In 2010, Jesse Itzler鈥攁 successful businessman behind ventures ranging from a prepaid , to , and even 鈥攄ecided to radically change his life. He wanted to become mentally tougher and thought that the best, or at least the most effective way to do that was by inviting a Navy SEAL to live with him for a month. But he didn鈥檛 call upon just any SEAL. Itzler enlisted , who, thanks to his outrageous feats of endurance, . Goggins鈥 range is impressive: he holds the 24-hour record for pullups鈥4,030, or 168 per hour鈥攁nd has placed highly in numerous ultra-endurance races. In 2006, Goggins placed fifth in the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon after taking up running less than a year prior.
The result of Itzler鈥檚 experiment was his bestselling (and hilarious) book, , published in 2015. While it鈥檚 one thing to embrace the intense lifestyle of a SEAL for a month, it鈥檚 another to hold onto it for the long haul. Now that significant time has passed, I was curious to know what, if anything, had stuck with Itzler. In other words, what are the sustainable lessons of living with a SEAL? This is what Itzler told us.
Do Something Hard Every Day
I do a workout every morning in which I purposefully try to make myself uncomfortable. It sets me up for the rest of the day by reminding me that I can choose to be OK in the midst of tough challenges. After you鈥檝e physically suffered, .
Don鈥檛 Put Off the Little Things鈥擩ust Get Them Done
I used to delay doing stuff that I just didn鈥檛 want to deal with鈥攖hings like putting the garden hose away properly or doing the dishes right after dinner. Now I have this little voice in my head that says, 鈥淚 know you don鈥檛 want to do this, but just do it anyway.鈥 In other words, there鈥檚 far less stuff that I put off until tomorrow. On the whole, I think this makes me more productive and probably even happier. Plus, it sets the tone for my whole life. It鈥檚 like that old saying: 鈥淗ow you do anything is how you do everything.鈥
Simplicity
I鈥檓 much more of a minimalist since living with David. This isn鈥檛 to say I鈥檝e given up all the things I love. It鈥檚 just that, for example, I鈥檝e gone from having countless pairs of shoes to just a few. I鈥檝e found that eliminating not-so-important choices really frees up my mental capacity to think about the important ones.
Say No to Stuff
Goggins forced me to complete massive workouts every morning, so inherently, I had less time to do other things. As good as these workouts were for my physical health, they may have been even better for my mental health because they forced me to prioritize my time more seriously, which I still do today. I put my life into four buckets: I sleep seven hours a day. I take three hours for myself so I don鈥檛 resent the people I鈥檓 closest to. I work for about eight hours. And I set aside six hours for hygiene and all the other random stuff that comes up. I don鈥檛 let anything encroach upon the sleep, me, or work buckets, which means turning down unimportant things. Time is the most precious resource there is鈥攜ou have to protect it.
Have a Plan
My entrepreneurial life really mirrors the mind-set of a SEAL or training for a big race: there鈥檚 preparation and game planning, plus execution. To do the latter well, you need to nail the former.