David Goggins didn't grow up in the best of family households. He lived with his mother, brother and abusive father in poverty throughout most of his early childhood. He described this period as "Hell on Earth". His dad owned a skating rink in East Buffalo, New York and had David working night shifts as early as six years old. He didn't believe in education, which led to David developing a learning disability as a product of not being enrolled in school like the rest of his peers.

Eventually, David's mother developed the courage to leave her abusive husband, and they moved to a small town in Brazil, Indiana where he experienced not only backlash because of his learning disability in his new school, but also racism due to being one of the few blacks in that town.

David wanted to be an Airforce pararescueman but faced issues with passing his ASVAB test due to his learning disability. He had 6 months to prepare for it and through the help of the tutor his mother could just barely afford, he passed it on his third try.

Unfortunately, during his training, David quit due to an acute fear of the water training and opted for a job in TACP, where he gained about 125 pounds (approx. 57KG). He left his duties to join a pest control company called EcoLab. He later quit this job after watching a documentary that made him reflect on his past and what he's done to fix what he saw needed fixing. He called recruiters and asked to become a Navy Seal.

They told David he had to lose 106 pounds (approx. 48KG) in three months before being viable for the training and position. And eventually, he did lose that weight. Following his completed training, Goggins received the NEC 5326 as a Combatant Swimmer (SEAL) and was assigned to SEAL Team 5. In his 20-year military career, Goggins served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2004, Goggins graduated from Army Ranger School, and received the "Enlisted Honor Man" award, receiving a 100% peer evaluation. Goggins was the 36th African-American Navy Seal in United States Navy Seal history.

What stood out to me about David, was that even after being dealt one of the worst hands imaginable by fate, he still found the courage and bravery to change himself, his circumstances and how he saw himself. People often worry about how others see you, especially as children. And if it reflects negatively, it usually persists throughout life. But Goggins took that notion and threw it out the window. He thought about what he would reflect on when he was 50 years old, and saw a desperate need for change, and change he did. Not only that - he also managed to "callus his mind" through adversity and the uncomfortable, creating a better version of himself no one could take away from him.

This is what stood out to me - the changing and hardening of a person's mindset for the better, to become better. This is something I work on everyday - becoming a better version of myself.