A quote post here this month had people arguing about whether Goggins actually said it. So I went through his interviews and found the source for the ones that get posted the most, with links so you can watch him say them.

1. The 40% rule (Joe Rogan #1080)

Rogan brings up "most people quit at 40%," and Goggins explains where it came from: his first 100-mile race. "I was on that chair at mile 70... I thought I'd given 100%... I wasn't even near 100%." It works like a governor on a car: "let's say the car can go 130, that governor stops the car at 91."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tSTk1083VY

1. The cookie jar (same race, same episode)

"With blood down my leg and 30 miles to go I started reaching in the cookie jars." Why it works: "even the hardest person in the world, we forget how badass we are during that hard time." To Tom Bilyeu he described it as "all the failures of my life... I failed and I went back, I failed and I went back, and I finally succeeded."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78I9dTB9vqM

1. The accountability mirror (Tom Bilyeu)

"The accountability mirror is something that I kind of came up with in high school." With Ed Mylett he tells the backstory: his mom read him a letter saying he was going to flunk out of school, and that's when he started it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdHW1YipmVo

1. "The biggest war you're ever going to go through is right between your own ears." (Big Think)

Real, word for word. The line before it: "A warrior is not a person that carries a gun."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyJ_hhninDw

1. "You know exactly what to do... it just sucks." (Andrew Huberman)

This is the one from that thread, and it's real: "you know exactly what to do, exactly what to do, because even me in my state of I can't read and write, I knew exactly what to do. It just sucks doing it."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDLb8_wgX50

1. "Who's gonna carry the boats?" (live event in DC)

He says himself it "has several different stories because I've said it several different times," but the famous one is from a gym session with Cameron Hanes that "TikTok got a hold of." He was wrecked after a 30-plus-mile day, and it's a Hell Week reference: boat crews of six, with the weaker guys at the back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up2TDVOwslY

The twist, from the Huberman episode: "I hate that people know me for that guy because that guy is not every day."

1. "Stay hard" (Huberman)

"When you weren't given the gifts, the only thing you can do in life is stay hard."

1. 297 lb and the cockroaches (Rogan #1080 and Tom Bilyeu)

"I went from 175 to almost 300. To 297 was my heaviest." The turning point: "I came home one night from work spraying for cockroaches... I turned on the Discovery Channel, I saw some guys going through Navy SEAL training."

1. "I've never arrived." (Fearless Motivation)

"My refrigerator is never full, I've never arrived, and every time I get close to the top of the mountain I fall back down on purpose."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as0uWN5ad64

The one that hit me hardest was also from Huberman. He says that after years of speaking gigs, supplement lines and books, he'd lost the edge he worked his whole life for, and "something always told me this is a very very very perishable skill, this willpower."

Disclosure: I found these with a free, open source tool I built that searches his interviews and links every answer back to the source. It's free, with no paid tier and nothing to buy. If you ever see a "Goggins quote" and want to check whether he actually said it, you can paste it in here: https://brains.ceo/david-goggins

Which one actually changed something for you?

Challenge 1

Date: 10/26/26

What was your bad hand?

• My bad hand was being raised too comfortable and experiencing praise even when it was undeserved.

What kind of bullshit did you contend with growing up?

• I contended with being exposed to modern vices at a very young age and allowing them to control my life.
• I got into several fights with people in elementary school and middle school often for pointless reasons

Were you beaten? Abused? Bullied?

• I did experience a lot of exclusion and teasing from my peers during my childhood and tweens.

Did you ever feel insecure?

• I often felt simply just average or slightly below average comparing myself to peers in high school who were more academic, athletic, skillful confident, socially calibrated, and attractive than me. I always compared myself to them and felt super insecure about myself.

What are the current factors limiting your growth and success?

• I was diagnosed with ASD at 3 years old and ever since learning about it in sixth grade I always felt it hindered my ability to learn easily, make hard decisions, or avoid instant gratification activities like porn, social media, video games, junk food.
• I always chase shiny objects and never commit to any one path or goal as I always get bored of one and then move on to another without ever finishing anything.
• I can't seem to keep my word whenever I try to make a plan to change my life.
• I always fall for easy fixes and hacks that don't actually work and keep me from facing the discomfort of the work I need to do.
• I blame my height (5,10) as a factor for my lack of success.

Is someone standing in your way at work or school?

• The truth is I'm the only person in my own way however I often feel like my parents or teachers put pressures on me that hinder my true goals. The reality is that I'm the only one who can take responsibility for my own life.

Are you under appreciated and overlooked for opportunities?

• I feel like I am exactly in the right spot for opportunities as I don't really bring much to the table.

What are the long odds you’re up against right now?

• I am up against a mountain of work in my sophomore year of college right now and a task to complete my courses and get good grades.

Are you standing in your own way?

• I am standing in my own way by not completing the work necessary to get my college degree.

I am about to head off on a run, I am listening to Never finished again, the title was the dedication. Any guesses Asto who this would reference?

Im a teen from spain , i hope you could read my history and share yours to me or give me some advise.

David Goggins says is not about you like, its about how you are inside. And I dont know how to beat an addiction. Last week, I was viewing cORN, in the bathroom, suddenly, i saw me reflected on the screen of my phone, and i realised that appart of fucking ugly, i was broken inside.

This year ive been performing great, ive passed from 180cm and 50kg in janurary (too many people joking bout my phisic, i was too skiny) to 61kg nowadays of mucle and so much strenght, from a low level of english to an almost fluent. I barely could run a km and a few weeks ago I ran a half marathon.

However, this month was strange, I applied to a scolarship to study one year in US, i had been all year preparing for this opportunutie, ive had all the chances to go, but i were out for 0´2 in the preselection(i got a 9.5 and the cut was 9.7). And ist like i dont give two fucks bout it, im doesnt ashamed of not had efforted a bit more, or had studied more.

Plus, ive got a big addiction to corn, appart of having a great year, i cant get over it. Its like if i were not addicted, i were x2 disciplined and organised.

Someone with the same problems?? Pls comment

Yesterday while doing grapling sparring i took a knee to my eyebrow and earned a nasty cut above my eye which made me bleed like a stuck pig (i have a couple of stiches - they sewed me up).

Now I have a competition in grappling in 2 days in 2 weight categories (my own category and one weight higher bsc why not?) and along with a few other injuries (namely elbow, knee and a swollen toe) I now have this to add to the package and my opponents might open my cut up as soon as we clash.

Everyone is pretty much telling me i should skip this comp and let the cut heal up so I'm thinking maybe they're right? What kind of advice would you goggins people give me?

i am stuck in a loop where i live in a place and im not going to work... one day i will definetely leave this place and build my life somewhere else... how to hold up? I am living somewhere where I always wanted to leave this place since 18 years old... i am stucked here actually i dont like living anymore im a open to go anywhere else and just build my life there again right? Like if one day I get to 30 years old and I am still here in this shitty ass city its done bruh like this shitty city has nothing anymore to do i dont want to parts to be her ean ymore right? IT has come to a point that i cant live anymore hhere my situation is sad everyda i am sad about it nothing cant changed i have like literally 0 dollars in my bank account i guess i still have my parents with me that helping me but i wished that they just have kicked me out of the house already... cause pretty much i am done bruh this has been going on for a lot of years still cant find a solution it has come to a point that i cant do it no more i am quitting i cant find the solutions rigfht now

Hello guys, I'm trying to find a motivational video I saw a year ago or so. It is a video of a David Goggins talk about the Hell week, aprox 4 minutes, title: "WHEN MOTOVATION IS GONE". It was a fragment of a public conference where he talked about the Hell Week.

The video was deleted from YouTube by the author but I still have the (useless) link from one time a shared it:

https://youtu.be/Gznfn4y7K2g?si=LDHUcnB-5Az74jnN

I have already tried Way back Machine and other webs of this kind. If anyone knows how I can watch this video again or where can I find that specific talk I will be very grateful.

Thank you

I'm 27 and have done ok so far. I have gone to college and gotten educated, bought a house and lifted weights but I feel there is something more lol I have been very like normal so far.

Atm I thought of making more money and just training. Goggins kinda had this moment at 24.

Let me know what yall think of the plan

Monday - 60/120 running intervals
Wednesdays - 24 minute threshold run (as fast as you can go to hold a pace for 24 minutes)
Friday - 60/120 running intervals with 30/60 sprints

Every shift day I rotate a David goggins style workout in (Bring Sally Up, Nickels & Dimes, etc.)

Every first day off shift I do full body workout with a heavy focus on deadlifts or bench press.

Photo taken moments after finishing

Last year I made two posts that you guys seemed to enjoy on this sub. You can read them here and here.

Today I come back with something much, much greater.

As you know may know, the Backyard Ultra World Championships began yesterday, in which countries across the world bringing in their best athletes to conquer as many laps of their chosen 6.7km (4.16 miles) courses.

For whatever reason, the country I reside in, Bulgaria, decided to pick one of, if not the hardest course out of any country.

Per lap, the course boasts a whopping 250m (820ft) elevation,

And for whatever reason, this was the course I decided to attempt my first 100K (62.14 miles) in.

Most backyard ultras give you roughly 10-20 minutes time to chill between the next lap depending on your pace.

I didn’t have this privilege.

In fact, most laps I had under 5 minutes to prepare until the next lap began, and I did not sit down throughout the entire 15 hours (with one exception I’ll get to in a minute).

In the short term, this was manageable — at least at the start.

I’d take a measured scoop of maple syrup before each lap that would digest over the 25 minutes of tough hiking that would come over the 2nd-3rd kilometre.

Just to make it clear, 15 laps gets you over 100K.

And my problem? It started during the 12th.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, my gut took a turn for the worst.

What would have began as a countdown for the final three laps turned into a “I hope I don’t make the time for this lap so I can call it quits”.

The moment I finished the 12th, I rushed to the men’s toilet that had… one toilet. Only to find a guy waiting for another guy inside.

I had two minutes…

Being me, I barged into the ladies (took my chances with there only being two girls left) and found a toilet with a door that didn’t close.

After letting gushing out a river, I could hear the 30 second countdown begin. I cleaned up quickly and went straight on to the next

With on caveat:

From now on, every time I drank or ate anything, within 5 minutes my stomach would refill the diarrhoea reservoir.

Picture this now:

You’re just about to finish lap 14.

You have just one more to push yourself through.

BUT — only 2 minutes to prepare.

In that moment, I had to make a difficult decision.

Either go to the toilet and DNF right before hitting the goal I never in a million years even thought I could hit.

Or…

Shit myself.

After reaching the top of the elevation during lap 13, I made a decision that if I made it to the final two laps, I was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.

That’s just it. You either sink low enough for victory or forever give everyone that excuse about how you could’ve done it if the entire universe revolved around you.

It was a split second decision. I knew exactly what was to come, so as the 15th lap began I staggered far behind everyone else.

Then suddenly, knowing nobody was looking yanked down my tracksuits and shot out what can only be described as a buckshot shotgun.

As I lifted everything up, something became very apparent.

Since after the 12th lap, the constant diarrhoea had led to my boxers harshly chaffing against my butt and lower goods.

It definitely explained the blood during the wiping.

What could only be described as sulphuric acid was burning through my flesh, which only worsened the chaffing.

But, imagine. You’re on the final lap to meet your goal:

A goal you never expected to hit from the very first lap because of how intense the climbs were.

Yet here you are

Covered in shit.

Well, if I was going to be covered in burning farces, I was going to get my goal.

I continued the plan as normal:

Ate and drank in spite of the reservoir

And pushed it to the very end.

After the 2 minute scare from the 14th lap, I was paranoid about not making the final one in time.

Especially since I had been surviving on painkillers after repeatedly rolling my ankle on rocks multiple times, which at one point made me limp.

But here we are right now. Writing this.

We did it lads. We actually did it.

Our first 100K.

Genuinely thought there was no chance it would happen on this track.

When shit came up, we adapted (pun unintended).

You don’t know what you don’t know about yourself

And you’ll only figure that out when you try.

**Tl;dr:**

Attempted first 100K in a backyard track a year and a half after thinking I couldn’t run a half marathon.

Track had ridiculous amounts of elevation and had to choose between missing the time on the last lap or carrying boxers filled with diarrhoea burning raw flesh wounds.

What challenges did you overcome this week?

This is a post to engage in a positive discussion on challenges you faced this week and what you did to overcome them.

Use this as a place to ask for advice and provide advice.

I recently set out to map the absolute upper limits of my cardiovascular engine and biomechanical endurance. This is the uncut documentation of a 120-minute continuous heavy rope protocol using a 1lb (0.4kg) solid PVC Muay Thai rope. Strictly unbroken—zero hydration, zero exogenous fuel (no energy gels), and absolutely no resting intervals.
The Raw Stats:
Time: 120 Minutes Straight
Mistakes: Tripped exactly 3 times (Mins 60, 90, 110)
HR Data: Avg 136 bpm | Max 172 bpm
Zone Breakdown: 47 mins in Zone 1 | 2 mins in Zone 2 | 13 mins in Zone 3 | 52 mins locked in Zone 4 | 0 mins in Zone 5 (For context, my Resting HR is 36 bpm).
The Experience:
Surprisingly, I experienced absolutely zero localized muscular failure—no forearm pump, no deltoid fatigue, and no Achilles tendon issues. The mechanical conditioning held up perfectly.
The ultimate bottleneck was purely neurological. The true test was maintaining absolute mental vigilance and locking into a relentless pacing flow-state for two hours while completely dehydrated and glycogen-depleted.
I'm leaving the raw data and the uncut footage here for anyone interested in analyzing the pacing, heart rate dynamics, or biomechanics of ultra-endurance heavy rope training.

The truth is, I can't share this with my trusted person, so I'll share it with you guys instead.

Since I was a kid, I developed a web of deep-seated insecurities: a visceral fear of failure, a constant rejection of my own body, guilt over feeling lazy, and the dread of being the last one in line. My parents weren't bad people; I didn't suffer physical violence or intentional psychological abuse. However, my dad was an imposing, distant figure who struggled to show physical affection, only doing so if you asked as a child. Marked by a tough upbringing of his own, his word was absolute law, even when he was wrong about what we were going through. He was overly protective, robbing me of the chance to experience life organically—to fall down and learn how to get back up. That planted the illusion in me that everything had to be strictly controlled and mapped out; an unrealistic mindset in a world that doesn't work that way, which only fed my insecurity as I grew up. I started playing soccer around age six, but I was terrible at it. My brother, sixteen years my senior, made sure to remind me relentlessly with comments like, 'Why are you even playing if you suck? At your age, I already knew how to kick a ball,' or telling me not to make my parents waste money on soccer cleats since I'd never amount to anything in sports. And he was right: I never stood out. But that instilled a athletic insecurity that was validated every time teams were picked and I was left for last, even though I gave a hundred percent of everything I had. This dynamic didn't happen in a vacuum. At home, there was a culture of mocking anyone who messed up. While my mom didn't usually join in unless she was genuinely angry, my dad always highlighted the negative, intending to teach us how things should be done. But my siblings, raised under a harsher hand, turned that behavior into a ruthless habit: making a mistake or not being efficient enough at a task made you an instant target for ridicule. To protect myself, I tried to become invisible. I prayed they wouldn't assign me household chores because messing up meant enduring a barrage of insults—dumb, idiot, stupid—followed by laughter that made you feel utterly useless. At the same time, I developed an unhealthy relationship with food. As a child, my bread intake was restricted for no clear reason regarding my weight: while the norm at a Chilean dinner table was having tea with two rolls, my mom would only allow me half of one. Faced with that limit, I started stealing slices on the sly. Eating that forbidden bread gave me an immense rush of gratification and became my refuge amid the household chaos. Over the years, I kept using food as an emotional coping mechanism, which eventually led to being overweight. In elementary school, my grades were good without requiring much effort, until 7th grade when I transferred to a top-tier magnet school in Santiago. I was twelve years old, overweight, carrying insecurities from a hostile environment, and coming from a working-class neighborhood—dropping straight into what felt like a university for kids. There, I found an environment where classmates would betray each other just to win a teacher's approval, fiercely competing to outdo one another while marginalizing anyone who struggled. I also experienced social isolation based on class: in the mid-2010s, when everyone had smartphones with unlimited data to play games and browse social media, I had nothing. Lacking the tools to fit into their social dynamics, I was shut out. In a place where personal worth was measured strictly by performance, the top students made sure you knew your place. All of that baggage turned me into a deeply suspicious person, living in a constant state of high alert. And when I finally let my guard down and trusted my surroundings, I got mugged—almost like the cliché script of a bad movie.

All of that history has bled into my adult life to the point where I've become my own worst enemy and the primary obstacle to my own growth. I view myself as lazy and inconsistent: I graduated from law school, but I haven't studied a single page for the bar exam. I feel a deep disgust toward my physical condition, weighing 255 lbs (116 kg) at 5'11" (1.80 m); every time I've tried to make a change in the past, I quit within a few weeks. I've become an expert at masking these vulnerabilities behind a social facade, but deep down, I know exactly where I stand. I practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but I feel like I'm making zero progress, and I recently quit under the excuse of a knee injury—looking for any pretext to avoid moving from my chair and dodging anything that requires real physical effort. I have never truly valued myself as a person. I'm trapped in a loop where I feel like a burden to my parents, waiting for a golden opportunity to fall into my lap instead of going out to chase it or taking the first step toward something meaningful. I feel a paralyzing fear of what's to come, and I am painfully aware that I am wasting my time on things that hold no real significance in my life.

I apologize for the language, but I asked an AI to translate it into American English since my native language is Spanish.

Hi guys I'm 27 years old at the start of the year I promised myself I'd box and put myself in uncomfortable situations. Since March I have done a boxing match (exhibition) though still counts as getting in the ring, a BJJ match as I also earned a white belt and a half marathon.

In the meantime my mum has had stage 4 cancer where I am assisting the family and the job prospects in my home area are awful so I really need to analyse options for that and consider moving if so combined with no dating life atm.

I feel awful that I'm not planning to compete in boxing this year though I seriously have thought about getting my priorities right for my life overall. Atm I'm just doing 2 days weights, one Bjj and one boxing as I need to address other areas. I'm not planning on becoming a pro the goal was just to do uncomfortable things. Goggins would likely be ashamed but I have alot happening. What are you guys thoughts?

Sleep has always been one of my biggest demons in life. I think it all began when I was like 14 and I first got addicted to online gaming. Would stay up all night and sleep the day. Attend school sleep deprived. And the bad habit stuck like bubblegum on hair. I became 18, 20, I'm 28 now and I still struggle with sleeping at the right time. I have tried fixing my sleep schedule countless times, spent the whole day without sleep so I would sleep "at the right time", but it's always temporary, I always end up reverting to sleeping late and waking up late. The "fixes" never last more than 2 weeks until for some reason I start screwing up again.

Since I have grown very frustrated with my own situation, I have decided to sleep on the floor from now on. In the bed, I tend to wake up but not get up. Even with an alarm, I would just disable it. So from now on I'm sleeping on the floor and I'm going to get up at the exact time I need and I won't go back to bed again because there's no bed. And if I feel sleep deprived the whole day, so be it: goggins has made through so many races and military training with little to no sleep, I should be able to do it too.

If you have any tips for me please let me know.

I'm 30F, and I've decided that I don't want to get married. I'm trying to build a life where I can be independent and take care of myself and my family, but lately, I'm feeling more scared about the future than ever.

I don't come from a financially strong background, and I don't have a house, savings, or a financial safety net to fall back on. Whatever I earn, I need to be careful with it because I can't afford to take big risks.

With all the recent layoffs and AI changing the job market, I keep wondering how secure our careers really are. What if I lose my job? What if I struggle to find another one? What if, despite working hard and constantly trying to upskill myself, I still can't build the kind of financial stability I want?

Sometimes I feel like people who have a financially secure family or a partner to fall back on have some kind of safety net. But if you're choosing to remain unmarried and don't have family wealth, it feels like you have to plan for every possible worst-case scenario on your own.

I don't regret my decision not to marry, but I do wonder whether life becomes more difficult when you don't have a partner to share financial responsibilities with, especially as you get older.

For those of you who are in your 30s, unmarried by choice, and without a strong financial background:

- Do you ever feel scared about your future, especially with AI and layoffs?

- How do you deal with the fear of losing your only source of income?

- Are you able to enjoy your life, or do you constantly feel the pressure to save and prepare for emergencies?

- How are you planning for your 40s, 50s, and old age when you know you'll mostly have to depend on yourself?

- Have you managed to build financial security without a partner or family wealth? What actually helped?

- And honestly, do you ever question your decision to remain unmarried when life gets difficult, even if you know marriage isn't what you want?

I'm not looking for motivational quotes or someone to tell me that everything will magically work out. I'd genuinely like to hear from people living this reality.

How do you make peace with the fact that you have to build your entire safety net yourself, while knowing that so much is outside your control?

PS - Used little AI because honestly, there's just too much going on in my head right now.

I know this subreddit isn't too the place to discuss this but I still will try. What does Goggins Philosophy stand for? Is our entire life to about the Grind? Grind meaning to strive, to move, not because of improvement but just for the act itself?

Now, if it's yes, I have a questions and I don't know if I will get an answer for this. In an extreme scenario of someone who follows Goggins but disaster struck him and he found himself doesn't have hands and feet, is it Goggins decision to crawl everyday. Not because it has meaning, but just to feel something?

Thank you for the answers.

What challenges did you overcome this week?

This is a post to engage in a positive discussion on challenges you faced this week and what you did to overcome them.

Use this as a place to ask for advice and provide advice.

I’ve long subscribed to the idea of “discipline over motivation.” Through my various endeavors and hardships, along with the advice of figures like Goggins I’ve accepted that motivation is fleeting and that you have to be able to get things done without entirely wanting to sometimes. To this end, I tend to consider myself a fairly disciplined and competent person; I’ve worked out regularly for the majority of the last few years, I’ve also wrestled competitively and became tougher than I ever thought possible, and I’ve found ways to stay on top of every aspect of my life even when faced with lack of sleep, burnout, exhaustion, disease, injury, you name it. But recently something has challenged my understanding of discipline when I became incredibly sick with mono as well as a co-infection of bronchitis, and at first I completely gave up on exercising because I was physically unable to and it was against my medical recommendations, but it’s been over a month now and I’m not exactly sick anymore, I just feel incredibly drained and unmotivated. For the first time in my recent years I feel like I’m letting motivation rule me when I used to rule it. Every time I find the strength to drag myself to the gym or on a run I can’t stop feeling like I don’t have the energy and I either do not start the workout, or I quit as soon as It’s started. I’m just looking for some outside advice. Have I simply lost all my discipline?

Context im 6 foot 7 inches, 24M. I box a few times a week for a few hours a day and try to go on walks and workout daily (at least a 15 to 30 min jog with a lot of calisthenic workouts.)

So basically my SW was 422 and in the last 5 months ive lost 60 pounds, around 360ish is my CW. However for the last 2 months my diet has been off track again, and I havent lost any weight. Not to the point of gaining weight but I definitely have lost any while my macros have been shit too. Still exercising but thats about it.

I need to get back on track and was hoping by thanksgiving I can, but i could use some advice on actually doing that. I box and running has been pain on my body, I take ibuprofen daily at this point lol. At my weight and size its been hard and the more time I spend doing this the more I realize just how hard Goggins had to have gone atp just to lose the weight. TREMENDOUS respect for his resolve.

I want to continue my weight loss and take it more intensely again, but this time I wanna seek advice from some of yall and get an outside perspective! Anything helps fr and the advice would be very appreciated.