David Goggins

David Goggins the Navy SEAL, one of an elite group of military men regularly sent on some of the toughest missions in the world, needed more of a challenge for himself, so he set about conquering the hardest sporting events known to man. Today he is considered to be one of the greatest endurance athletes in the world.

A successful keynote speaker, David Goggins was recently named as one of Real Leaders’ Top 50 Keynote Speakers in the World in 2022.

PUSHING THE LIMIT

The odds were stacked against David ever making anything of himself. He grew up in an abusive household, barely graduated high school, and struggled with serious health issues, to name just a few of the challenges David had to overcome. In spite of all of these obstacles, David never had a “woe is me” mentality.

David is the only member of the U.S. Armed Forces to complete SEAL training (including two Hell Weeks), the U.S. Army Ranger School (where he graduated as Enlisted Honor Man) and Air Force tactical air controller training.

David has completed multiple ultra-marathons, triathlons, ultra-triathlons, bike races and arduous mountain ascents, setting new course records and regularly placing in the top five. His achievements made him the subject of a lead feature in Runner’s World, where he was named “Running Hero”, and Outside Magazine named him “The Fittest (Real) Man in America.” The Navy SEALs even asked him to be their poster-boy and appear in a recruiting commercial.

WHAT DRIVES DAVID

All of the awards, medals, accolades and magazine articles mean nothing to David. That’s not why he does what he does. Although David has raised a lot of money and awareness for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, none of this recognition is relevant to him. He’s not trying to be number one in the world. He’s not interested in how many races he’s run. He doesn’t keep track of the miles he’s gone. There’s no scoreboard.

Instead, it’s all about achieving his personal best and pushing himself well past his comfort zone. David chooses to run the toughest races and put himself through some of the hardest military training programs in the country for no other reason than to see what he’s made of. For him, physical and mental suffering are a journey of self-discovery, no other experience makes him feel more clear, focused and alive.

Growing up in Buffalo, New York, and rural Indiana, David is all too familiar with the struggles of dealing with an abusive father, suffering at the hands of violent racism, and living with the harsh realities of being raised by a single mother trying to give her son a better life by working three jobs. Barely graduating high school, David was constantly told he was too dumb, too sick or too fat to achieve his goal of a career serving our country. David never let slim odds or daunting circumstances to get in his way, hold him back or make him a “victim.” He chose to instead overcome and prove the naysayers wrong. And while on that path, David’s managed to raise more than $2 million for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

His constant conquering of adversity has made David a much sought after public speaker. His bold, “no excuses” approach gets him regularly invited to speak at college campuses and business forums, as well as to top sports teams like the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks. What they get is a crash course in personal accountability – David is all about owning his failures and learning from them. For him, today’s too-often norm of coddling, entitlement and playing the blame game is simply unacceptable. He’s pure old school, and that’s precisely what makes him one of a rare and unparalleled breed of men.