Living with a SEAL: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet

by Jesse Itzler

Most of my successes in life have come from learning how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Every day do something that makes you uncomfortable.

“When you think you’re done, you’re only at forty percent of what your body is capable of doing. That’s just the limit that we put on ourselves.”

“There’s only one rule in training: If it doesn’t suck, we don’t do it.”

“Whatever you got going on, someone else has more pain. You gotta learn how to fight through it. No matter what it is… Think about someone else and take a suck-shit pill.”

“It’s not what you do, it’s when and how you do it. It’s all about the conditions. Remember that.”

Now I finish the first thing on my list with 100 percent focus and then attack the next.

He tells me he never celebrates an accomplishment. Once his goal is done, it’s time for his next goal. Our work is not done. It’s time for our next goal.

With fitness there’s never a finish line. You can always do better.

It just shows that repetition and consistency equal results.

I don’t stop when I’m tired. I stop when I’m done.

If you can see yourself doing something, you can do it. If you can’t see yourself doing something, usually you can’t achieve it.

The simplicity that SEAL has is one of the most important things in life. He gets to do what he loves every day. He lives stress-free.

I learned that by constantly doing things that are hard and making myself uncomfortable, I improve my ability to handle obstacles. I get comfortable being uncomfortable—and that’s real mental toughness.