I recently finished both of David Goggins’s books, Can’t Hurt Me, and Never Finished. Goggins is a former U.S. Navy SEAL and now an ultramarathon athlete and smokejumper. I don’t fully subscribe to his philosophy, but here are some lessons that stood out to me:

From Can’t Hurt Me

-We have thousands of thoughts every day. If you’re going to think that much, make those thoughts about things within your control, instead of things you can’t control.

-Treat memories of past accomplishments like cookies in a cookie jar. Reach into the cookie jar of past accomplishments (even small ones) to get you through challenges you’re facing now.

-Don’t celebrate too early. Including in your mind. Finish the course first. Goggins admits to making that mistake when trying out for Delta Force.

-Don’t bask in your accomplishments too long. Get back at it—there’s more to improve. Be willing to be “the idiot in the classroom again.” Goggins says he wakes up everyday as though he’s at day one of Naval SEAL training. One of his mottos is “peaceful but never satisfied.” In U.S. Army Ranger school (which Goggins completed) you have to prove yourself all over again, regardless of rank or previous accomplishments. Everyone is stripped of rank during the course.

-You don’t deserve something just because you imagined it. Earn it.

-Goggins says he’ll, “never trust a smile or judge a scowl.” He says his father smiled a lot, but didn’t care about him, but his stern catholic school teacher did.

From Never Finished

-Goggins says he’s not haunted by his past failures, instead he’s haunted by his future goals.

-Live with a sense of urgency, instead of wishing for things to happen. Goggins compares “hoping and wishing” to “gambling on long-shots”.

-Be a “minute hoarder.” Get up early and make the most of your time. Goggins even hates losing seconds, because he thinks it takes only one second of lost focus to send you down the wrong path.

-Colorfully, “never waste a fucking thing”. Don’t waste time, don’t waste resources. Even fear and hate can be used as “fuel to make you better.” Goggins even reads negative social media comments about him for fuel.

-Be willing to do what others aren’t willing to do. Someone drove by Goggins one time when he was running in terrible weather and the person asked, “why are you even out here on a day like this?” Googins: “Because you’re not.”

-Keep working to be your best so you’re ready for anything life throws at you, including opportunities. Treat hardships as part of your training.

-It’s better to laugh at yourself and the “absurdity of life” than to feel sorry for yourself or expect others to feel sorry for you. Time spent feeling sorry for yourself is time not spent getting better. “Get strategic. Attack the problem.”

-When you’re focused on being your best, there’s no time to engage with haters and people with a narrow-minded perspective. Goggins gets called the n-word sometimes when he’s running, but doesn’t engage.

-When talking to people you don’t know, “lead with respect or saying nothing at all.” In Goggins case, someone said something smug to him during a race and that motivated him to beat the guy who chirped him.

-Don’t rely on someone else to lead you. It’s your job to make sure you’re prepared and have everything you need, including backups.

-Don’t study just to pass the test. After passing an exam to become an Advanced Emergency Technician, Goggins studied his wrong answers, because he thought it might help him save lives.

-Focus on completing one step at a time as efficiently as you can, instead of focusing on the finish line, especially if you don’t know how far away the finish line is.