Living with a SEAL

I finished reading this book with a smile on my face. The whole experience was inspiring and at the same time hilarious. If there is one thing I could take away from this story, it is this: train yourself to the limits.

A great read indeed. My time was worth knowing this story. It inspires me to push myself further in reaching my goals in life.

I absolutely loved this book.

The premise is simple: Jesse Itzler, a wealthy former-rapper-turned-entrepreneur, loves to run. He runs marathons as a hobby, and while at an ultra-marathon (a 24-hour relay race where all you have to do is run more miles than the other teams) he meets SEAL. Jesse, like the other participants, is on a team of six people. SEAL is on a team of one. He runs 24 hours straight by himself.

Feeling inspired to break out of his routine, Jesse tracks SEAL down and offers to pay him to move in for a month and train. SEAL agrees on one condition: Jesse does everything he's told, and nothing is off limits.

So begins an incredible month in hell.

I laughed all the way through almost every chapter, and found myself inspired right along with the author. I'm not about to ask a Navy SEAL to come wake me up at 2 in the morning, make me run through the snow or jump into freezing lakes or scream at me as I do 700 push ups. But it's impossible to read this book and not feel inspired to live more presently in the moment, or to be more focused on just getting things done without complaining or taking life for granted.

"Living With a SEAL" is a humorous and quirky little book that reminds me a lot of MTV "Made" episode in which a person undergoes a challenge. It's odd, quirky, and written in a really down-to-Earth language in a way that is true to author's character. It quite a few moments of inspiration and definitely leaves readers with a heart-warming feeling at the end.

Fun, but slightly insane to think this really happened! I really enjoy gym time and pushing myself, but inviting a Navy SEAL to come to my home to train me? That’s intense! (but good for Jesse Itzler).
It was a pretty entertaining novel, very intimidating but insightful. It’s actually a pretty good read for a book club, especially if the club is looking for something different to read that’s not very challenging but definitely will leave you thinking.
I chose this book out of curiosity (I tend to stick to fiction/sci-fi) and I’m glad I did; other real life human experiences should be read just to learn (and bring me back to earth ;)

I thought this book was great! It held my attention the whole way through. Easy read with a lot of funny stories.

Personally, I thought SEAL went easy on him!!! ;)

The only thing that kept this from being a (5) star book for me was the author's cockiness. He writes well and it is interesting. However, I can do without the product placements for his business ventures and his use of "ah'ite". Other than that, it's a fine book. Please send me an e-mail reminder when it is published so I can review it on Amazon.

Jesse Itzler leads an interesting life. As a successful businessman and entrepreneur, his off-the-wall ideas for solving difficult situations and for stirring the pot have served him very well. In this book, <i>Living with a SEAL</i>, he documents a month of training with a real life SEAL (who is called just "SEAL" throughout the book). The workouts were insane, potentially life threatening, but Jesse achieved some astonishing results in a very short period of time. He also bonded with his trainer and learned, through daily interactions, that the sort of conditioning that it takes to make a killer like his SEAL, takes place mainly in the mind and such training can leave its marks on the psyche. Recommended for runners, people who like to read memoirs, and those who are interested in the sheer power of the mind and body.

A fast, fun, inspirational read. Will make you want to grab life by the tail and take on all challenges.