Book Review by Taylor Berrett
The Journey to True Greatness
What makes elite competitors, well, elite? The business world has been seeking inspiration from the sports world for decades, but what exactly do the world’s greatest physical performers really have to teach those of us in the business world about excelling?
As it turns out, the answer is ‘a lot.’ In his new book, personal fitness mastermind, author, and keynote speaker Tim Grover reveals what the journey to true greatness looks like, whether you’re launching a startup or playing point guard.
Tim Grover has made a name for himself as the founder and CEO of Attack Athletics, a sports fitness and wellness company built around a 60,000-square foot facility in Chicago, Illinois. Grover’s work as a personal trainer has resulted in close relationships with the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and thousands of other major-league athletes and businesspeople. Michael Jordan even gave the book a stellar review, calling it ‘essential for those who want to be the best at whatever they do…and are willing to pay the price to get there.”
More recently, Grover’s been recognized as an international keynote speaker and thought leader, spreading his vision for achievement to organizations and audiences around the globe.
In his first book, Relentless, Grover focused heavily on toughness, willpower, and ruthlessness when it comes to achieving success. A current read of this text feels a bit dated, as the self-help market and popular thought has shifted away from the alpha, take-no-prisoners mindset to take a more holistic approach to what ‘success’ really means.
13 Principles to Ramp Up Performance
Fortunately, Grover has adjusted his message accordingly. Largely eschewing the ‘you vs. them’ approach of Relentless, Winning focuses more on self-mastery, including thirteen key principles for ramping up performance.
These principles are as follows:
- Winning makes you different, and different scares people.
- Winning wages war on the battlefield in your mind.
- Winning is the ultimate gamble on yourself.
- Winning isn’t heartless, but you’ll use your heart less.
- Winning belongs to them, and it’s your job to take it.
- Winning wants all of you, there is no balance.
- Winning is selfish.
- Winning takes you through hell. And if you quit, that’s where you’ll stay
- Winning is a test with no correct answers
- Winning knows all your secrets
- Winning never lies
- Winning is not a marathon, it’s a spring with no finish line
- Winning is everything.
A quick glance at these principles may suggest a relentless, work-only approach, but a closer read of the book itself provides a more complete image of Grover’s approach. Sure, he ratchets up the intensity of personal mastery to a fever pitch worthy of a halftime locker room. But at its root, Winning is a contagious pep talk that also provides valuable insights into the mindsets of lifelong achievers.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to business, we’ve all moved towards an emphasis on important values like work-life balance, mental health, collaboration, and elevating one another rather than treating our careers like a zero-sum game. Still, Tim Grover manages the tricky balance of providing a kick-in-the-pants ode to winning at all costs without completely disregarding all of these hard-fought advances in our professional lives.
After all, when all you need is a win, sometimes what you need most is some good old-fashioned coaching. That’s what Grover does best.
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Taylor Berrett is a Contributing Writer at Soundview. He is also a freelance writer, editor, and host of the podcast Alone in a Room. His other book reviews can be found here.