Winning

I’ve been reading Tim Grover’s new book, Winning. He’s the secret sauce behind Michael Jordan and Kobe, among others, and CEO of Attack Athletics. When it comes to winning, he’s not messing around and he knows his stuff!

The winning mindset in all its forms is fascinating to me. I love to win – I always have and always will, it is an integral part of my DNA. As a kid, I was a little sh*t, always needing to win and be right, but my definition has morphed over the years.

Grover’s Version of Winning

Grover breaks winning down in to 13 components. I won’t spoil the book for you and instead will choose a few to share. They are all listed as “#1” because they are equally important to him.

#1 WINNING makes you different, and different scares people

“Winning requires you to be different, and different scares people.” – Tim Grover speaking on “The School Of Greatness” podcast

I love these two direct quotes from Grover because they are different. One is what is required of you to become a winner, the other is a result – and I buy both ideas. And I definitely agree that being different scares people.

#1 WINNING is selfish

It is argued that winning is selfish, but what would our world be like without winners? Winners are the leaders and mavericks, giving and paving the way for the followers – we need them and their generosity. Winners give everyone else a standard to strive for.

#1 WINNING knows all your secrets

It sure does! In order to win, you have to face everything, inside and out, your doubts and fears, the middle of the night thoughts that wake you up and keep you up spinning spinning. The difference is in what you do with those secrets. Do you let them stifle you, or do you link arms and embrace them?

Overall, Grover’s version of winning is pretty hardcore and geared mostly towards athletics, but also business, leadership, and ultimately life as a whole. The book itself aims to win against other books on the topic. For him, above all, Winning is Everything.

At the beginning of his book, Grover asks the reader to define what winning means to them in a singular word. Quickly. Don’t overthink it. “Winning is ______.” Think about your word; I’ll share mine at the end.

My Version of Winning

Winning gets me out of bed every day. I aim to win at everything I do all day long. Win at following through on my commitments to self and others. Win at doing every step of my rehab protocol. Win at sticking to my workout and meal plans. Win at making and delivering art every day. Win at being curious.

This is about the difference between being told what to think and knowing how to think on my own. This is about creating paths that work best for me. This is about crafting my own wins with the weird I’ve been dealt. This is about leveraging my tools and life experiences – ALL of them, positive and negative – to my benefit.

Figure it out. Put your craziness to work. Innovate, don’t imitate. And above all, stop listening to everyone who tells you what to think. If they knew, they’d all be winners.

Tim Grover, Winning

Winning is living in gratitude.

Winning is doing what is right over being right. Yesterday my son made the difficult choice to own up to a lie. He came to me, looked me in the eye, and owned his truth. What a brave choice! I thanked him for having the courage to be honest and told him I hope he will always do that in life. We all make mistakes, the important part is which path we choose afterwards. His choice = winning!

Winning is delivering on promises.

Winning is living within my integrity.

Winning is guiding my family to live within theirs.

Show me that the good life doesn’t consist in its length, but in its use, and that it is possible—no, entirely too common—for a person who has had a long life to have lived too little.

—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 49.10b

Winning is getting the most out of every day.

Winning is ______.

Here’s my one word answer: Winning is vulnerable. It requires you to be vulnerable, and ultimately makes you vulnerable. Vulnerability isn’t about winning, but winning requires vulnerability.

We admire our sports idols, like the Cubs when they won the World Series (image at the top of this post) after a 108 year drought, because they have the courage to be vulnerable, the requirement to go for the win.

What’s your word?

If you have landed on this page from an external link, please go HERE to read from the beginning. Otherwise, click on the next title below to continue.