What are the benefits of reading ? Why do most successful leaders and entrepreneurs suggest us to have the habit of reading everyday ? These are the questions that I was asking myself during the early days of 2021, around that time of the year where we have a lot of resolutions and changes to make in our lives. 2021 was the year when I picked up the habit of reading. To be very honest, I soon realized that I was not a big fan of it, and I had to force myself everyday to stick to the resolution. Before I tell you about how I broke that feeling, let me first tell you about how I started the habit. One of the things that I love to do in my free time is to analyze the lives of extremely successful people from all walks of life. The goal is to not focus on ‘what’ they do but ‘how’ they do it, and understand the fundamental rules for success and apply the same to my life. When you look at the lives of these people you can find a lot of common factors in them, things like hard work, dedication, sacrifice, a great work ethic etc. One of the things that I found interesting about them is the habit of reading. More than 90% of the people I read about or watched documentaries about had the habit of reading and they always stressed on the fact that it improved their lives in numerous ways. I realized that just as how exercise is important to build physical strength, reading is important for the strengthening of our minds. This is how my reading journey began. As I stated earlier, it was not off to a great start. The first book that I ever bought was ‘Oliver Twist’, a novel written by Charles Dickens in the year 1837(publishing year). I don’t mean to offend the writer or his legacy, but this book was not for me, I found it so hard to continue with the habit and soon had to put a full stop. That was it. I was done with reading. I said to myself that reading was not my thing. I decided to never waste money on a book again. All this was until I heard about Mr. Tim Grover and his book ‘Relentless’. As I told you earlier, I was always spending my time learning from successful people and one day, I came across a youtube video in which I learnt about Tim Grover and his journey. In short, Mr. Grover is an athletic trainer who works closely with professional athletes, and helps them to be in the best shape possible. He is well known for his work with the legendary Michael Jordan, with whom he worked for 15 years, and also some other legends like Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade etc. I watched the whole video in a stretch(it was a long ass video btw) and he was being interviewed about his book and all the great achievements of his life. As soon as I finished that video, I decided to buy that book and start reading again. I didn’t know if I would like it or not, but I wanted to give it a try. Unlike the first one, I loved this book from the start. To dive deeper into the lives of some of the most prolific athletes was a great experience for me. And again, no offence to Charles Dickens, but fiction is just not my thing.
So basically, the book ‘Relentless’ teaches you the importance of mental toughness and steely focus in our day to day lives. It teaches you some of the key factors which separate the good from the greats and the sheep from the GOATs. The thing I love the most about this book is that once you’ve finished reading it you will know exactly what it takes to reach the top 1% of the world, and hence you will understand that even though the lives of such people may look flashy from the outside, it takes a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication to stay at that level. Throughout this book, Grover categorizes people into 3 different groups – Coolers, Closers and Cleaners, meaning Good, Great and Unstoppable people. Here are three paragraphs from the book that will help you understand the cooler, closer and cleaner concept.
“A Cooler is careful; he waits to be told what to do, watches to see what everyone else is doing, and then follows the leader. He can handle a certain amount of pressure when things are going well, but when things get too intense, he kicks the problem to someone else. He can’t make a huge play. He’s the setup guy, keeping things cool until the closer or the cleaner can take over”
“A closer can handle a lot of pressure, he’ll get the job done if you put him in the right situation and tell him exactly what you need him to do. He’ll study all sorts of scenarios so he can anticipate what might happen, but he’s uncomfortable when faced with something unexpected. He loves the rewards and perks associated with his fame and would choose financial security over winning or success.”
And here is what separates the Cleaner from the other two :
. Coolers have an amazing game.
. Closers have an amazing season.
. Cleaners have amazing careers.
. Coolers worry about the competition and how they measure up.
. Closers study the competition and plan their attack based on the opponent.
. Cleaners make the competition study them; they don’t care whom they’re facing, they know they can handle anyone.
. Coolers let others decide whether they’re successful; they do the job and wait to see if you approve.
. Closers feel successful when they get the job done.
. Cleaners never feel as if they’ve achieved success because there’s always more to do.
When you read all of the points given above and analyze your own life or the people around you, you will realize that most of the people are either coolers or closers and it is extremely rare to find a cleaner. That’s what makes the cleaner who he/she is. They are a rare commodity. There is only one Michael Jordan, one Tiger Woods, one Elon Musk and one Mike Tyson because it takes a lot to be in the same category as these people. People often use the word ‘Talent’ when we talk about how great a person is. But to be the best at what you do, it takes a lot more than just talent; it takes a high level of skill. Talent is what you have naturally, but when you work on your talent and master your craft, that is called skill. I once heard Will Smith say in an interview, “Talent wise I’m an average person, but where I excel is in the ridiculous, sickening work ethic”. Notice the words ‘ridiculous’ and ‘sickening’, there is certain level of obsession inside a cleaner, that’s what they call a healthy obsession. So what else does a cleaner have within himself ? The author has written this book based on a system called as ‘The Relentless 13’, which consists of 13 things that you do when you are a cleaner. All thirteen of them are of equal importance, therefore the author has not numbered them individually, all of them are numbered as #1, and I’m gonna do the same.
The Relentless 13 :
When you’re a cleaner…..
#1 You keep pushing yourself harder when everyone else has had enough.
#1 You get into the zone, you shut out everything else, and control the uncontrollable.
#1 You know exactly who you are.
#1 You have a dark side that refuses to be taught to be good.
#1 You’re not intimidated by pressure, you thrive on it.
#1 When everyone is hitting the “In case of emergency” button, they’re all looking for you.
#1 You don’t compete with anyone, you find your opponent’s weakness and you attack.
#1 You make decisions, not suggestions; you know the answer while everyone else is still asking questions.
#1 You don’t have to love the work, but you’re addicted to the results.
#1 You’d rather be feared than liked.
#1 You trust very few people, and those you trust better never let you down.
#1 You don’t recognize failure; you know there is more than one way to get what you want.
#1 You don’t celebrate you achievements because you always want more.
These are the 13 things that comprises a cleaner. If you could relate to these characteristics, you are on the right track. Keep going. But if not, you can always work on it. Start by reading this masterpiece, and you’ll understand the importance of having a cleaner mindset. You will understand how you can relate these 13 characteristics to some of the most successful people in the world, and that will give you the motivation to strive for greatness. I’d definitely rate this book a 5/5. It is a must read.
” This book will do for you what Tim has done for me – take you to the next level and show you how to be the best at whatever you do. I have unbelievable trust and faith in him” – Dwayne Wade.
Wordsbykenaniah 