Here is a 2000+ word blog post on "Jesse Itzler Shares Hilarious David Goggins Stories with Joe Rogan":
David Goggins has earned a reputation as one of the most intense and motivated individuals on the planet. As an ultra-endurance athlete, he has achieved feats of mental and physical strength that defy comprehension.
So when entrepreneur and author Jesse Itzler had the chance to live with David Goggins for a month, it led to some absolutely hilarious stories that reveal the true nature of this extreme human.
Recently, Jesse joined Joe Rogan on his massively popular podcast to discuss his experiences with David and the many wild adventures they shared. If you haven‘t seen the interview already, it‘s an absolute must-watch.
In this post, we‘ll summarize some of the funniest and most insightful stories from their discussion, analyzing key lessons we can apply in our own lives. Understanding David Goggins‘ approach can help unleash our motivation and push us outside our comfort zones.
Let‘s dive in!
Background on David Goggins and Why His Perspective Matters
To appreciate why Jesse Itzler was so profoundly impacted by his month with David Goggins, it helps to understand Goggins‘ almost superhuman background.
David Goggins grew up in an abusive household and battled obesity, prejudice and poverty early on. Despite the long odds, he lost over 100 pounds in just a few months and became a Navy SEAL, renowned for having completed the most grueling aspect of their selection process multiple times.
Since retiring, he has achieved incredible feats of athletic endurance, including running over 200 miles without sleep, completing over 4,000 pull-ups in 17 hours and running 135 miles in Death Valley – considered one of the hottest places on Earth.
He‘s accomplished all this despite having a heart condition that once put him in the hospital for heart surgery.
In other words, David Goggins redefined what the human spirit can overcome, which is what drew Jesse Itzler to want to learn from his approach.
Jesse Itzler‘s Initial Interactions with David Goggins
Long before David ever crashed on his couch, Jesse Itzler had seen videos of David‘s athletic endeavors that blew his mind. He couldn‘t fathom how David pushed himself so far past perceived limitations.
After randomly connecting through a couple mutual friends, Jesse asked David if there were any principles to apply from his approach.
David‘s answer: "Yeah man. Rule #1, do something every day that sucks."
For David, it was never about trying to be "motivated." It was about putting himself in situations that forced him to summon strength and willpower he didn‘t know he had.
As an example, he challenged Jesse – who considered pull-ups a weakness – to see how many he could complete while David watched.
Jesse struggled to eight pull-ups before collapsing. Davidmade him get back on the bar immediately.
Somehow, Jesse willed out another eight pull-ups. David made him get back on again, and Jesse managed one last pull-up with extremely poor form.
By pushing Jesse past what his mind told him was possible, David made a huge impact and pushed Jesse to embrace intensity in his training going forward.
This initial interaction led Jesse to invite David to stay with him for a month, hoping his approach would rub off.
Little did Jesse know what he was in for…
Goggins Pushes Jesse by Making Him Jump in a Frozen Lake
When David Goggins first came to stay with Jesse, one of the first things they did together was go for a long run in New York‘s Central Park.
As they were finishing, it started absolutely pouring rain. Then somehow, it started hailing and snowing, quickly developing into a blizzard.
Jesse assumed they‘d call their run and head indoors. But David had other plans:
"Dude, this is when the run STARTS."
David proceeded to run them an extra THREE miles in the blizzard before coming across a partly frozen lake. He immediately started taking off his shoes and clothes down to his underwear.
Jesse again assumed David was joking around.
Nope. David plunged into the icy lake and challenged Jesse to join him if he was serious about changing his approach to life.
We‘ll let Jesse describe the rest:
"At that point, I basically have to make a decision. Is this guy completely crazy and I need to call somebody, or is he onto something? I ended up going into the lake."
This story illustrates David‘s talent for creating intense scenarios that push people outside their comfort zones. Rather than staying warm or playing it safe, David helped shift Jesse‘s mindset around embracing discomfort in the journey for growth.
And the cold lake was just the start of their crazy adventures together.
David Goggins Runs 24 Hours Straight on Broken Feet
Later in the podcast, Joe Rogan asks Jesse to share the craziest story he knows about David‘s athletic feats.
Jesse proceeds to absolutely blow Joe‘s mind with this story:
David had signed up to compete in a 24 hour ultra marathon, with the goal to run as many miles as possible in 24 hours.
About 18 hours into the race, with blisters covering his feet, David acknowledges he can no longer properly run. Rather than quit, he decides he will walk the remaining 6 hours if that‘s what it takes.
Then around hour 20, his feet are in such bad shape that he can no longer even walk. At this point, most people would obviously call it quits, right?
Not David Goggins.
With four hours still remaining, David crawls the rest of the way on his hands and knees to complete the 24 hour race. In total, he runs over 100 miles in 24 hours despite his demolished feet.
Here‘s the crazy part: doctors later discovered he broke ALL the bones in BOTH feet over the course of the race. Somehow David blocked out the pain long enough to complete the race.
Joe Rogan understandably finds this story hard to believe. But a month later, despite his broken feet and not having run a step, David runs an entire marathon in under 3 hours just to prove to the doctors it can be done.
This story clearly showcases why David Goggins is considered such an extreme figure when it comes to mental toughness. His ability to disconnect his mind from pain likely compares to some of the toughest individuals on the planet.
Hilarious Story of David Goggins Arriving at Jesse‘s House
One of the funniest stories from the podcast involves the beginning of David‘s stay with Jesse Itzler.
Jesse explains that after their initial interaction, he was so impressed by David‘s intensity that he asked David to come stay at his house for a month. David agreed within an hour without knowing anything about Jesse other than he had a pool.
Three days later, the doorbell rings at Jesse‘s house. He opens the door to find David Goggins standing there with literally ONE bag over his shoulder and a six pack of beer.
That‘s it. No extra clothes, no toiletries, nothing. David traveled from Las Vegas to Jesse‘s house in Atlanta with just a single backpack.
The best part is when David heads straight upstairs after arriving and jumps right into Jesse‘s pool for a swim WITHOUT saying hello or explaining who he was. Jesse had to confirm it was actually David Goggins before letting him inside.
This impromptu arrival – and immediate pool jump – captures David‘s personality perfectly. Rather than bother with pleasantries or settling in, he surprised Jesse by showing up out of the blue and made himself right at home.
Over the coming month, Jesse would continue to be surprised by David‘s unpredictable intensity on a daily basis.
Stories of David Goggins Waking Up Jesse Itzler
A recurring theme from David‘s stay was his penchant for waking up Jesse Itzler early in extremely loud, intense ways.
One example was their second day living together when David brought Jesse with him to get a massage. Afterwards, David surprised Jesse by taking him to a Russian bath house with an extremely hot sauna.
Jesse describes barely being able to breathe for how intensely hot and steamy it was inside this sauna. He started seeing white and nearly fainted.
Meanwhile, David is completely relaxed, reminding Jesse that growth comes from discomfort and asking him personal questions about his childhood to distract from the intense heat.
Somehow David withstands over 30 minutes in this sauna before giving Jesse permission to exit if he desires. David stays inside for ANOTHER 30 minutes by himself.
This showed Jesse firsthand how David can withstand vastly more discomfort than most humans. It also foreshadowed the early wake up calls still in store for Jesse back at home…
Upon returning home, still exhausted from their massage and sauna, Jesse heads straight to bed around 8 PM.
At midnight, David proceeds to blast music at full volume to wake up Jesse. He informs a barely conscious Jesse that they will be running four miles every 40 minutes until their meeting at 10 AM the next day.
Somehow, despite wearing jeans and still exhausted, Jesse survives this intense all-night running session with David. They complete NINE separate four mile runs overnight, repeatedly blasting themselves with cold water just to make it harder.
Let me repeat: they ran 36 miles total, with hardly any rest, just 8 hours after an intense massage and sauna session… solely because David decided it made for good training.
Jesse even had clients scheduled to meet at 10 AM and had to entertain them after this crazy 36 mile run. He says he barely survived the meetings. Yet this overnight run was one of Jesse‘s favorite memories living with David!
Clearly David brings a whole new definition of training intensity that shocked Jesse‘s system (in the best way). Waking up clients for 4 AM workouts apparently became one of David‘s signature moves during his stay.
David‘s "Hell Week" Puts Jesse Through the Ringer
In one last story, Jesse discusses the single hardest stretch he endured with David Goggins, which David referred to as "Hell Week."
Jesse explains that the first couple weeks training with David were intense yet fun adventures where he was making great progress.
At a certain point, Goggins decided Jesse was ready for an even harder challenge.
David designated one week as "Hell Week" where Jesse would be pushed harder than ever through day-to-day pain and discomfort. David personally committed to giving Jesse no break or rest for the entire week.
The week involved nonstop early wake up calls, all-day intense workouts, late-night activities, and even uncomfortable personal conversations to push Jesse mentally.
Some of the week‘s highlights included:
- 2 AM wake up calls multiple days in a row
- 10-15 mile trail runs on just a few hours sleep
- Hour long ice bath sessions
- Intense weight training circuits until muscle failure
- Staying awake over 24 hours on various days
Jesse admits by day three he was questioning his sanity. His kids even asked his wife if he was going to die!
Yet David refused to provide any relief, reminding Jesse that growth comes at the intersection of comfort and discomfort.
Somehow Jesse survived the week thanks to David‘s encouragement and the excitement of watching his mental toughness grow. He said finishing this "Hell Week" was one of his proudest life achievements.
While few of us may want to voluntary endure such a week, it pushes the limits of human potential and offers an incredible case study in resisting mental breakdowns. Jesse came out stronger than ever thanks to surviving David‘s intense challenge.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully the stories above provide a glimpse into Jesse Itzler‘s hilarious and extreme month with David Goggins.
It‘s impossible to fairly summarize everything they discussed in one article. So I highly suggest listening to the full Joe Rogan podcast for an even deeper appreciation of David‘s crazy personality and training approaches.
The key lessons from Jesse‘s experience with David demonstrate how pushing past our comfort zone – while extremely hard in the moment – expands what our minds believe possible. Growth occurs when we repeatedly challenge limitations.
This requires cultivating an intense focus solely on the next small step ahead rather than big picture outcomes. With enough intensity and baby steps, unbelievable progress can happen.
Few of us may want to immediately adopt David Goggins‘ extreme training and lifestyle. But we can all challenge ourselves incrementally today.
Jesse Itzler‘s stories showcase that discipline and work ethic can outperform even vast differences in talent or skill levels. We all have more potential than we realize – we simply need to put ourselves in situations to prove that to ourselves.
If a month with David Goggins sounds interesting, Jesse jokes near the end that he has an idea to start charging billionaires $100k per month to have Goggins live at their house and "motivate them."
Based on the stories above, I have a feeling there would be some extremely interested clients! While getting yelled at daily at 4 AM by David Goggins sounds awful, the personal growth would make it worthwhile.
Hopefully this glimpse into the mindset of David Goggins and his hilarious stories with Jesse Itzler proves valuable in your own journey!