COMMON is going to business school because Dad approves, though your dream is to be a Navy SEAL or become a digital nomad.

COMMON is continuing to eat crappy food because you don’t have the time to prepare healthy meals.

COMMON is knowing your relationship isn’t going to last but not having the courage to end it.

COMMON is blowing off studying for the kegger—you’ll make up the studying the next day.

COMMON is blaming your parents for your less savory qualities, rather than taking control of your mind and life to change things for the better.

COMMON is dreaming about becoming an über-successful entrepreneur during your nine-to-five, yet not taking definitive, daily action toward the goal.

COMMON is keeping your mouth shut when you see abuse or injustice because you’re afraid to take any action. 

COMMON is knowing there’s an entrepreneur, warrior, artist, teacher, or influencer inside you, but you’re too paralyzed by imposter syndrome to pursue it.

DON’T LET THIS BE YOU.

If any of the above statements define you in some way, then it’s time to take charge of, and commit to, a new way.

I’m Mark Divine. If you’re familiar with my mission, thank you for joining me on yet another journey. If we’re just meeting, here’s the lowdown: I’m a college athlete turned CPA who ditched corporate America to become an elite Navy SEAL, then entrepreneur, author, speaker, professor of leadership, and philanthropist. I’m the creator of SEALFIT, Kokoro Yoga, and Unbeatable Mind, and I’ve written six books, including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon bestsellers.

I look really good on paper, right? So what.

Here’s the million-dollar question: What makes me qualified to teach you?

Let me start by telling you that it’s not my credentials. Though you might view them as uncommon, they’re just outward signs that I can think relatively well. The real reason I can guide you to your Uncommon Life is because I ripped each one of the opening statements from the pages of my own life. The reason I’m the guy is because I used to be common myself.

In the navy, common is what we called SOP: Standard Operating Procedure. Common is a trait shared by two or more individuals, a behavior that appears frequently, or a truth that is well known by a community. We are groomed to be common by family, trained to toe the line in school, and cajoled to conform by peer groups and social media.

Let’s face it, common is, well, the norm. It’s perfectly acceptable to be common. But trust me on this: it is worth it to be uncommon. There is joy and freedom like you cannot imagine once you align your thoughts with your actions to live your unique and purpose-fueled life. To be uncommon, it is critical to rewire the fragmented and limited mindset you have been trained with. An uncommon mindset is integrated and exponential in capacity. Mastering innate physical, mental, emotional, intuitional, and spiritual intelligences, or what I call the five mountains, is the key to unlock this mindset. I’ve spent over three decades mastering my five mountains, allowing me to break free from the prison of a common, predictable life. Freedom isn’t free and it takes work, but it is seriously worth it. I wrote this book to teach you how to master your five mountains so you can live the Uncommon Life too.

I know we are not all born equal in the sense that we’re not all gifted with genius IQs like Marilyn vos Savant or with the ability to compose music like Hans Zimmer. Few of us can draw like David Hockney, cook like Gordon Ramsay, or run like Lamont Jacobs. Some of us know the square root of 324 off the top of our heads, but most of us have forgotten the basic multiplication tables by adulthood, as we’re busy launching careers, paying bills, or raising kids. I admit to possessing none of the above abilities, in case you’re wondering. But I have learned that though everyone can’t be a prodigy, everybody does have vast, untapped potential. That potential lies within the mind, yet it remains dormant until one learns to break free. Break free from what? From the conditioning that is designed to keep you limited and dependent. Society’s mental training system is customized to keep you trapped in common-land so it can feed off your money, time, and energy.

Here’s the second tip: Don’t take yourself too seriously. I’m going to teach you how to discern between constructive criticism and cruelty. This will help you develop emotional resiliency and hone your intuition while maintaining your sense of humor. It’ll keep you going when the going gets tough.

Here’s the third and final tip to get us rolling: There’s always going to be someone on the sidelines telling you not to try something or that you’re doing it wrong or that you’ll never succeed. The wet blankets don’t vanish into thin air once you achieve a goal, fall in love, make lots of money, or give it all away. Just know that the critics are those unwilling to do the hard work themselves. We must learn when to bend our ears and when to turn our backs … or risk losing focus.

I’m still a work in progress, just as you are. When I fall hard, I bleed the same. I just get up quicker, learn what went wrong, and carry on with a smile. And no, I don’t think I invented the wheel (though, that would’ve been a nifty feat). But I’ve jumped through a lot of hoops and had thousands of special operators and other professionals to test my theories out on. I have failed and learned so many times so that you don’t have to. I’ve trained my ass off in all five mountains, have followed the advice of world leaders, mentors, peers, coaches, therapists, and even my trainees. Bottom line, I’ve spent my life in pursuit of breaking free from common-land. This book is my attempt to reach 100 percent of the people willing to invest time and energy to become the best version of themselves possible in their lifetime. Yes, that’s a lot of people and a lofty goal. Some might call it an impossible goal. But you know what we’re going to call it.…

I want you to start thinking about your Uncommon Goals.