The Unforgiving Race to Greatness

By Tim Grover

The Chase

• Kobe - rest at the end, not in the middle
  • The more you told him it couldn’t be done, the more he wanted to do it
  • Every detail mattered to him
• Winning is the ultimate gamble on yourself. The difference between dreaming about what could be, and actually living it…It’s a driving obsession that looks irrational to others and perfect to you.
• The steps to winning are infinite, and constantly shifting. One minute you see a step in front of you, the next moment it’s quicksand.
• All Cleaners have one thing in common: the ability to achieve the end result over and over…They figure it out and execute. Repeatedly.

The Language of Winning

• Motivation is for those who haven’t decided whether to commit to their goals, or how much time, effort, and life they’re willing to invest to achieve them.
• There’s nothing normal about winning. If you need normal, if you need to fit in, be prepared for a long stay in the middle of the pack.
• Winning will cost you everything, and reward you with more, if you’re willing to do the work. Don’t bother to roll up your sleeves, just rip the fucking things off - and do what others won’t or can’t. They don’t matter anyway; you are in this alone.

Winning Makes You Different, And Different Scares People

• Everyone wanted to be like Mike. Mike did not want to be like anyone else. Which led to training on game days… (Reminds me of Michael Phelps on the Tim Ferriss show talking about how when everyone rested Sunday he continued to work)
• Winners don’t see the box. They see possibilities. They use their own decisions, successes, and failures as a springboard to elevate their thinking and results.
• When you know what to think, you’re ready to compete. When you know how to think, you’re ready to win.
  • Your education teaches you what to think. Life experience teaches you how to think. In school, you’re tested after you learn. In life, the test comes before you learn.
• You may be getting a lot of great guidance and knowledge, but its always going to be someone else’s knowledge, until you question it, adapt it, and find out for yourself if it works for you.
• Life is full of surprises…Your nonnegotiables have to be things you - and only you - can control. The food you eat. The effort you commit. The words you speak. The results you deliver.

Winning Wages War on the Battlefield In Your Own Mind

• What are the thoughts that dance into your head in the middle of the night when it’s finally quiet enough for you to hear yourself think?
  • Ex. Did I get enough done? Could I have worked harder? Can I do this? Am I kidding myself? Am I ever going to make it?
• Those thoughts can trigger disaster for many who fear they’re failing; they wake up everyday in a panic, facing another day of anxiety and dread.
  • Ex. I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m a fraud and everyone is going to see it. I’m never going to make it. I’m a mess. I cant do this.