Cant hurt me master your mind and

the only
in any given situation, it’s on you to decide how you’re going
to handle it because you can’t make it go away. For years, I used it to fuel
me because there’s a lot of power in being 
the only
. It forces you to juice
your own resources and to believe in yourself in the face of unfair scrutiny.
It increases the degree of difficulty, which makes every success that much
sweeter. That’s why I continually put myself in situations where I knew I
would encounter it. I fed off being 
the only
one in a room. I brought the war

---

to people and watched my excellence explode small minds. I didn’t sit back
and cry about being 
the only
. I took action, said go fuck yourself, and used
all the prejudice I felt as dynamite to blow up those walls.
But that kind of raw material will only get you so far in life. I was so
confrontational I created needless enemies along the way, and I believe
that’s what limited my access to the top SEAL Teams. With my career at a
crossroads, I didn’t have time to dwell on those mistakes. I had to find
higher ground and turn the negative I’d created into another positive. I
didn’t just accept land warfare duty, I was the best instructor I could
possibly be, and on my own time I created new opportunities for myself by
launching my ultra quest, which revived my stalled career. I was right back
on track until I learned I’d been born with a broken heart.
Yet there was a positive side to that too. Tucked into my post-op hospital
bed, I looked to be fading in and out of consciousness, as conversations
between doctors, nurses, my wife, and mother bled into one another like
white noise. They had no clue that I was wide awake the whole time,
listening to my wounded heart beat, and smiling inside. Knowing I finally
had definitive, scientific proof that I was as uncommon as any motherfucker
who has ever lived.

---

CHALLENGE #9
This one’s for the unusual motherfuckers in this world. A lot of people
think that once they reach a certain level of status, respect, or success, that
they’ve made it in life. I’m here to tell you that you always have to find
more. Greatness is not something that if you meet it once it stays with you
forever. That shit evaporates like a flash of oil in a hot pan.
If you truly want to become uncommon amongst the uncommon, it will
require sustaining greatness for a long period of time. It requires staying in
constant pursuit and putting out unending effort. This may sound appealing
but will require everything you have to give and then some. Believe me,
this is not for everyone because it will demand singular focus and may
upset the balance in your life.
That’s what it takes to become a true overachiever, and if you are already
surrounded by people who are at the top of their game, what are you going
to do differently to stand out? It’s easy to stand out amongst everyday
people and be a big fish in a small pond. It is a much more difficult task
when you are a wolf surrounded by wolves.
This means not only getting into Wharton Business School, but being
ranked #1 in your class. It means not just graduating BUD/S, but becoming
Enlisted Honor Man in Army Ranger School then going out and finishing
Badwater.
Torch the complacency you feel gathering around you, your coworkers, and
teammates in that rare air. Continue to put obstacles in front of yourself,
because that’s where you’ll find the friction that will help you grow even
stronger. Before you know it, you will stand alone.
#canthurtme #uncommonamongstuncommon.

---

C H A P T E R T E N
10. 
THE EMPOWERMENT OF
FAILURE
O
N
S
EPTEMBER
27, 2012, I 
STOOD
IN
A
MAKESHIFT
GYM
ON
THE
SECOND
FLOOR
OF
30 Rockefeller Center prepared to break the world record for pull-ups in a
twenty-four-hour period. That was the plan, anyway. Savannah Guthrie was
there, along with an official from the Guinness Book of World Records and
Matt Lauer (yeah, that fucking guy). Again, I was gunning to raise money
—a lot of money this time—for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation,
but I also wanted that record. To get it I had to perform under