David Goggins: I Want to Be a Firefighter

Do you plan out your future? I do so i'm very good. So I have that accountability mirror, but I also plan out all my small big time You know medium goals all these things I have to do in life I'm a big planner I'm a big planner So, you know right now i'm going back to scratch. So i'm trying to be wildland firefighter You know, I did that for a couple seasons. You're gonna do that now Yeah, so I did it for I did it for two not not full season, but but two half seasons So this year was my second year doing it. I had to I had to Stop about Two months before it ended because this book to start promoting the book and start finishing the book up But i've been doing an opportunity that's some fucking work man Those fucking guys get after what made you decide to do that The work, you know, like when your hands stop becoming really calloused It's time to get back to work You know, like I retire from the military. I did 21 years in the military Um, the military was my life loved everything about it the discipline of it Um, there's some about going back in the in the money you make is nil. It's not about the money at all It's just about the hard work. I've always been looking for those people like those guys like you're out there digging a three mile fire line Literally a three mile fire line. You're cutting down these fucking huge ass trees to dig this fire line And the fire line is like 20 to 18 inches For three miles and you got like fucking 12 people digging this shit And i'm out there thinking man. This is some of the hardest fucking work i've done in my life And it's that challenge that you can't find sometimes By going to the gym or by running, you know, a hundred mile race It's that it's that new challenge of like hey and you get done digging All right You work 17 hours 16 17 hours You get your fucking little fucking sleeping mat out Shack down boom right there on the floor right there on the ground get up dig some more You know be out there two three weeks sometimes man. It's doing that shit and there's great satisfaction in the kind of work that you do out there No one's watching. No one gives a fuck. It's hard dangerous fucking work And you know, you're doing it to help shit out, man, you know, how did you get drawn into that? So I got drawn into it because I was always looking for the next challenge And I was like, okay. What is there after the military? What like what the fuck is there man i'm i'm 43 Um i'm getting back in shape, you know, i'm fucking getting these health issues taken care of that I had and I started once again google is amazing shit Hardcore fucking jobs, you know pretty much, you know hard hard-ass fucking, you know, that's how I found the horse You know like the first race, you know hardest races in the world so Basically, I started finding this wildland firefight like what the fuck is wildland firefight? Start googling that start googling smoke jumpers, you know, i'm like, what the fuck these guys do What they jump out of planes and attack small fires like that's the shit So i'm like, okay, okay, we could put down a list and okay hot shots. What's a hot shot? They go out, you know big fires and they dig fire line. I'm like fuck with That's all video of it. I'm like that shit looks like it sucks. It's hot. You know, there's you know You're out there on your own. I mean, you know, you're out there on your own man. Just digging a fire line So that's kind of how I found it. I'm always looking for the next challenge I'm never satisfied with oh I did that like, you know, I became a seal. I was an air force guy. I became a seal I went to ranger school. I tried out for delta force twice, you know, like i'm i'm always looking for what is next looking for those uncommon men and women uncommon people because i'm trying to i'm trying to grow I'm trying to grow And a lot of times, you know, you won't be the only person that's making yourself grow You're looking for those cameron hanes's those joe rogan those people who are like just different People who understand what the fuck you're saying because a lot of things I have to say I can't save them all I can't save them all you may not understand them So I had to really find a way to communicate with people so they don't think oh my god Like what did you just say? So these cameron hanes's these joe rogan these people get it So I go in those little those little nucleus spots Get a little more strength get a little more knowledge get a little more tools Take those tools with me put in my tool shed And I go off down, you know down the road on a new journey So that's what I do Well, the proof is in the pudding if you're really doing woodland firefighting because there's no glory in that no, sir No, there's no fame There's no there's no one taking pictures of you. No, and that paycheck is small I'm gonna make you want to Shot eat today Wow, yeah There's there's nothing involved in that man. They work their ass off. So but you're just doing it as a challenge That's it. Does it freak out when you're there? You know what? I I think they're wondering why is a 43 year old retired man You know all the stuff you've done. Why are you out here? Yeah, and I explain it to them I'm out here. I'm out here. Do you know to to learn from you all to grow? And also to never forget where I came from, you know That's where it starts It's that mentality of i'm gonna pick up that fucking palaski and i'm gonna dig this fucking fire line for three damn miles That's that mentality. I never want to lose. I never want to get so nice with oh, yeah, I did it man I did it I did it i'm good That mentality of i'm willing to pick up that shovel and i'm willing to dig a three mile line Is there's something about that mentality that i'm ready to go to work at any time? And that's what keeps me. Those are the sparks like, you know, I look at motivation. It's just a spark It's like it's like kindling, you know How a big fire starts it starts with a little smoke it starts with a little cigarette being thrown in the woods Next thing all california's fucking burn up That's what i've been doing my whole life is I find these little sparks And once that little thing takes off, that's a that's a one-hour fuel then you got a 10-hour fuel Then you can move that thing to a 10 000 hour fuel These big logs and big trees that burn for days and that's where you want to bring that motivation That's where you want to bring that drive So if you have no kingling the kingling is me going out with these young guys saying all right motherfucker. You're 43 It's a 20-year-old keep up with them That kingling now when I leave those young guys It has now become that 10-hour fuel and now that 10 000 hour fuel that I use throughout my whole life I use that to my whole life man. Hey this summer at 43 you went out there and you did that man So, you know, you're not giving up yet. You're not done yet. Not today. You're not done today That's a crazy choice to make though woodland firefighters a very interesting choice. It is It is. It's a nasty job, man, because again, that's That's proof of concept Like you're really just doing just for the struggle. That's it