Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable is a book written by Tim S. Grover. He is the CEO of Attack Atheltics and the personal trainer of elite champions such as Michael Jordan, or Kobe Bryant. It is through this book that he teaches what most of us don’t see: the inner mindset of a champion -refered to as “Cleaner”. Tim Grover doesn’t waste any time and goes straight to the point, without holding anything back. I’m generally not a huge fan of people that are that frank, but I must say that it was a really interesting experience. He does not hesitate to tease things he finds ridiculous, which may offend some people. However, no matter how you want to put it, the truth is the truth.
Here’s the best piece of advice I got from this book:
You either “work your ass off”, or you either watch someone else do it and get the results you want.
As an experienced trainer, he saw it all. From young athletes to professional atheltes, he worked with a lot of people. He understands what makes people successful and what makes them unsuccessful. One point that was constantly talked about in this book was that results don’t come from luck or anything like that: it was their commitment to do the work. Hard work. When people see someone successful, they always find excuses to feel better about themselves.
This guy is rich, but it’s probably because he’s lucky. This basketball player is one of the greatest of all times, but again, it’s just luck. After all, it’s an inborn talent. I haven’t any, that’s what differentiates us.
Wrong. He’s a truth you have to admit if you want to move forward in life: you need to work hard. In fact, people often judge looking at the results, not the actions taken before that. See this 30 years old multi-milionaire? What if he worked everyday for years, giving up his free time to work more and more while you were hanging out with your friends? Isn’t it just fair he’s more successful than you? I think it is.
He actually shared similar stories of unstoppable athletes that were training while every other “average-atheltes” were having fun. Sure, you can have fun now, but will you still have fun in a few months when you’ll notice you’re not prepared for what’s coming? Here’s a champion’s mindset: when you win something big (a championship in this case), instead of celebreating it, you just get back to work to get more. Why would you lose precious time entertaining yourself when you could train more and get better results next time?
Being unstoppable means not only to work hard, but also to be willing to endure pain while everyone else is having fun.
People love to stay in their comfort zone. It’s warm and bright. However, those results you’re looking for are outside of that zone, they’re in your incomfort zone, which is cold and dark. No wonder you’ve gotten the same results if you kept staying in the comfort zone. The only way to break through your limits, is to get out of your comfort zone. In short, you must be comfortable being uncomfortable. In this area, Michael Jordan was an ace.
The author shared a story about Michael’s famous flu. He had ordered in a dinner which ended up poisoning him. Soon after, he was in a miserable state: shaking, curled up on the floor.. It would be natural not to be able to play the game in those conditions. But we’re talking about Michael Jordan. Even though he was feeling like he was going to die, he still played. He didn’t care, it didn’t stop him from playing the game, scoring 38. Later, he confessed that it was probably the most difficult thing he went through. In any case, he did it. Even if the universe was against him, he still took the challenge. That’s being unstoppable.
You can’t control someone who’s unstoppable; he controls you.
No matter what some people tell you, you don’t care. Whether they think you’re doing it right or wrong doesn’t affect you. Why? Because you don’t give your ennemis the alibity to influence you so easily. Great champions know what they want, and how to get what they want. No one knows them better than themselves. That’s why they don’t need your opinion. And if they make a mistake, they take responsibility for it. That’s what a champion (a “Cleaner”) does.
When he’s making suggestions, you don’t just listen. You agree. He’s the leader of the team, and even if he didn’t say it himself, you know it instinctively. In fact, it’s not mere “suggestions”, it’s decisions. You do this, you do that, and I’ll do this. Let’s get to work now, and if you don’t agree, I don’t care. This is what being truly unstoppable is, you know the goal, and more than that, how to achieve the goal. If you miscalculate, you take full responsibility for it. People who push fault on others aren’t Cleaners.
A great book overall, I strongly suggest you buy it. It will teach you in depth what is the traits of someone unstoppable and especially how to become unstoppable. This is not only a book about basketball, this is a book about life in general. You get hurt, you get up and you keep working until you succeed. And even after, you keep working because you don’t want others to get ahead of you. The content will give you a lot of insights and ways you can improve the results your get in any area of your life (relationships, business, sports..) You can by the book on Amazon by cliking here.
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