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

by Jesse Itzler

“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.”

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

I absorbed some of that just-get-it-done and there-are-no-excuses attitude. I’m grateful for that.

SEAL has an I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude that really makes him different. He’s an African-American Navy SEAL, of which there aren’t many, an African-American who competes in endurance sports that are dominated by Caucasians. He doesn’t give a shit. SEAL does what SEAL wants to do. He doesn’t live the way everyone tells him he’s supposed to live. And he does it with purpose. I admire him for that. His normal has been abnormal. We have that in common.

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.