Early on, Goggins introduces a distinction between drive and motivation. Although many people may think there is an interchangeable similarity between drive and motivation, Goggins uses the distinction to be more precise about the correct mentality for extreme achievement. For Goggins, motivation is not a useful tool for empowering the mind and getting through life. Motivation is something that emerges in times of relaxation and comfort when everything is going right. One might feel motivated to run, for instance, when the weather is nice, the roads are clear, and one’s had a nice eight hours rest. As soon as those optimal conditions disappear, though, so does the motivation and consequently the will to do great things.

Drive, Goggins writes, is something else. The driven (or obsessed) individual works even when the motivation to do so is lacking. If the weather is awful, their shoes are damaged, or they are feeling groggy, the driven person will still go for a run (or whatever it may be). Drive entails discipline and hard work. Drive is the true measure of the calloused mind (see below). To develop one’s mental fortitude it is necessary to do the work even when it entails suffering, that is, even when there’s no motivation to do it.