Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong says he listens to retired Navy SEAL and best-selling author David Goggins videos about embracing difficulty and pushing past discomfort when he needs some extra pep in the morning.
“There are some mornings I’ve woken up and … like, everything sucks,” Armstrong said on an episode of “When The Shift Happens” podcast released on Nov. 20, adding that at times like these, he goes to YouTube and types in “David Goggins.”
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“He has some great videos about … have a bad attitude? You know, stop being a little B, I, T, C, H or whatever, and just get going,” Armstrong said. “If you need motivation in the morning, it’s a great way to go.”
Goggins has built a significant following over the years, pushing people to embrace difficulty and discomfort on their path to personal growth. His philosophy is based on his personal experience, having transformed from a depressed 300-pound exterminator to a SEAL and an elite athlete. Nicknamed “the toughest man alive,” he has completed 70 ultramarathons and previously held the world record for the most pull-ups in 24 hours.
Beyond listening to Goggins, Armstrong recommended exercising, stepping outdoors and spending time with loved ones to avoid burnout.
“In 48 hours, you’re probably gonna feel better,” he said. “You can come back. It’s not the end of the world.”
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He said several founders who started around the same time as him have not been able to endure because they could not pace themselves.
“Many of them burned out, like they didn’t have the longevity,” he said. “Some of them had very unhealthy things that happened too. Like, they gained a bunch of weight, they lost a bunch of weight.”
However, Armstrong admitted that it was easier said than done.
“These are easy to say and hard to do, so I have gotten a lot more rigorous over time about the basics, right, which would be like sleep, exercise and nutrition,” he said. “I think that helps, but there’s still mornings where I wake up and I have a bad attitude, and I gotta, you know, listen to some David Goggins.”
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A former Airbnb product manager, Armstrong co-founded Coinbase in 2012 alongside Fred Ehrsam, who was a Goldman Sachs trader at the time. Over 13 years later, it is now the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. by volume, with a market capitalization of $64.8 billion. To get to this point, the company survived the wild volatility of the cryptocurrency market for over a decade and several regulatory hurdles.
“You can choose to be in whatever mindset you want,” Armstrong said on Nov. 18 on X, sharing a teaser from his “When The Shift Happens” podcast interview. “Stay hard!”
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