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While Goggin’s book made me realize that there is no limit to what one can do, Itzler’s book forced me to take immediate action, get off my ass, and understand that it’s only me standing in my way of achieving what I want to want-to-do.
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There was no better follow-up to David Goggins’ “Can’t Hurt Me” than this book. If you listened to the audio version of Goggins’ book (which I recommend more than the book given its format) and loved it, this is an absolute must listen right afterwards. Provided that the second audiobook is only 5 hours long, there is no excuse not to do so.
I stand by the order I specified above, even though this book was published three years priors to “Can’t Hurt Me.” At the time, Goggins kept a lower profile and is referred to as “Seal” throughout. However, knowing Goggin’s backstory, I completed some of Itzler’s stories and sentences before he provided details which was a fun game to play. For example, I knew they were going to meet up in San Diego, and I knew he would injure himself doing the 100-mile run. The craziest thing is that Goggins’ didn’t mention Jesse Itzler even once throughout his audiobook.
While Goggin’s book made me realize that there is no limit to what one can do, Itzler’s book forced me to take immediate action, get off my ass, and understand that it’s only me standing in my way of achieving what I want to want-to-do.
A few examples of this from the past week include:
I ran into the cold lake by my house and took a quick plunge even though I didn’t want to. This is nothing compared to diving into a frozen lake in NYC.
I finished my 10-minute row on a day when my back, legs and shoulders were sore. This is nothing compared to the 10-mile run, and hundreds of pushups Itzler had to do.
I did 100 burpees at the gym at the same time as Jesse simply because I didn’t want to. 10 minutes and 20 seconds bitch.
I finished my self-imposed deadline at work last week when I suggested to my CTO that we finish it early next week, but he responded, “why not now?”
I am forcing myself to write this very book review when instead, I just want to brush my teeth, watch TV and go to bed.
I took that cold shower in the middle of the day, which was worth it, even though I didn’t want to.
This book also made me realize that I don’t need a fancy gym and can continue training (in an intelligent way), even when travelling. Burpees, pushups, pullups, jump squats, running, and biking can get you into the shape of your life without any equipment necessary.
There are too many memorable anecdotes from the book to list out without reiterating everything, but the few that stood out to me were:
Jumping into the cold lake and also freezing to death. Seal yelling “abort mission” was entertaining.
Seal called the house renovation company and forced them to give Jesse a 40% discount after initially over-charging him because they knew he was a high-net-worth individual.
Seal making a sweat puddle on top of Sarah Blakely’s family carpet while working out in his room.
I plan to write a much longer article discussing the idea of callusing the mind, dopamine addiction, cold showers, ADHD, and these two books, which I believe are all interconnected, so I’ll leave it here for now.
One takeaway from the book that I believe is likely overlooked by many readers is how supportive Sarah Blakely was of Jesse Itzler at every step along the way. This is what you call true love, a true family and true support without being neither too dependent nor too controlling. Here’s to the Iztler Blakely Family