New job, new page, but some things just seem the same still.
On the bright side, managed to finish Relentless by Tim Grover. Very interesting book, it seems like a self help book on the outside, about how to be a champion blablabla but its actually more of what he learnt from working with some world renowned athletes and how he defines difference between the good, the great, and the unstoppable. The writing was a little over the place, but hey, he's the supposed best trainer in the world, not the best author. As I was saying, it seems like some selfhelp book at first, but upon reading, you realize it's full of less conventional thinking from the usual.
My takeaways in point form from the book (that I find applicable):
-I dont have the mindset that can make me unstoppable as of now, at least according to the author, but I want to change that.
-Find the things you want to be unstoppable at and know that to truly get there, the other things will have to be sacrificed. The media of today lets us think that we can be good at alot of things, but really, someone who shows that he can do alot of things just tells you that he's really good at keeping himself busy.
-Do what others arent willing to do, so you can do what others cant. Conventional enough, but it's less of just working hard, but more of pushing yourself just one more step at a time. Everyday, do something you do not feel like doing (but leads to your eventual goal). Everyday.
-Next. always think of what's next. and what's the next challenge.
-People who are good and great needs the approval of others and gratification for their hardwork. Be it fame, money, recognition, they need them. Legends know that all this just come along with the addiction to be better and greater.
-Champions are just clutch players who react with instincts and talent at the appropriate time. They are those that drill it into their head every single day so that when the time comes, they do what is necessary. And if they fail, they know they failed with the team's best probability because they know they work harder and know better than everyone else. and if and when you make a mistake, you just own up to it and then move on. next.
-pressure and stress builds us to be stronger. Not the unnecessary type, like last minute work. But the pressure and the stress from the challenge to push ourself just one more step ahead.
-Make decisions. not suggestions. That is what separate the good and great, from the unstoppable. While other make suggestion so that they dont have to the sole people responsible for things if they go wrong, but a champion makes decisions. and live and die by them. And they only truly get to make decisions for teams and for organizations because they have put in the hardwork and gained the knowledge, the experience, and the right to decide, be it right or wrong. It's actually something we do notice in the world today where everyone thinks they deserve to have their ideas or suggestions heard, and truth is, they actually MIGHT be good suggestions or decisions. But these flash in the pan ideas dont come with the credibility and just like a loose player in poker who's always bluffing, an organization that only follows these type of suggestions or decisions will one day, die by them.
-Another thing that I have always been a great supporter of is that you dont have to be honest to anyone else about yourself. but you MUST be honest with yourself about yourself. Know what you want, know what you are willing to do, and even if you fool the whole world about these, you cannot fool yourself. Because ultimately, the one that gets disappointed most by your expectations, is yourself. If you cannot do it, do not fool yourself into thinking you can do great steps. make small, logical steps and see if you can reach where you want to go.
-What matters is you and the arena you are in, be it the pool or an organization. Not the parades and the recognition and the talks and the records.
-A cleaner's most defining statistic is as simple as it is. Win. No one cares how flashy you are, how good you seem, how many cars you have. The thing that defines you is how much you win. In an individual sport you win alone. in a team sport, its how much your team wins, and a cleaner just finds a way and knows a way to make it happen. It's something that really resonates with me especially after the recent inter nation cup. Really made me rethink my way of thinking and forced me to really be honest with myself.
-A successful life isnt defined by money or fam or recognition. Success is just as simple as doing something others cannot do. And you just have to be honest with yourself and make sure that everything you do everyday brings you closer to doing what others cant do.
Overall, I think I really like the book not just because of its close ties with the basketball greats in them, but rather alot of what he textualized, were things I thought of before but couldnt put them down into clear thoughts. And being unable to put them down into clear thoughts, really frustrated me. So it might not be a book for anyone and everyone, but it really really spoke to me and my life experiences. I won't be a NBA star, hell, I wont even be a waterpolo star, but I can still live my life the way I want it to be how I define it to be a success.
