Amusing Even For The Unabashed Couch-Potato

I've read the reviews saying Living with a SEAL was inspiring, wanted to make people get out there and push themselves, their bodies to the limit. Please believe me when I say that that was NOT my intention when purchasing this book.
I wanted to change my mind, my outlook on life. Living with a SEAL did that, but mostly it was an amusing look at another person's boy-howdy boot camp extraordinaire. SEAL was a boy who played Rambo, not using the action figure, but skulking through the woods, stalking and hunting. He is a man who looks at everything around him as either something he wants to protect or something he's willing to destroy to protect his primaries.
He also plainly and simply lives in the moment. When he runs, he doesn't gabble and talk because he's in the now of the moment (even though he admits he hates running. But as he says: If it doesn't suck, we don't do it). And Itzler learns a lot about being present, enjoying what he has, being ready to protect his loved ones, keeping out of harm's way.
He also becomes fitter than ever. Ya wanna get fit? Here ya go. 31 days of doing it all.
Just be prepared for a lot of military-style and ex-rapper-style profanity--I didn't mind it, but maybe 'cause I can be quite the sailor myself.
There's a lot of humor in the book, a lot of advice, a lot of wake-up/change it up examples of learning how to wake up and live your life in a more profound way.
Do I want to go out and push myself to the limit? Do I want to go out and run miles in a blizzard so that my clothes are rock solid frozen when I'm finished? Well, maybe not.
But now I do want to wake up and appreciate what's around me. Plus, I appreciate chuckles a lot more...!

149 people found this helpful

Inspirational book that doesn't make you think, it makes you get off your ass and DO!

Just finished this book on my another 21 k hike.
Tonight I thought I was too tired to do anything, I was thinking, maybe I just watch something and fall asleep, it was a busy day. I'll do more tomorrow.
And then I started listening to "living with a SEAL" again. I got up, put on my workout gear and went out.
"Only Today and Getting Better", I remembered seal's words.
I'm a self-improvement book/courses junkie. I consumed so many books that were supposed to make my life better. They made me think different. But they didn't make me do things different.
This book did.
I guess the most important lesson for me, that I got out of the book - when my mind tells me I can't, it just talks about what I haven't done before, the mind has no idea what I truly am capable of. "I can't" is just a memory. I can do anything I can see myself doing. "I can't" has nothing to do with the present or the future, it's the past.
"Only Today and Getting Better"
Amazing book. I'll listen to it not one time more during my workouts and tough times to push me beyond "I can't". I might not have the seal training me to defy my limits but thanks to Jesse Itzler I have the next best thing!

106 people found this helpful

Good story than can be told in less than 2 pages

The overall theme is easily identifiable.
1. When your brain says your done you're only 40% done
2. Don't procrastinate
3. Be around people who even if 10% of their lifestyle rubs off on you makes you a better person.

This book is filled with tons of useless fillers.
I would list out those useless fillers but I'd probably write a book.

64 people found this helpful

It was Ok

Ironically enough I passed on David Goggins book to buy this one. This book left me wanting to know more about Seal (David Goggins) and Sarah Blakely than Jesse. Jesses writing style is decent but I just wasn’t that interested in the story. The underlining lessons were also ok but nothing I’d listen to again, which is odd for me as I tend to listen to my books several times.
I’m now listening to “Can’t hurt Me” by David Goggins and loving it, I highly recommend. I’d pass on this book.

58 people found this helpful

Stopped listening half way thru

The accounts of the author's actual training with SEAL and grappling with SEAL's challenges and coaching were my reasons for downloading the book. Those sections had some good takeaways. However the book became more and more a platform for the author to tell us about his personal exploits and achievements. Others might find that entertaining but that's not why I purchased the book so I lost interest.

51 people found this helpful

Disappointed

Language is too coarse for listening at work or within ear shot of children. No insight on how it changed Jesse's life or thought processes post living with the seal. No sharing of the informational nuggets gained by doing this was the big disappointment.

39 people found this helpful

Fantastic

I listened to this audiobook in one day during a road trip. Unlike other audiobooks, I never found myself needing to take a break from the story. It was entertaining, inspiring, and all around more than I expected from a "memoir." Highly recommend.

33 people found this helpful

Living with a Seal

Absolutely life changing. Do I think I can walk away from this story and accomplish the progress Jessee did? No way. But there are powerful "take always" from this story that I will most definitely be incorporating into my life. It's amazing the limitations we put on ourselves; allowing our minds to govern what we believe we can or we cannot do.

By far, one of the best books I've read lately. Not just inspiring but frigging hilarious!

Thank you to both Jesse (who by the way, has balls of steel) and SEAL.

25 people found this helpful

Regret this choice

What would have made Living with a SEAL better?

A professional narrator.
A better writer.
An interesting story.

What could Jesse Itzler have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Aside from having better quality and less repetitive content, he could have hired a professional narrator to lessen the blow.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jesse Itzler?

I don't know specific narrators to make a suggestion.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I did not get what I hoped for from this book. I did however adjust my workout schedule as direct influence from the book. I wouldn't consider it a redeeming quality although it might be if I hadn't been exercising at all before I listened to it.

Any additional comments?

I listened to the whole thing so that I could be certain it was annoying as I thought by the first few chapters. This book is a ridiculous and repetitive work of mediocrity. As a writer I am so inspired that I can get a book published, because if this guy can, most certainly anyone can. He reads and expresses too much surprise for things that he wrote. Enthusiasm is good, but when every line is written and read with increasing shock it gets frustrating quickly to listen to. Almost nothing exciting or unique happens beyond the first day. Everyday was the same, run a lot and work out heavily at random. Itzler describes his ambition and accomplishments with passion and excitement, but appears to be basically a pathological liar in his stories saying anything that will further his potential to be listened to. He would certainly be sued for acting like that today although maybe he has been. He uses excessive foul language to make the story sound more serious and interesting than it is. Although "SEAL" probably did speak like that based on the accounts. SEAL sounds like a highly trained idiot. He has such elite training, yet fails to ever apply the "off" switch, or even a "medium" switch. It's unfortunate. I thought there could be a lot to learn from this work.

19 people found this helpful

status quo interruption

the mundane life all jacked with by a seal. he got what he wanted. entertaining and eye opening for myself. first goal... 100 push ups in a day.

17 people found this helpful