Average 70kg D**khead: Motivational Lessons from an Ex-Army Special Forces Doctor

by Dan Pronk

Ever get the feeling that you're destined for great things, but you don't quite know how to get started? Perhaps you're stuck in a rut with life passing you by and a fear that you will die wondering what you could have achieved? If so this book is for you. Average 70kg D**khead tracks key life events of Dr Dan Pronk from his beginnings as an average chubby kid, through his failed attempt at professional triathlon, onto becoming a doctor, joining army Special Forces, being decorated for his conduct in action in Afghanistan, and then onto his post-army career as a medical executive and co-owner of a multimillion dollar business. Throughout the book Dan shares his motivational philosophies and key lessons learned from his journey. He breaks down the goal setting process and provides examples of how seemingly impossible goals can be deconstructed into smaller and smaller achievable sub-goals, creating a clear pathway to getting started and moving towards your ambitious objectives. Dan highlights the crucial factor of persistence in goal attainment and uses case studies from the Special Forces selection process to illustrate that average people with above-average persistence will beat stronger, smarter, faster, and more educated people who are not as willing to persist every time. This book will inspire you to do more. Be it to get off the couch and get started, or double down on your existing goals and supercharge your commitment to them. You only get one go at this life, so what are you waiting for? Give it a read and get going!

Genres: Nonfiction, Military Fiction

115 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 6, 2018

Reviews

[Terry Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise and methodological book to achieving your goals. Written by an extraordinary man who has achieved so much yet considers himself as an "Average 70kg dickhead".

Dan Pronk is an amazing individual, as a failed triathlon athlete, Dan studied medicine with Army scholarship. However, instead of just becoming an army doctor (which in itself is an achievement) he made it his goal to join SASR (Special Forces) and become a Doctor Special Forces operator. He then later formed his own company that specialises in Medical Treatment in tactical conditions (Police and Army) and founded other startups.

The messages in this book are simple, told by fun and interesting stories of Dan.

Great read!

[Samone Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for anyone aspiring to do anything at all. Dr Pronk has been an inspiration for all Australian military medics and his book is about how he got to be that way and how the average person can apply themselves to achieve. As a student of leadership studies his methodology on goal setting and reporting is spot on and gives me confidence to continue the path I have set myself when leading my subordinates. Thanks for sharing Dan! Now I’m going to make sure every medic I know reads this!

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a lot of new concepts. But Dan sure as hell reminds us of cliches with strong, vivid Army Special Forces examples... Decent read especially when he starts going into details about a few of his tours to prove a point.

[Payne Indahass · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Comfort is a slow death"

[Blake Lodermeier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not just for people interested in military or medical fields, everyone can easily learn from it. It is light, funny, and easy read. It doesn't spend 15 chapters of childhood memories like most books of these types. If you need some more ambition or just want to learn how other people put one foot in front of the other and littery don't stop until they reach their goal. It changed my perspective on how to achieve life long goals and little ones too. Dan Pronk doesn't just tell you how he has gotten to where he is now, he shows you how he has gotten to where he is now. Explains when it might be time to change directions in life, how to overcome other people's judgments, how to enjoy accomplishments and the little things in life. Most importantly how to go from point A to point B, along with how to define point B. It's a lot easier then one might think. I DM Dan on IG and got back to right away being a student nurse considering the military after school. I highly recommend checking out his webinars regarding PTSD and PTR (post-traumatic recovery) and I'm sure lots more at world extreme medicine. Also, Dan is very active on podcast alike check out his IG for more details @Danponk. Truly a down to earth guy, thanks Dan for the awesome read!!!

[Joshua Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great quick motivational book. Amazing stories of failures and successes in the protagonists life.

A self confessed teenaged failure being expelled from high school. To a special forces doctor.

Main points: continue pushing forward. Celebrate success. Look forward, make achievable goals. Don't be afraid of failure.

Very similar points from most motivational books, but what makes this book good is the personal struggles the author shares.

[Otis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little read. Very honest and simple in it's delivery as well as unpretentious and inspiring. A lot of the messages in here are fairly common sense, but sometimes you just need to hear these sorts of things as a reminder to stay focussed (not comparing yourself to others, knowing when to quit/pivot, not taking yourself seriously, having faith in your ability, being honest with yourself etc etc).

Will definitely check out more from Pronk, who sounds like a genuinely nice bloke.

[Truth Devour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not So Average

To use the word 'average' in the title to me is misleading and perhaps under values the Dan's not so average achievements across his lifetime. In a nutshell the message is clear, anyone who is determined and doesn't give up, is likely to achieve their goal eventually.

Dan attributes his success to, personal growth & the tenacity to keep going no matter what.

[GrindingChemo · Rating 2 out of 5]

You'd be forgiven for thinking this audiobook was a slow, solo podcast. There were less personal stories than I had expected and it felt like most of the book, Pronk was just using excerpts/ recommending other books or movies.

Very basic self improvement book that doesn't offer any advice that you wouldn't hear in every other beginner's book.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discretely motivational

A nice little hundred page book that provides lots of motivation.
I appreciate the motivation provided by the author is not the in your face type but, more importantly, is based on examples from his experiences.

[Maxwell Crook · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely loved it

[Cam Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cracking read. Good to learn a little bit about the mindset needed to survive in the Aussie special forces.

[Kayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and took a lot from it, and will hopefully continue to take from it to continue to grow

[Kaveesha Munasinghe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emphasis on goal setting and perseverance towards a goal. Easy read.

[Caitlin Halloran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved. Highly recommend on Audible as he goes of script at times with extra tidbits. Very good