, these top 30 quotes will give you a clear look at his approach. The point is not just reading them but applying them to your life to see real, lasting change:
- “Be more than motivated, be more than driven, become literally obsessed to the point where people think you’re fucking nuts.”
- “From the time you take your first breath, you become eligible to die. You also become eligible to find your greatness and become the one warrior.”
- “Nobody cares what you did yesterday. What have you done today to better yourself?”
- “You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft, that you will die without ever realizing your true potential.”
- “Within pushing limits, there’s always more.”
- “I become the roughest critic in the world on myself. And that's what changed me.”
- “Only you can master your mind, which is what it takes to live a bold life filled with accomplishments most people consider beyond their capability.”
- “The most important conversations you’ll ever have are the ones you’ll have with yourself.”
- “People take classes on self-help, mental toughness, breathing control – the only way to get tougher is to put yourself in hellacious situations.”
- “You want to be uncommon amongst uncommon people. Period.”
- “If you’re willing to suffer, and I mean to suffer, your brain and body once connected together, can do anything.”
- “A warrior is a guy that goes, I’m here again today. I’ll be here again tomorrow and the next day. It’s a person who puts no limit on what’s possible.”
- “You are giving up instead of getting hard! Tell the truth about the real reasons for your limitations and you will turn that negativity, which is real, into jet fuel. Those odds stacked against you will become a damn runway!”
- “Like the Taoists say, those that know don’t speak, and those who speak, well, they don’t know jack shit.”
- “When you think that you are done, you’re only 40% into what your body’s capable of doing. That’s just the limits that we put on ourselves.”
- “If you want to be one of the few to defy those trends in our ever-softening society, you will have to be willing to go to war with yourself and create a whole new identity, which requires an open mind.”
- “Know why you’re in the fight to stay in the fight! And never forget that all emotional and physical anguish is finite!”
- “The more things you can do to get outside of that zone that makes you feel good, the stronger your mind is going to get… It’s not fun, but now my mind is used to it.”
- “It’s about what we do with opportunities revoked or presented to us that determine how a story ends.”
- “Your entitled mind is dead weight. Cut it loose. Don’t focus on what you think you deserve. Take aim on what you are willing to earn!”
- “I was the sum total of the obstacles I’d overcome.”
- “It’s funny, humans tend to hatch our most challenging goals and dreams, the ones that demand our greatest effort yet promise absolutely nothing when we are tucked into our comfort zones.”
- “You gotta start your journey. It may suck, but eventually you will come out the other side on top.”
- “Motivation is a crap. Motivation comes and goes. When you’re driven, whatever is in front of you will get destroyed.”
- “Fear is my ultimate guide.”
- “Become A Savage & Live on Your Own Terms.”
- “There is no more time to waste. Hours and days evaporate like creeks in the desert. That’s why it’s okay to be cruel to yourself as long as you realize you’re doing it to become better.”
- “I knew that the confidence I’d managed to develop didn’t come from a perfect family or God-given talent. It came from personal accountability which brought me self-respect, and self-respect will always light a way forward.”
- “If you were hurt or are still in harm’s way, tell the story in full. Give your pain shape. Absorb its power, because you are about to flip that shit.”
- “When you're in hell, you forget how great you really are because you're suffering and you forget the great things you've done.”
David Goggins's Motivational Story with His Quotes
David Goggins understands how much trauma can affect someone's life. While growing up in Buffalo, New York, he experienced severe abuse from his father, who would often get violent when he drank. One day, after seeing his father almost beat his mother unconscious, David confronted him for the first time, by saying:
- “I’ve been scared to death of this guy because he’s been beating the shit out of me since I can remember … so this time, I stuck around, and I started to help her out. So I go down the stairs, and I jumped on his back … And he beat me literally from my neck down to my ankles, like black and blue.”
Despite his fear, David didn’t let the abuse define him. He fought back, refusing to let his father control his life. His mother was horrified when she saw the bruises, a memory that David says will always be “tattooed” on his mind.
Unfortunately, the trauma didn’t stop there. After moving to Indiana with his mother and brother, Goggins faced more hardships, including racial bullying and witnessing traumatic events, which left him dealing with PTSD. Yet, even as a child sleeping on the floor out of fear, David didn’t let these experiences hold him back:
- “I slept on my floor for … four months to six months … I was afraid to sleep in my bed for some reason. Don’t know why.”
Despite his troubled past, Goggins realized that he had to hold himself accountable for his future. He faced challenges in school because of learning disabilities and almost failed high school. But as he looked at himself in the mirror, he knew it was time to make a change, in his own words:
- “So this is when I developed my accountability mirror … So I look in the fucking mirror. I see this letter … And I’m like, ‘You know what, man? No one is coming to help me… I’m like, ‘Who am I?’ So I’m defeated in this mirror. And I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m changing’.”
From then on, Goggins pushed himself. He studied harder than ever, even copying down entire textbooks to memorize them. This extreme dedication continued throughout his journey to become a Navy SEAL, where he faced setbacks but refused to quit.
In the military, he had to leave training due to a medical condition. However, he came back even stronger. To complete the intense Navy SEAL training and go through three intense weeks known as “Hell week”, he lost 100 pounds and battled through injuries. The bottom line is, he succeeds when there is no chance of winning.
Final words
In conclusion, David Goggins didn’t start as the toughest man alive. He became that person through relentless hard work and refusing to give up. We hope by the end of this article you understand that achieving greatness is only possible if they’re willing to push past their limits.
David Goggins inspires people with his real, honest stories, reminding us all to look beyond our limits and aim for greatness. His “no excuses” attitude teaches us the importance of taking responsibility for our own lives. As he said, “The hero of your life is You.” All you need to do is be brave enough to take control of your destiny.
FAQs
1. How can I be more like Goggins?
To be more like Goggins, start by facing discomfort. Push yourself with hard tasks, like cold showers or tough workouts. Build mental strength by talking to yourself and staying focused on your goals. Keep taking small steps every day to improve.
2. Does David Goggins have a life goal?
Through his interviews, it seems Goggins’ goal is to live without limits and always challenge himself.
3. How do David Goggins' quotes inspire change?
Goggins' quotes can encourage people to face their fears and step outside their comfort zones. He believes we grow when we deal with hard situations.
