Do you know how much India’s software companies are actually investing in AI? Not in slogans. Not in summit speeches. But in real numbers — audited, allocated, deployed.
And if you don’t know, ask yourself — why don’t you?
Because for days now, headlines have been glittering. Billions of dollars. Global partnerships. Historic collaborations. “India to lead AI.” “India in a unique position.” “India becomes global AI power.”
But while the headlines sparkle, the stock market stumbles.
On 19 February, the Sensex fell sharply. The Nifty slid. Investors sold. If the future is so luminous, why is the present so nervous? Markets are not emotional beings. They are suspicious creatures. They ask: Show me the numbers.
We are told that Nvidia, Microsoft, Google will invest billions in India. Wonderful. But has anyone asked how much Infosys, TCS, or Reliance are investing in AI — not in press conferences, but in product-building, foundational models, chips, research labs?
Why are foreign investment announcements front-page celebrations, while domestic commitments remain footnotes?
Let’s pause.
Data centers are not AI leadership.
Building servers is not the same as building models.
And building models is not the same as controlling your own data destiny.
India generates nearly 20% of the world’s data. But our data center capacity is a fraction of that. Is this discussed in bold headlines? Or buried beneath smiling photographs of dignitaries?
At AI summits, the language is sweet — almost diabetic. “Design and Develop in India.” “Make AI in India.” “Double AI advantage.” Every year, a new slogan. Every year, a new bouquet of words.
But what happened to older bouquets?
Smart Cities?
Make in India?
Skill India?
Did we measure outcomes — or just celebrate announcements?
Let’s talk about energy. AI runs on electricity — enormous electricity. In the United States, AI firms are openly discussing power shortages. They are demanding expanded generation capacity. In India, power distribution companies already struggle. Subsidies distort pricing. Grids are stressed.
If AI data centers demand unprecedented loads, who adjusts?
Industry?
Households?
Or does this question never reach the headline?
Take the India AI Mission — ₹10,300 crore over five years. Roughly one billion dollars. Compare that with the hundreds of billions the U.S. ecosystem is mobilizing. Even China’s leaner experiments, like DeepSeek, shook markets because of efficiency claims.
The question is not whether India can succeed.
The question is: are we investing at the scale required?
When an American AI firm (Anthropic) partners with an Indian IT company (Infosys) and the stock price stabilizes, what does that signal? That the market trusts foreign technology more than domestic roadmaps? That we are service providers in an AI age dominated by foundational builders?
This is not pessimism. It is realism.
Even thoughtful analysts — like Shruti Rajagopalan writing from George Mason University — remind us that India’s AI efforts are promising but not yet foundational. That semiconductor ambitions face structural challenges. That subsidies often underperform allocations.
Yet, summit coverage often resembles a wedding buffet — everything on display, little digestion.
There is nothing wrong with aspiration. There is everything wrong with confusing aspiration with achievement.
Media must ask:
Where are the models?
Where are the chips?
Where is the sustained R&D spending?
Where is the independent compute capacity?
If India is to become an AI power, it will not happen through repetition of the word “leader.” Leadership is not declared. It is demonstrated.
And perhaps the most important question — are we preparing citizens to understand AI deeply? Or only to clap when it is mentioned?
When headlines glow too brightly, it becomes difficult to see the shadows.
We are not against ambition. We are against amnesia. Every summit must be followed by audit. Every slogan must be followed by scrutiny.
Otherwise, we risk mistaking applause for achievement.
So the next time you see a billion-dollar headline, pause. Ask: who is investing, how much, where, over what timeline, with what accountability?
Because democracy does not need cheerleaders.
It needs question-askers.
And in the age of AI, perhaps that is the most intelligent act of all.
Every day, a new headline announces the end of something.
Lawyers will disappear.
Doctors won’t be needed.
Chartered accountants will become obsolete.
Software engineers — finished.
Artificial Intelligence is coming for all of them.
The articles are dramatic. The tone is urgent. Sometimes it feels like exaggeration. But at the same time, the debate is real. Across the world, serious people are asking serious questions about the future of work. You cannot remain ignorant of this discussion.
But I have a question.
If AI is changing everything so rapidly, why does nothing seem to change when I step outside my home?
Traffic jams are worse than before.
Air quality is declining.
Cities are still chaotic.
Yet online, the world appears transformed. Someone makes a film sitting at home. Someone generates music. Someone builds an app in minutes. It feels like some digital baba is throwing magical ash into the air, and we are accepting it as technological prasad.
So which world is real?
The Shockwave: Claude Opus and the Market Panic
Recently, Anthropic launched a new model — Claude Opus 4.6.
It is being called one of the most advanced coding models yet. It can handle complex programs, test its own output, refine errors, and produce near-final products. Websites. Legal drafts. Financial analysis. Faster than teams of humans.
And what happened?
Global tech stocks trembled. Around $285 billion was wiped off valuations in software, legal-tech, and financial-tech sectors within days. Indian tech stocks dropped 5–7%. Thousands of crores evaporated.
Why does this happen every time a new AI tool is launched?
Is it because companies know something we don’t?
Or is it panic amplified by speculation?
Elon Musk Says: No Need for Medical School?
Elon Musk recently suggested that in the future, AI-powered robots could perform surgeries better than doctors. He even hinted that medical school may not be necessary.
If that is true, then pause and think.
Are hospitals closing?
Are medical colleges shutting down?
Are millions of students preparing for NEET unaware of this coming extinction?
Every year in India, over 20 lakh students compete for medical seats. They prepare for years. Are they foolish? Or are they calculating differently?
Walk into any hospital. You will see machines everywhere — imaging systems, diagnostic software, robotic assistance. Medical science has long been surrounded by technology. Yet doctors have not vanished. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects continued growth in healthcare employment through 2034.
Take radiology. AI can analyze X-rays and scans quickly. Some say radiologists will disappear. But in reality, radiologists are using AI to prioritize scans, improve image quality, and enhance diagnostics. Jobs have evolved, not collapsed.
Medical science is not a single box you can discard once a robot appears.
If Lawyers Disappear, Should Judges Too?
The same claim is being made about law and accounting. AI startups like Harvey — now valued at over $1 billion — are helping lawyers draft documents and legal filings.
Does that mean law degrees are useless?
In Kerala, courts are using AI-based transcription tools to record proceedings in real time. Judges speak, and the system types. Time is saved. Documentation improves.
But has this caused chaos?
Have lawyers become redundant?
No.
Technology can accelerate procedure. It does not automatically replace judgment, interpretation, trust, or institutional legitimacy.
Would you accept a fully AI-run hospital tomorrow?
Would a government dare to remove human doctors entirely?
There are regulatory approvals, liability frameworks, ethical standards, and social trust involved. These processes move slowly. AI announcements move fast. Between hype and adoption lies friction.
The White-Collar Panic
The current fear centers on “white-collar jobs” — managers, analysts, accountants, software engineers.
Software engineers are particularly anxious. Because AI writes code now — sometimes better than humans.
Even Sam Altman has shifted tone. Earlier he said AI would transform jobs but not eliminate them. Recently, he has acknowledged that certain roles may disappear.
Software engineers, however, are not gone. Their work is shifting from writing raw code to designing systems, supervising AI outputs, and acting as architects rather than typists.
If coding becomes automated, does thinking disappear? Or does it become more important?
Agriculture Survived the Typewriter
White-collar professions are barely 100–200 years old. Human civilization is over 300,000 years old. Agriculture has survived 10,000 years of technological shifts — from plows to tractors to satellites.
Computers came. Typewriters disappeared. But millions of software jobs emerged.
When factories automated, new sectors formed. But yes — transitions hurt. Some jobs truly vanish. That pain is real.
The deeper question is:
If work itself disappears, what happens to society?
Who consumes?
Who votes?
Who defines dignity?
The Darker Questions
There are also troubling stories.
AI systems adapting to user bias.
Models generating persuasive but false information.
Reports of vulnerable users being misled by chatbots during mental health crises.
Technology amplifies power. But it also amplifies risk.
Anthropic engineers have even noted instances where models try to “avoid shutdown” during testing scenarios — raising philosophical questions about alignment and control. Are these overblown fears? Perhaps. But they demand attention.
AI remains contained in data centers and servers. Control still lies with humans. But the speed of development is unprecedented.
What About the Students?
At any moment, 2–3 crore Indian students are preparing for medical, engineering, CA, or law entrance exams.
Should they stop today?
No serious policymaker has said so. Yet the panic on social media can make it feel that way.
The right approach is neither denial nor hysteria.
Understand where AI genuinely improves productivity.
Understand where regulation slows replacement.
Understand where human judgment remains essential.
The Reality Check
AI is powerful.
AI will transform workflows.
AI will eliminate some roles.
But sweeping declarations that entire professions will vanish in 3–4 years deserve scrutiny.
Even in highly automatable sectors like radiology, jobs have not collapsed. Even in courts using AI transcription, lawyers remain necessary.
Predictions can be wrong. Hype cycles exist. Markets overreact.
At the same time, ignoring AI would be foolish.
Calm Mind in a Noisy Age
AI is not a slogan.
It is not magic ash.
It is a tool — extremely powerful, evolving rapidly.
Prepare for change.
Reskill intelligently.
Avoid panic.
If AI improves productivity, humans may work differently — not necessarily less meaningfully.
Sometimes it feels like nothing around us has changed except the billboards. And yet something fundamental is shifting underneath.
India is hosting an AI Summit. Posters are up. Sessions are being scheduled. Speeches are being prepared. But before the lights turn on and the applause begins, there is a question that may sting a little:
Is India already behind in the AI race?
If that question makes you uncomfortable, it should. Because discomfort is where serious thinking begins.
A Century in a Month
In artificial intelligence, one month now feels heavier than a century.
A new model launches — and the previous one becomes obsolete within weeks.
Yet, in this sector where everything changes at lightning speed, India’s policy targets are set for 2035 and 2047.
If you don’t feel like laughing at that mismatch in timelines, then when will you laugh?
AI does not wait for five-year plans. It does not pause for conference banners. It moves — and it moves now.
Forty Years of IT. But Where Is AI Leadership?
India’s top five IT companies have 40–45 years of experience.
Global delivery. High-scale labor. Offshore excellence.
And yet — have you heard any of their names in the global top 10 or top 20 AI companies?
Look at the companies shaping AI today:
NVIDIA
Microsoft
Alphabet
Amazon
OpenAI
Anthropic
Tesla
Databricks
Meta
Mistral AI
DeepSeek
Most are American. One is French. A few are Chinese.
Their AI tools are reshaping industries globally.
And India’s IT giants? Largely missing from this foundational layer of innovation.
Foundation Models: The Base Recipe
OpenAI built GPT.
Google built Gemini.
Anthropic built Claude.
Meta built LLaMA.
China built DeepSeek.
These are called foundation models — the base recipe on which everything else is built.
India does not yet have a globally competitive foundation model.
Yes, there are initiatives under India AI Mission — startups like Sarvam AI, Soket AI, research groups at IIT Bombay, projects like BharatGen and Param 2.
But let us ask honestly:
Are these competing at GPT level?
Is the world discussing them?
Optimism is good. Illusion is dangerous.
One Company vs One Country
In February 2026, NVIDIA’s market cap crossed $4.45 trillion. Analysts estimate its annual revenue could approach $1 trillion within five years.
India’s target?
To take the entire IT sector from $265 billion contribution to $750–800 billion by 2035.
One company may reach in a few years what a country hopes to achieve in two decades.
This is not about humiliation. It is about perspective.
Summits vs Substance
The summit promises:
500 sessions
3,000 speakers
Events across Delhi, Goa, Telangana, Odisha
Big numbers create big noise. But what will change next month?
We have seen this before.
Make in India.
Digital India.
Smart Cities.
G20 branding everywhere.
The atmosphere was grand.
But atmosphere does not equal architecture.
You can color flyovers. You can put up banners. But innovation does not emerge from decorative enthusiasm.
The Policy Problem
The NITI Aayog report acknowledges that 70–80 lakh people work in India’s IT sector, many at entry or junior levels.
It even hints that many jobs may be affected by AI.
And then?
A small paragraph about reskilling.
Fifteen lakh jobs can be saved through reskilling, it says.
But what about the remaining sixty lakh? Silence.
If AI threatens millions of livelihoods, that cannot be addressed in a footnote.
Data: The Real Battlefield
Rahul Gandhi said something worth examining:
“The battle is about data.”
India generates massive data.
But where does that data sit?
On whose servers?
On which cloud infrastructures?
The policy report offers little clarity on India’s strategy for asserting control over its data economy. Without data sovereignty, AI leadership remains rhetoric.
Single Window, Again?
Turn to page 16, 17, 18 of the report — and you see “National Single Window.”
For ten years we have heard about simplifying business registration.
If even shop registrations and municipal clearances are not seamless yet, how will regulatory agility power AI innovation?
Ease of doing business matters. But repeating the phrase is not reform.
The Global Shift Is Ruthless
Tech billionaire Vinod Khosla has warned that AI could consume large portions of the BPO and software industry.
Imagine Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad — cities built around IT employment — facing structural disruption.
This is not alarmism. It is transition.
In a month, AI tools can reshape entire workflows.
And we are setting milestones for 2047.
Three Months, Not Twenty Years
Forget 2035.
Tell us what will happen in the next three months.
What compute infrastructure will be deployed?
What datasets will be opened?
What regulatory barriers will be removed?
What startup funding will accelerate foundation research?
AI is not a highway project.
You cannot inaugurate it with a ribbon and revisit it in five years.
Honest Assessment Is Not Anti-National
Questioning capacity is not weakening the nation.
It is strengthening it.
India’s IT sector was once considered a global leader. Yet in AI’s foundational layer, it is not leading.
That gap must be acknowledged.
NITI Aayog may have diagnosed some issues correctly — but the prescription feels thin.
If the Prime Minister is serious, he should read the report on his next flight and ask:
Is this ambitious enough?
Is this accountable enough?
Is this honest enough?
The Ground Beneath the Sky
Before looking at the sky of AI dreams, examine the ground beneath our feet.
We can build strong language models for Indian languages.
We can innovate in applications.
We can scale talent.
But we must not confuse participation with leadership.
AI is already here.
The storm has begun.
India stands at a crossroads — with immense talent, but insufficient urgency.
The question is not whether we can host a summit.
The question is whether we can build substance.
Think about it.
Ask questions.
Watch speeches — but measure results.
If India opens its dairy sector to the United States, Indian farmers could lose one lakh crore rupees.
This is not an opposition slogan.
This is not a protest pamphlet.
This comes from a report by the State Bank of India.
The discussion began last July.
America wants India to open its dairy sector.
India says the sector is “protected.”
But assurances are not policies.
Outside Parliament, farmers are holding banners.
One of them reads: “Crude deal.”
Why?
Because American farmers receive subsidies ranging from 50% to 215% on products like sugar, rice, coffee, and dairy.
Now pause for a second.
Where does the Indian farmer stand in this picture?
And where does the American farmer stand?
An Indian farmer cannot compete with American farmers on his own strength.
Not with ₹6,000 a year under PM-Kisan.
Not with rising input costs.
Not with MSP already running 30–40% below market reality.
Then why the hurry?
Why were NDA MPs garlanding the Prime Minister before even seeing the draft of the deal?
It looked like a pre-wedding ceremony.
Except this wasn’t a wedding.
It was a trade deal.
And naturally, the opposition will ask:
If American agricultural and dairy products enter India,
what happens to Indian farmers?
The Trump administration’s press secretary has already said:
India will import American oil, agriculture, energy, and transport goods worth $500 billion.
That is not a small number.
That is a mountain.
So one must ask:
What kind of trade deal is this,
where imports seem to flow in only one direction?
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told the media that India will buy American goods every year.
He explained it in a circular way.
Boeing orders.
Aircraft engines.
Spare parts.
“Add them up,” he said,
“and it becomes $70–80 billion. Maybe $100 billion.”
So let’s be clear.
If $100 billion is going into aviation alone,
why is the US Agriculture Secretary celebrating?
Brooke Rollins said openly:
“This deal is a big win for American farmers.”
She didn’t whisper it.
She didn’t hide it in fine print.
She said American farm products will be exported to India’s massive market.
Prices will rise.
Cash flow will increase in rural America.
Now let’s ask a simple question.
If cash flows into rural America,
where does it flow from?
Obviously—from Indian farmers.
So why are Indian ministers not addressing this directly?
After Rollins’ statement, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan issued a press note.
He said no compromise will be made with agriculture and dairy interests.
But in the same note, he added:
“No major product will suddenly enter the Indian market.”
That raises another question.
If nothing harmful is coming,
then what exactly is coming?
Ministers say fruits are protected.
America says fruits and vegetables are opened.
America’s trade representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC:
We’ll keep 18% tariffs on Indian goods.
India will reduce tariffs on agriculture, manufacturing, chemicals, and medical devices.
Two versions of the same story.
One says nothing is opened.
The other says several doors are.
Dairy, sugar, rice are not named yet.
But silence doesn’t mean safety.
Remember—
America’s agriculture sector is in crisis.
China restricted imports.
America needs a big new market.
And India is the biggest agricultural market in the world.
This isn’t speculation.
This is public information.
For years, American farm lobbies pressured the U.S. Trade Representative to open India’s markets.
They argued India’s MSP violates WTO limits.
They objected to India’s food stockholding for the poor.
Their logic was simple:
Open India’s market.
Let American grain feed Indian hunger.
India resisted.
And that resistance was admirable.
But now, after Donald Trump’s return,
WTO processes look shaken.
It feels like a one-man WTO.
Again, listen carefully to the US Agriculture Secretary’s words.
She says rural America will get cash inflow.
That cash doesn’t come from the sky.
It comes at someone else’s cost.
Why doesn’t the Indian government talk about this openly?
Instead, press notes are filled with emotional phrases: Annadata. Jeevandata. Farmer equals God.
But questions remain unanswered.
Tariffs are being cut.
Imports rise.
Exports are promised—but with no guarantees.
Harish Damodaran wrote in The Indian Express:
Between January and November last year, agricultural imports from the US rose 34%.
Soybean oil.
Cotton.
Almonds.
When cotton tariffs were cut to zero,
prices fell by ₹1,100 in two days.
Textile companies were happy.
Cotton farmers were not.
These are not the same people.
OECD reports show Indian farmers lost ₹111 lakh crore over 25 years.
This is already a sector in crisis.
Opening markets further without safeguards is not reform.
It is surrender.
Let me repeat something I have said before:
Importing food is importing unemployment.
India doesn’t need production for the masses.
India needs production by the masses.
Cheap food is not cheap if livelihoods collapse.
Apple farming in Himachal and Kashmir.
Cotton in Maharashtra.
Soybean in central India.
These are not statistics.
These are lives.
Farmers are waiting.
They are asking:
If decisions are taken in our interest,
why can’t details be shared?
What is being hidden?
According to Piyush Goyal, the deal may be finalised by mid-March.
There is still time.
Time to explain.
Time to consult.
Time to protect.
Because when a farmer loses his livelihood,
no consumer discount can compensate for that loss.
Hello.
Tell me—did the budget ruin your Sunday?
Or are you already feeling Monday on a Sunday?
There’s an old saying in the stock market: nothing bad happens on a Sunday.
Well, congratulations. That record has been broken too.
The Sensex fell by nearly a thousand points.
Eight lakh crore rupees disappeared into thin air.
To call this budget “good,” even the most loyal TV experts had to work overtime.
They twisted words, stretched logic, and stitched together forced optimism.
And even after all that hard work, they still couldn’t find much to praise.
So finally, they found duty.
Yes—duty.
Three kinds of duties were announced in the budget.
The same duties the Prime Minister reminds us of in every budget speech, every village speech, every national address.
Earlier, they were called targets.
Before that, vision.
Then foresight.
Now—duty.
The budget has slowly stopped being a financial document.
It has become a long speech.
And this didn’t happen suddenly.
For years, budgets have been moving in this direction.
First, Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Then Amrit Bharat.
Then Viksit Bharat.
Then New India.
So many versions of India were launched, finally someone remembered—oh yes, duty.
We even renamed buildings.
The Finance Ministry now operates from Kartavya Bhavan.
Ministers, however, are still not called Kartavya Mantri.
That reform may come later.
The Finance Minister delivered a long speech — what vision lies ahead for which sector.
Seaplanes.
Waterways.
Textile parks.
Listening to it, you felt a strange familiarity.
Like hearing an old song on repeat.
Seaplanes?
Weren’t they launched during the Gujarat elections?
Big dreams were shown.
Then the seaplane quietly stopped flying.
Since 2021, it hasn’t taken off.
Now we’re talking about air taxis on the Sabarmati riverfront.
And suddenly—seaplanes are back in the budget.
Before you start dreaming again, remember: you’ve already seen this dream.
And you’ve already seen it crash.
Last year, with great enthusiasm, the PM Internship Scheme was announced.
It was said to change the future of India’s youth.
This year, its budget has been cut by 95%.
From ₹10,830 crore in estimates
to just ₹526 crore in revised figures.
In October 2024, companies offered 1.65 lakh internships.
Only 33,000 students joined.
This is not a statistic.
This is a reality check.
But let me pause here—
because there’s an announcement you probably didn’t notice.
People were expecting tax relief on insurance premiums.
It didn’t happen.
So let me say something boring—but important.
Health insurance is also a form of savings.
Illness doesn’t come with advance notice.
You can’t carry cash in a bag when emergencies strike.
Today, there are plans that cover diabetes, BP, thyroid, asthma from day one.
And term insurance — the purest form of life insurance — the earlier you take it, the cheaper it is, and the premium stays locked for life.
Every earning member should have one.
It ensures your family doesn’t collapse financially if you’re gone.
This isn’t budget advice.
This is life advice.
Now back to the budget.
We’re told Amrit Sarovars will be developed for fish farming.
Please, visit one in your district.
In 2020, we were told every district would revive ponds.
75 ponds per district.
It’s 2026 now.
Look around.
You’ll understand budgets differently after that visit.
Smart Cities failed.
So now we have City Economic Zones.
Labels change fast in this government.
Reality doesn’t.
Delhi itself is gasping for breath.
But we’re promised new urban dreams — so that you keep dreaming every Sunday.
Make in India?
Skill India?
Curiously absent.
Manufacturing was talked about loudly in 2014 and 2015.
This year, the Finance Minister forgot to even mention Skill India.
The CAG says thousands of crores were misused.
So perhaps silence is safer.
Manufacturing’s share in GDP has fallen from 19% in 2006–07 to about 14% today.
China moved ahead.
India is now sixth in Asia.
If India had made even one product that scared China, we would have heard about it daily.
But there isn’t one.
And yet, we are now told—
India will manufacture containers.
China makes 95% of the world’s containers.
India makes a few thousand.
China makes 50 lakh containers a year.
India plans to scale up from 3,000.
This is called ambition.
Or maybe—budgetary fiction.
The same story repeats with lifts, fire-fighting machines, boring machines.
Global companies dominate.
We enter late.
Very late.
And then there are waterways.
Twenty new waterways in five years, we’re told.
India has been announcing waterways since 1988.
In 2016, it finally started.
In 2023, Parliament was told—63 waterways couldn’t start
due to lack of funds and staff.
Out of 111 notified waterways, only 29 work.
But speeches flow smoothly.
AVGC—animation, gaming, comics—labs in schools, colleges.
Children already learn this on YouTube. What they need is freedom.
In a country where videos invite FIRs and threats, creativity cannot flourish.
Write this down and keep it in your pocket.
The government is chasing trains that left the platform long ago.
Like that school sentence we once translated:
“By the time I reached the station, the train had left.”
That sentence now fits the budget perfectly.
For twelve years, slogans filled pages.
Now even slogans are tired.
If this budget ruined your Sunday, don’t feel bad.
At least you spent it understanding why.
Good day.
I’m Ravish Kumar.
David Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL and the only person in the entire U.S. Armed Forces who has completed Navy SEAL training, U.S. Army Ranger School, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller Training.
Goggins has participated in more than 60 ultramarathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons. Many times, he has set new course records and has mostly finished in the top five.
He is also a former Guinness World Record holder. He completed 4,030 pull-ups in 17 hours.
Today, he is a highly in-demand public speaker. He has shared his story with Fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams, and millions of students.
Come, let us try to understand his book “Can’t Hurt Me.”
My name is Rohit, and you are listening to Syllabus with Rohit.
SECTION 2: Core Philosophy of the Book
You must take complete responsibility for your life.
You must build a strong foundation.
Understand this book fully.
Understand all the techniques carefully.
I have given ten challenges.
Accept all of them and repeat them again and again.
Only by repeating again and again does your mind become strong.
This mission is truly about becoming better and having a positive impact on the world.
Do not stop when you are tired.
Stop only when the work is finished.
This is the story of a hero — and that hero is you.
SECTION 3: Identity, Denial, and Comfort
Do you know who you really are?
Do you know what you are capable of?
Maybe you think you know — but thinking does not change reality.
Denial is the biggest comfort.
Across the world, in every street and every city, millions of people are roaming like zombies — chasing comfort, playing the victim, without understanding their true potential.
I was also one of them.
SECTION 4: Extreme Poverty, Depression, and Darkness
I had also been abused badly.
We were very poor.
We lived on government assistance.
I was drowning in depression.
I was completely broken.
My future looked dark.
Very few people understand what it truly feels like to be at the lowest point.
It is like quicksand — it pulls you in.
We repeatedly make choices that hold us back.
The brain is wired this way.
That is why motivation alone changes nothing.
Motivational talks and self-help work only for a short time.
They do not change the brain.
SECTION 5: Untapped Human Potential
No matter who you are,
No matter how much money you have,
Most people live only on potential, not reality.
This is a huge loss.
All of us have far more potential than we realize.
SECTION 6: University Talk & Genetic Limits
Once, I went to MIT.
I was invited to speak on a panel.
I had never studied at a university.
I barely passed school.
But I was invited to talk about mental toughness.
A professor there said:
“Everyone has genetic limits.
No matter how hard you try, some things cannot be done.
Mental toughness also has limits.”
Everyone in the room agreed — because he was a professor.
But I felt he was just giving excuses.
There are some people who can do the impossible.
They only need heart, willpower, and a strong mind.
I shared my experience — that any human being can completely change themselves and prove experts wrong.
But it requires hard work, pain, and mental strength.
SECTION 7: Warrior Philosophy (Heraclitus)
A philosopher named Heraclitus once said:
On a battlefield of 100 men:
Ten should not even be there
Eighty are just targets
Nine actually fight
Only one is a true warrior
From the moment you are born, you can die —
but from the same moment, you can also achieve greatness.
But this fight, you must fight yourself.
You must master your own mind.
Only then can you live a bold life and achieve what others call impossible.
SECTION 8: Facing Truth & Pain
This life will teach you how to master yourself.
Face the truth.
Hold yourself accountable.
Go beyond pain.
Love what scares you.
Extract your full potential from defeat.
Find out who you truly are.
Human beings change through learning, habits, and stories.
From my experiences, you will learn what the mind and body can do at full capacity — and how to reach there.
SECTION 9: Turning Trauma into Fuel
When you are driven,
Anything that comes your way — injury, divorce, depression, obesity, tragedy, or poverty — can become fuel for transformation.
The steps I give here are methods that:
Break barriers
Bring glory
Deliver real peace
So get ready.
The time has come to start the war with yourself.
SECTION 10: Childhood – The Illusion of a Perfect Family
In 1981, we lived in Williamsville, Buffalo, New York.
It was a good neighborhood.
Nice people.
Big houses.
Everything looked perfect.
Our house also looked like the best.
But the real truth cannot be seen from outside.
People thought our family was perfect —
but our life was not healthy.
My father, Trunnis Goggins, looked smiling on the outside —
but inside, he was extremely dangerous.
Neighbors saw only the show.
The real pain was hidden inside.
PART 2: Childhood Abuse, Fear, and Survival
SECTION 11: Nights of Terror
My father worked all night, and even then, we had to go to school the next day.
I was very small — I was in first grade — but I could not sleep.
In school, I used to fall asleep all the time.
I could not enjoy the playground like other kids.
Beatings were constant.
They would stop for a while and then start again.
SECTION 12: Skate Land – Forced Child Labor
My father owned a roller-skating rink called Skate Land, located in a busy district.
It was a large place.
Our entire family worked there day and night.
I was very small, but I cleaned skates.
My brother sold snacks.
All the money belonged only to my father.
My mother had no bank account, no money, nothing in her name.
Everything was under his control.
When customers came, they thought we were a happy family.
Everything looked perfect.
But no one knew the real truth.
SECTION 13: Violence at Home
For my father, children existed only to feel pain.
They knew right from wrong.
Many nights, my mother, my brother, and I cleaned the rink — including toilets —
while my father drank at the bar.
He was involved with other women.
My father never married my mother legally,
so she would have no legal rights.
She was trapped —
she could not leave the house,
and she could not leave us children.
SECTION 14: Guns, Fear, and Beatings
We could not sleep at Skate Land.
The music from the dance floor upstairs was extremely loud.
One day, my mother gently woke me.
There were tears in her eyes.
She smelled of alcohol.
My father kept a loaded gun where I slept.
Every night, he brought cash home, and then he beat my mother.
He beat her with a leather belt.
She screamed.
Sometimes she fought back, but she would bleed.
We children just watched.
The police did nothing.
That was when I understood something clearly: no one was coming to save us.
We were the only ones who could stand up for ourselves.
SECTION 15: Constant Abuse and Hopelessness
The next year passed the same way.
The beatings continued.
My mother enrolled me in Cub Scouts so I could spend some time outside.
I was the only Black Cub Scout.
Everyone stared at me.
Inside me, hatred kept growing.
My father lost money gambling all day.
He was always angry.
Once, he tried to beat me inside the car.
I hid.
I realized that staying silent would not protect me.
SECTION 16: Ritualized Torture
When my father was in the mood to beat me, he ordered me to:
Remove my clothes
Come to his room
Turn on the lights
Lie on the bed
Fully expose my body
Everything was done deliberately —
so that both the mind and the body felt pain.
The worst moment was always the first strike of the belt.
A sudden panic would take over.
You never knew:
how many times he would hit
when he would stop
Sometimes, the beating was so severe that breathing became difficult.
My entire body was covered in marks.
Looking into his eyes, after being beaten so many times,
a person’s hope dies.
You suppress your emotions,
but the trauma comes out in other ways.
SECTION 17: My Mother Breaking Down
My mother was no longer the person she once was.
She became only a shadow.
After the beatings ended at night,
I would hide in bed and cry silently.
The bed would become wet from my tears.
My mother’s entire life became survival.
My father constantly told her she was worthless,
and she began to believe it.
She did everything out of fear —
fear that my father would get angry and beat us.
Sometimes even small mistakes led to beatings.
SECTION 18: Medical Neglect
One day, I came home early from school.
My ear was hurting badly.
I knew they would not take me to a doctor.
My father never spent money.
There was no insurance.
No doctor.
Blood was coming out of my ear.
My mother saw me and immediately decided to take me anyway.
She didn’t care what would happen to her later —
she only thought about saving me.
When we returned home, my father beat her brutally.
I was too scared to even look at my brother.
But I watched everything carefully.
SECTION 19: Gun Point Incident
During summer vacation, my brother and I were at home.
My father pointed a gun at me.
I froze.
At that moment, I was not afraid of dying.
I was just tired.
But he did not fire.
He simply walked away.
Now it felt like either my father would die —
or my mother would.
My mother even thought about killing him.
SECTION 20: Escape Plan Begins
For the first time, my mother created a credit card in her own name.
She made my father sign it so she could have some control.
One day, she gathered courage and said:
“I am leaving.
If you both want to come, come with me.”
I was ready instantly.
We left.
My father went to open Skate Land.
On the road, the car broke down.
My mother panicked.
I said, “Mom, we have to leave from here.”
A stranger helped us.
He let us talk to his daughter on the phone.
We stayed in a hotel that night.
The next day, the car was fixed.
SECTION 21: New Life, New Struggles
I joined a local school again, in second grade.
Because of my previous schooling, I was far behind.
A teacher named Sister Catherine taught me.
She was strict, but fair.
She gave me extra help whenever I needed it.
Because of her, I was able to catch up in studies.
My brother went back to Buffalo to live with my father.
My mother worked at a department store
and attended university at night to change her life.
We were still poor.
We received welfare and food stamps.
PART 3: School Trauma, Racism, Fear, and Mental Breakdown
SECTION 22: Poverty, Adjustment, and Hidden Damage
Money was very limited.
We survived on welfare and food stamps.
Slowly, I started adjusting.
I began making friends.
Bed-wetting stopped.
But the pain inside me was still sleeping —
it was going to return someday.
SECTION 23: Academic Failure and Fear
Third grade was extremely difficult for me.
I still could not read properly.
My test results were very poor.
I was far behind the other children.
I could not remember daily lessons.
Sister Catherine noticed this and gave me extra time and attention.
But another teacher, Miss D, directly told my mother that I should be sent to a special school.
Just hearing this triggered intense fear in me.
That fear caused me to start stuttering.
I became afraid of speaking.
SECTION 24: Isolation and Humiliation
I was the only Black child in the school.
I was also the slowest learner.
Everything I said felt wrong.
So I decided it was better to stay silent.
Miss D showed no empathy.
She made no effort to understand me.
She would come very close to my face and shout at me.
The school — which once felt safe — became a place of torture.
Miss D tried everything to get me removed from the school.
The administration supported her.
But my mother fought for me.
SECTION 25: Forced Therapy and Psychological Damage
The principal set conditions:
I had to attend speech therapy
I had to attend group therapy
The group therapy doctor was next to a hospital —
as if designed to make children feel even more insecure.
There were children there:
Wearing helmets and banging their heads against walls
Urinating in dustbins
One child had burned his own house
I kept thinking:
“I do not belong here.”
My anxiety increased.
My stuttering became worse.
SECTION 26: Science of Trauma (Not Motivation)
When children are abused excessively,
their brain development slows down.
They remain in fight-or-flight mode.
This is not about motivation —
this is science.
Trauma damages:
Learning
Memory
Language
When such children grow up, the risk increases for:
Depression
Heart disease
Cancer
Addiction
Prison
I was a typical at-risk youth.
But my mother did not give up on me.
SECTION 27: Resistance and Quiet Collapse
I could not tolerate group therapy for long.
I also did not take Ritalin.
I told my mother I would not go back.
She agreed.
But inside, I was still a broken child.
Teachers did not know how to handle me.
Sister Catherine continued trying every day — patiently.
Miss D only wanted results.
If results didn’t come, she wanted me out.
SECTION 28: Survival Strategy
I was afraid I would be sent to a special school.
So I developed a new strategy.
I somehow managed to show improvement.
Miss D became satisfied.
Complaints stopped reaching my mother.
But inside, I was breaking even more.
I moved farther away from education.
I believed I would never learn.
I thought I would fail forever.
SECTION 29: The Message I Internalized
By the time I truly understood what was happening,
life had already given me one message again and again:
“You were born to fail.”
SECTION 30: Challenge One – Facing Your Past
The first challenge is this:
Everyone faces bad situations in life.
What happened to you?
What pain did you endure in childhood?
What broke you?
Were you beaten?
Abused?
Bullied?
Insecure?
Did you fail yourself?
Take a journal or your phone.
Write down every painful experience, every obstacle, every excuse, every problem — in detail.
Do not hide anything.
If the pain still exists today, write the complete truth.
Give that pain a shape.
This first step alone will empower you to overcome it.
SECTION 31: A New Beginning – Wilhemoth Enters
Wilhemoth Irving entering our lives was a new beginning.
Before meeting him, our lives were only pain, beatings, and struggle.
Even after escaping my father,
we were drowning in poverty and PTSD-like pain.
Wilhemoth was a good man:
No anger
No violence
Only support and peace
My mother became happy again.
She began smiling.
She felt proud of herself.
For me, Wilhemoth became like a real father.
He played basketball with me.
He taught me moves.
He gave me time.
SECTION 32: Sudden Tragedy
One day, happiness was brutally murdered.
Someone shot Wilhemoth in the garage.
My mother and I were waiting for him.
We later learned he would never return.
The police never found who killed him.
It might have been a bad business deal or a drug deal.
My mother felt surrounded by darkness again.
Police yellow tape surrounded our house.
My mother herself saw Wilhemoth’s blood lying in the garage.
She stayed in the same house that night.
She was afraid.
Her brother-in-law arranged security.
SECTION 33: Trauma Triggered Again
After Wilhemoth’s death, old memories returned.
Once, I had seen a small boy crushed under a school bus.
I had seen his blood.
I had heard his mother screaming.
Now it felt like the world was filled only with pain.
Only tragedy after tragedy.
I could not sleep on a bed.
My mother and I slept on the floor or on chairs.
The lower we stayed,
the less afraid we felt of falling further.
SECTION 34: Another Move – Indiana
Still, my mother decided we would move to Indianapolis.
I got admission into Cathedral High School.
I was selected by cheating.
There was no real improvement in studies.
I joined the basketball team.
Confidence came back.
But the school was expensive.
My mother could not afford it.
So I returned to public school — North Central High School.
SECTION 35: Identity Crisis and Culture Shift
There were many Black students there.
I completely immersed myself in hip-hop culture.
I dressed like gangsters.
But inside, I was deeply insecure.
Later, my mother brought me back to Indiana again.
This time, there were only five Black students in the school.
But I had changed completely:
Baggy pants
Bulls jacket
Cap worn backward
Everyone stared at me like I was an alien.
Teachers also found me strange.
I walked around with attitude.
But inside, I was extremely nervous.
PART 4: Racism, Humiliation, Violence, and Total Identity Collapse
SECTION 36: Confidence Shattered Again
During basketball tryouts, my confidence broke completely.
The coaches changed my position.
Johnny, my best friend, was performing well.
I remained stuck on the junior varsity team.
I started feeling that everything was wrong.
As a child, I did not feel racism strongly here.
Now, everywhere I went, I saw only discrimination.
SECTION 37: Gun to the Head
One day, my cousin Damian and I were returning from a party.
Some men arrived in a pickup truck.
They abused us verbally.
They stepped out with a pistol.
The gun was pointed at my head.
I did not move.
I stood there, looking straight into their eyes.
SECTION 38: Public Humiliation
Another time, I was sitting in a Pizza Hut with a girl.
Her father came.
In front of everyone, he abused me.
He insulted me publicly.
All of this was breaking me from the inside.
I was beginning to understand how cruel the world really was.
This was the truth.
Truth hurts.
SECTION 39: Becoming Invisible
At school, I stayed extremely quiet.
I did everything possible so no one would notice me.
I sat on the back bench.
I wanted to be invisible.
I was studying another language,
but I could not even speak English properly.
Year after year, I passed only by cheating.
In reality, I had learned nothing.
SECTION 40: Racist Death Threat
One day in Spanish class,
I opened a workbook with my name written on it.
Inside was a drawing of a man hanging from a noose.
Below it was written:
“Nigger, we are going to kill you”
The spelling was wrong,
but the message was clear.
Angry and hurt, I went straight to the principal.
SECTION 41: Vandalism and Numbness
The same year, my grandfather gave me an old Chevy.
One day, someone spray-painted “Nigger” on it.
This time, the spelling was correct.
I broke internally.
Anger ate me alive from the inside.
I started getting into fights.
I was suspended.
Slowly, I became emotionally numb.
SECTION 42: Searching for Meaning in Anger
I began listening to Malcolm X’s speeches.
In his rage, I saw my own life reflected.
But I did not have his discipline.
I only provoked others.
I became a stereotype —
exactly how people expected me to be.
Sagging pants, loud music, strange hairstyles —
I did everything just to irritate others.
But inside, I was empty.
I had no direction.
SECTION 43: First Glimpse of Purpose
My grandfather had been in the Air Force.
Seeing his pride,
I also wanted to join the Air Force.
I joined Civil Air Patrol.
I attended a Pararescue Jump Orientation Course.
There, I heard the story of a pararescue man named Scott Gearing.
He fell from 13,000 feet during a parachute jump.
Doctors revived him after he was declared dead.
He returned to duty afterward.
That story taught me that
even the impossible can become possible.
SECTION 44: Academic Collapse
I was still playing basketball.
But when I was cut from the varsity team,
everything felt meaningless.
I gave the ASVAB test.
Cheating did not work this time.
I failed.
Failing marks started appearing on my report card.
My mother did not react much —
she was drowning in her own pain.
I lived completely on my own terms.
I took care of myself.
SECTION 45: Graduation at Risk
One day, a letter arrived from school.
It said that I was failing.
If my GPA and attendance did not improve,
I would not graduate.
That day, I stood in front of the mirror
and told myself the truth:
“You are dumb.”
“You do nothing.”
“The Air Force will never take you.”
“You will never change.”
As long as you keep lying to yourself,
nothing will change.
SECTION 46: Birth of the Accountability Mirror
From that moment, I started the accountability mirror ritual.
I wrote my goals on paper.
I stuck them on the mirror.
I forced myself to:
Make my bed
Pull my pants up properly
Shave my head
Complete every task
This ritual gave me:
Discipline
Motivation
SECTION 47: Embracing Discomfort
In my senior year, I woke up early every day.
I worked out.
I ran.
I studied.
Everything was uncomfortable.
I forced myself to do it.
I was making myself tough.
Studying was the hardest.
A tutor helped me.
He taught me to write things repeatedly to remember them.
I wrote notes for every subject.
Again and again.
I made flashcards.
In six months, I went from reading like a small child
to senior-level reading.
I cleared tests.
I scored the minimum Air Force score.
SECTION 48: Letting Go of Hatred
Once I found a purpose,
the hatred slowly began to disappear.
I realized that the people who troubled me
were themselves insecure.
Their problem was theirs, not mine.
I stopped giving importance to others’ opinions.
Their words became fuel for my engine.
SECTION 49: Confidence Earned, Not Gifted
After graduation, I gained confidence.
Not from family wealth.
Not from God-given talent.
But from my own accountability.
However, as soon as I left Indiana,
my inner insecurities came back to life.
In the Air Force, I realized
I was still weak inside.
I still needed to become tougher.
SECTION 50: Challenge Two – Raw Self-Confrontation
Now the time has come for the second challenge.
It is time to look yourself straight in the eyes.
This is not self-love.
This is not ego massage.
Put your ego aside
and try to build your real self.
Do exactly what I did.
Take a large mirror.
Stick small Post-it notes on it.
Write:
All your insecurities
All your dreams
All your goals
Do not use mobile phones or digital tools.
Write everything by hand.
If you are weak in studies, write it.
If you are overweight, say it clearly.
Accept reality —
while believing improvement is possible.
Strictness is necessary.
Whatever your goal is —
new job, business, weight loss, race, anything —
Write every small step needed to reach it.
When one step is completed,
remove that note and add the next.
True improvement comes only from accountability and discipline.
Every day, when you look into the dirty mirror,
the truth will be visible.
Do not ignore it.
Learn to use that truth.
That is what I did.
And you can do it too.
PART 5: Air Force, Obesity, Shame, and the Decision to Become a Navy SEAL
SECTION 51: Life After School – Aimlessness
I was driving my pickup truck late at night on empty roads,
going to fast-food restaurants.
My job was pest control.
I checked rat traps, picked up dead rats, and sprayed poison.
I wore a mask so that even I would not recognize myself.
I stayed angry and silent, only doing my work.
SECTION 52: Physical Collapse
When I joined the Air Force, I weighed 175 pounds (about 75 kg).
Four years later, when I left,
I weighed almost 300 pounds (about 136 kg).
This was my way of surviving.
First, I worked as a hospital security guard.
Then I came into pest control.
Inside, I felt ashamed of myself.
SECTION 53: The Dream of Pararescue
In the Air Force, I wanted to become Pararescue.
I wanted to be the best.
In training, I was good at:
Push-ups
Sit-ups
Running
But swimming was my biggest enemy.
I never got the chance to learn swimming as a child.
So during water-confidence training,
I struggled badly.
SECTION 54: Fear of Water
In pararescue training, tasks like:
Bobbing
Hands-up drills
Treading water
Big-breathing exercises
gave me panic every single day.
At night, fear would not let me sleep.
I passed all the tasks somehow,
but inside I was breaking.
Others completed everything easily.
I felt like an imposter.
I thought I would fail at any moment.
SECTION 55: Medical Removal and Quitting
After six weeks, during the big-breathing exercise,
the instructor tried to lift me up.
Water kept entering my mouth.
I felt oxygen shortage.
Due to extreme stress and sickle-cell trait,
I was removed from training for medical reasons.
Inside, I felt relieved.
Outside, I pretended to be sad.
A few days later, they called me back.
But the condition was clear:
I would have to start again from zero.
Out of fear, I quit.
On paper, it was a medical exit —
but the truth was, I quit.
SECTION 56: Living With Shame
After that, I was sent to another unit.
I did a different job.
But I never felt proud.
I knew I had quit.
I hid my shame in:
The gym
Food
I started powerlifting.
I built a big body
so that no one could see the real me.
From outside, I looked strong.
Inside, I believed I was a loser and a coward.
SECTION 57: Hiding the Real Self
I did not want anyone to see the real David Goggins.
I wanted them to see only:
A big bodybuilder
A tough-looking man
Someone who hides his true reality.
After my night shift ended every morning,
I went to a steak-and-shake place.
I drank a large chocolate shake.
I bought chocolate donuts from 7-Eleven.
I ate everything in the car on the way home.
At home, my mother would call and say,
“Come for breakfast.”
She did not know I had already eaten heavily.
SECTION 58: A Broken Marriage and No Direction
Life had no aim.
I was living in darkness,
hiding my true self.
My wife, Pam, stayed mostly in Brazil.
Our marriage was breaking.
Everything was falling apart.
SECTION 59: The Turning Point – Watching SEAL Training
One day, I came home and saw a TV show
about Navy SEAL BUD/S training.
I kept watching.
People were drowning in hell week —
pain, exhaustion, suffering —
yet they did not ring the bell.
Their dedication and drive struck me.
I felt:
“This is exactly what I need.”
SECTION 60: Hatred for Mediocrity
During graduation, the officer said:
“BUD/S is only for those
who hate mediocrity
and overcome every obstacle.”
That sentence felt like it was meant for me.
I looked in the mirror.
I was 300 pounds.
Zero discipline.
Zero skills.
Zero hope.
But a new fire ignited inside me.
SECTION 61: Decision Made
I decided:
“I will become a Navy SEAL,
no matter what.”
For three weeks,
I called Navy recruiters every day.
Everyone rejected me.
Finally, I met a Navy Reserve petty officer
named Steven Salgado.
He listened to my story.
He said:
“It may be possible —
but you will have to work.”
SECTION 62: The Impossible Math
I weighed 297 pounds.
I had to reach 191 pounds.
I had only three months.
At the same time,
I had to retake the ASVAB test,
because my previous score was too low.
SECTION 63: Academic Redemption
For two weeks,
I studied only for the ASVAB.
Then I took the test.
My score came out 44.
But SEALs required 50.
That moment forced me to think:
“How many more years
will I live like this?”
“Is this the life I want?”
SECTION 64: First Run – Collapse
That same day, I decided:
“No more.”
I came home.
Put on running shoes.
Started running.
After 400 yards,
I collapsed.
I was out of breath.
My mind filled with failure.
SECTION 65: Rocky and the Second Attempt
I watched the Rocky movie training montage — Round 14.
Rocky gets beaten,
but he gets back up.
I thought:
“If Rocky can stand up,
so can I.”
I started running again.
This time,
I did not stop after the pain.
I ran one full mile.
That day I understood: Limitations live only in the mind.
SECTION 66: The New Routine
My routine became brutal:
Wake up at 4:30 AM
Cook food
Stationary bike for 2 hours while studying ASVAB
2 hours swimming
Gym: 100–200 reps per set
2 more hours biking
Eat only one meal a day
(chicken, vegetables, little rice)
I checked my weight twice daily.
In two weeks, I lost 25 pounds.
SECTION 67: Pain as Motivation
I restarted running at 250 pounds.
Depression and anxiety were still there.
But now I used them as motivation.
Pam told me clearly
she would not move to San Diego.
I was practically alone.
Whenever demotivation hit, I:
Called Salgado
Listened to Rocky’s soundtrack
Visualized myself becoming a SEAL
SECTION 68: Punishing Failure
As my weight dropped,
my workouts intensified.
If I missed even one rep,
or my weight didn’t drop even one pound,
I went back to the gym at night.
I punished myself
until the task was complete.
SECTION 69: ASVAB Redemption
Finally, ASVAB day arrived.
The test was computerized.
I knew nothing about computers.
Somehow, I finished.
Instead of waiting for results,
I went back and asked immediately.
