I'm a reader. And this year, I'm reading a lot of books that will teach me strategies to take my business, The Invisible Mentor to a new, elevated level. I'll let you in on a secret, but I know what I need to do. Many of us already know what it takes to become a success, but whether we decide to take action is another story. What does it mean to be relentless? And are you relentless?
Before I delve into the meat of the book, Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable
by Tim S. Grover, I want to start with a short story.
From some of the articles that I write here, you can tell that I'm interested in reading, learning new skills, and memory. I'm interested in both how Bill Gates and Elon Musk read and learn. While reading up about Bill Gates, I came across a YouTube video where a guy was dissecting a Quartz video in which Bill Gates talks about reading, learning, and remembering. At the end of the video he mentions, Relentless by Tim Grover, saying he wants to become relentless, so he is going to read the book.
I was curious so I borrowed the book from the Toronto Public Library. So, what does it mean to be relentless?
Definition of Relentless
According to Lexico, which is powered by Oxford, the word relentless means:
“Oppressively constant; incessant.”
Merriam-Webster, however defines relentless this way:
“Showing or promising no abatement of severity, intensity, strength, or pace : UNRELENTING”
Which definition do you prefer? I'm having a problem relating to the first definition. I much prefer the second definition. And are you relentless? Find out in the next section. I pulled information from Relentless by Tim Grover for you to assess and come up with your answer.
Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable
by Tim S. Grover: Are You Relentless?
Which of the Following Are You?
- Cooler
- Closer
- Cleaner
Now that you've seen the criteria for Cooler, Closer, and Cleaner, which are you?
Have you read?
Reading Books to Build Skills and Develop Intercultural Awareness
Reading Books to Build Skills and Develop Intercultural Awareness
Tidbits from Relentless by Tim Grover
I enjoyed reading Relentless
by Tim Grover. I didn't agree with everything he said, especially about not congratulating others on a job well done. People like to feel appreciated for their efforts. But I appreciated his point of view. I have some ambitious goals in 2020. And the only way I'll achieve them is if I'm relentless. I've never considered myself to be relentless until I read the book.
How does someone become relentless?
For the context of the work that I do, being relentless is reading the books I know can take my business to the next level. And doing the activities that will enable me to experience exponential growth. Additionally being relentless is marketing the Applied Knowledge is Power so I achieve my goal of getting 5000 professionals reading a book a week within the next two years. But it's also more than that, I believe in the my workshop, Applied Knowledge is Power: Reading Strategically to Gain Knowledge Faster. How about you, what's your context?
A Little Bit of Preparation Goes a Long Way
To become relentless, you have to prepare your mind to do the work. Mental dominance makes you UNSTOPPABLE. You've invested time to create your goals for 2020, so you know what you want to achieve. What are you willing to do to achieve those goals? Did you create SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-specific) goals or HARD goals that will push you?
When you prepare your mind, you'll start to crave results so intensely, that the work you have to do becomes irrelevant. Make your plan, then take the necessary actions to achieve those goals.
Go Where You've Never Been Before
If you want to achieve Big and Hard goals, you need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Taking the path less traveled means going where you've never been. Staying inside your comfort zone is not going to cut it. You have to go beyond those limits to get the kind of results you crave.
What Does Learning Have to Do with Becoming Relentless?
To become an elite performer in your field, you first must unlearn all you've been taught. Alvin Toffler once said.
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Remove restrictions, limits, negativity and doubt. And stop listening to naysayers and Debbie Downers, who are trying to convince you that what you're trying to do is impossible. It's impossible until someone does it, so why shouldn't that person be you?
To become great, you have to learn continuously. Be like a sponge. Learn everything you can and trust your instincts to do the right thing. Learning is great, but taking what you learned and creating something new and improved is even better. That's one of the things you'll learn when you participate in my Applied Knowledge is Power: Reading Strategically to Gain Knowledge Faster.
The more educated you become, the better you're able to respond to situations that you experience. That means making a habit of applying what you learn, so you build experience.
About Succeeding and Climbing the Ladder
People who are cleaners are careful where they step. They don't want or need to step on others to get to where they need to go. The thing is this, you never know when you'll need someone's assistance. Make a habit of surrounding yourself with the people who want you to succeed.
Coolers readily admit defeat. Cleaners pick themselves up when they fall and work harder. There is no shame in failing. It's what you do after you fall down. Besides failure is an opportunity to manage and control a situation. As a cleaner you'll also strategize for a different outcome.
The other thing about success, is that everyone has a dark side. Cleaners know how to control their dark side and not the other way around. Learn to master your emotions and don't allow them to master you.
Are You Relentless? Next Steps
If you're not relentless and want to start your journey, it's important to hone your craft. Make ongoing learning a part of your life because it's an investment in yourself. You now have to up your game from ordinary to extraordinary. I'm also saying this to myself as well as to you. This year is a year of exponential growth for myself and I'm prepared to do the work that's required. How about you?
If you decide continuous learning learning is important to you, I can help you. I teach strategic reading so you read to learn what you need to know. An elite performer focuses on what's important to them. They can distinguish between essential and non-essential information.
Next Steps
Wondering what to do next, you can do all or some of:
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Buy my new book, Leadership Reading: Spilling the Tea on How Top Leaders Read
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Join the workshop, Applied Knowledge is Power: Reading Strategically to Get Knowledge Faster
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Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
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Join the Art of Learning Membership Site
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Download Unlock Your Genius Power Reading Tips Sheet
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Buy me a cup of coffee!
If you want access to my Bookish Notes, please consider joining my membership site, the Art of Learning.
This post contains affiliate links and The Invisible Mentor® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support! UPDATE: First published on Jan 14, 2020
