How to Build Immense Inner Strength | David Goggins

**Andrew Huberman** (0:00)
Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is David Goggins. David Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's also a highly accomplished ultra marathon runner. For those of you that don't know, ultra marathons are distances longer than 26 miles, and in David's case, often longer than 200 miles. For his achievements in athletics, he has been inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame. He also held a Guinness World Record for the most pull-ups completed in 24 hours. I should mention that not only was David a decorated Navy SEAL, but he also graduated from Army Ranger School. David is also a highly successful writer, having authored two books, the first entitled, Can't Hurt Me, and the second entitled, Never Finished, both of which are bestsellers. David's books cover many topics, including his autobiographical description of what can only be described as an incredibly challenging child and young adulthood. His home was abusive. His school environment was abusive. He essentially had no positive resources directed his way. And in his twenties, he found himself to be obese. That is more than 300 pounds working a job he despised for minimal pay. And it was at that point that David began an inner dialogue that forced him to explore the demons born out of his childhood, but also the position that he found himself in as a young man. And then began the journey to navigate that dialogue and transform himself into the Navy SEAL, the ultramarathon runner, the bestselling author, and the extraordinarily positive and influential man that he is today. Some of you may know David has done various public lectures. He's a familiar face online, because there are so many clips of him on YouTube. And he has done podcasts before. However, I'm certain that you'll find today's discussion to be very different than previous podcasts that David has been featured on. The reason is that, of course, we get into his accomplishments. We talk about the mindset that allowed him to achieve those things. But today, David really lets us under the hood. He lets us into the form of inner dialogue that he has to embrace, indeed, that he has to grapple with on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times throughout the day and night, in order to impose the sort of self-discipline that he is so well known for. We also get into some of the scientific mechanisms underlying willpower, and we talk about David's current endeavors that include, for instance, his own exploration of science and medicine, for which he has become an intense scholar and practitioner. I should mention that multiple times throughout today's discussion, you will hear curse words. Now David and I both acknowledge that cursing isn't for everybody, and that cursing itself is different than cursing at somebody. Nonetheless, we do realize that many people, parents perhaps especially, might not want to hear cursing. If you don't want to hear cursing, well then this podcast episode is probably not for you. However, if you are comfortable with cursing or if you can tolerate it, I assure you today's discussion is highly worthwhile. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is Maui Nui Venison. Maui Nui Venison is the most nutrient dense and delicious red meat available. I've spoken before on this podcast and there's general consensus that most people should strive to consume approximately one gram of protein per pound of body weight. Now when one strives to do that, it's important to maximize the quality of that protein intake to the calorie ratio because you don't want to consume an excess of calories when trying to get that one gram of protein per pound of body weight. Maui Nui Venison has an extremely high quality protein to calorie ratio, so it makes getting that one gram of protein per pound of body weight extremely easy. It's also delicious. Personally, I like the ground venison. I also like the venison steaks. And then for convenience, when I'm on the road, I like the jerky. The jerky is a very high protein to calorie ratio, so it has as much as 10 grams of protein per jerky stick, and it has something like only like 55 calories. So again, making it very easy to get enough protein without consuming excess calories. If you would like to try Maui Nui Venison, you can go to mauinuivenison.com/huberman.