Why I chose to read this book:
Recommended by a colleague as a great motivational book.
Book Summary:
This book chronicles the life of David Goggins, a black boy growing up in Indiana who endured
years of physical abuse from his father (as did his mother). He and his mother fled the abuse but
David still struggled with fitting in. He did poorly in school and was off to a bad start. He joined
the Navy and his life changed. He became a decorated Navy SEAL and one of the most elite
athletes on the planet, all according to David, by setting his mind to it. He maintains that we
only use 40% of our brain, if we can harness the other 60%, there’s nothing we can’t do.
Lessons Learned:
1. Don’t be discouraged by failures. Autopsy the failure. What went right, what needs to be
changed. Change that which requires change and try again. Don’t give up.
2. To maximize success, investigate any potential obstacles. Learn the strength and
weaknesses of any potential adversary or other obstacle. Strategize.
3. Set small, achievable steps towards your goal. Let each victory increase your motivation.
Once the goal is achieved, continue to challenge yourself and set new goals. This is how we improve ourselves.
4. It really boils down to mind over matter. Push through the pain. True growth comes with
pain and it makes us stronger.
How this book will contribute to my success in prison and upon release:
This book will contribute to my success in many ways.
My goals are to:
Come out of prison a better person than I was when I surrendered, and to re-enter society as a law-abiding, productive citizen and continue to be of service to others.
My sentence was unusually lengthy for my crime. It will be the challenge of my life to endure this
period. It will be painful. One major obstacle is the loneliness I will experience due to separation
from family and friends. I’ve strategized. I know I must do everything I can to remain engaged
with family and friends, all of whom are thousands of miles away. I must be diligent in writing
letters, phone calls as permitted, and cherishing every single visit. I must never take my family
and friends for granted. I have created a website where my journal entries and book reports will
be posted as a way to have my friends and family help me stay accountable to my goals.
As one of my goals, is to emerge a better person, I have set small, achievable steps towards my
goal. I have prepared a book list of inspiring, motivational books. As I am doing now, I will write
book reports describing how that book will help me with this goal. I will also journal, which not
only may chronicle my life here, but will also allow me to document lessons learned. I have
already spoken with a director of the education department offering my skills, training and
education as a way to help other prisoners on their educational journey. Finally, I will make use
of the wonderful educational materials here in the education department to learn and stimulate
my mind.
Upon my release, I will definitely need to strategize. What are my potential obstacles? Right now
I can see that I will likely have issues with gaining employment given my criminal history. One
potential solution would be to research employers who give formerly incarcerated people a
second chance. There will be other obstacles besides employment. I will certainly have failures,
but must not only learn from them, but also “push past the pain” and continue forwards. By
improving myself, maintaining good communication and relationships with my loved ones, my
goal to re-enter society, as a law-abiding, productive citizen, and of service to others, can and
WILL BE achieved.
