In Relentless – From Good to Great to Unstoppable, personal trainer Tim Grover explains what he has learned from coaching athletes like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade. Grover breaks down what it takes to be unstoppable, keep going when everyone else is giving up, to thrive under pressure, to never let your emotions make you weak. He talks about the drive of a “Cleaner” who relentlessly pushes themselves to the edge of exhaustion and then keeps going. Grover asks for complete commitment to train as he dictates In describing losing 20 pounds in three weeks, he talks about athletes that don’t have the stamina to go without food. In training to compete at national and world championships, I know what it’s like to drop 20 in 21 or voluntarily get past day 4 without food or to drop a few more seconds off each run or ride or to consistently get over 1,000 reps in 10 minutes or keep playing despite broken bones, … Being able to hit your limits, push through them and set new limits only to push through them again can be an incredibly powerful experience in discovering just what one can be capable of. Discovering that you are continuously capable of going further than you thought possible can also help you persevere when you’re down and think you can’t get back on your feet. I believe that helped me push past the pain to get back to the surface after the Pacific had broken 5 vertebrae, one should, one collarbone, one rib and lots of neck injuries only to get pushed under again by the next way. We are capable of way more than we believe.

That being said, what feels more fascinating than achieving amazing things with all the parts that make up our body is the ability to achieve great things with teams of individuals. Daniel Coyle in Culture Code points out that Greg Popovich became of of the NBA’s best coaches by building a culture of trust on the Spurs team. Popovich forges connections with the players off the filed over meals or in locker room discussions of folks less fortunate in third world countries. He also points to research from the Harvard Business School that shows companies with strong cultures outperformed those with average cultures by a factor of seven over a 10-year period.

See Also:

• Book: Daniel Coyle – The Culture Code – The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups
• Article: Adam Grant & Daniel Coyle – The process of building trust works in the opposite way that you think it does
• Article Time – Daniel Coyle – How Gregg Popovich Uses ‘Magical Feedback’ to Inspire the San Antonio Spurs
• Article: Dan Richards – Think You Know the Key to an Outstanding Team? Chances are You’re Wrong