I’m going to throw out a few names: Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant. Dwayne Wade. My guest today trained all three, plus hundreds of other athletes at the top of their game. His name is Tim Grover, and the stuff we talk about in this interview is powerful. Since 1989, he’s been training ELITE athletes to WIN. And today, he’s here to share his best advice, strategies, and perspectives with YOU. In our interview, Tim and I go deep into his new book, Relentless (which you guys need to read cover to cover). Tim explains that there are 3 types of people — coolers, closers, and cleaners. Spoiler: Cleaners are your stand-out elite performers, and Tim’s going to tell you their defining qualities to help you become a cleaner yourself. Tim and I dive into what makes people successful on and off the field. It turns out, it’s not just about “working smarter, not harder.” You’ve got to work both smarter AND harder to be truly successful.

“You gotta work harder and you gotta work smarter. You got to do both of them. This is not a substitute. You’re not substituting one.” - Tim Grover

And finally, we’re going to talk about how essential it is to be COMPETITIVE. In our culture, we’re getting too soft, and we’re teaching our kids to expect a trophy for barely showing up. But Tim’s here to tell us it’s important to show our kids that they have to be competitive to WIN in this world. You guys, Tim Grover is one of the most brilliant trainers out there. I know you’re going to want to listen to this episode over and over again because he brings the heat and the wisdom the whole time. And pay close attention to the very end, because Tim’s got an awesome online program, and he’s offering a special discount code just for all you listeners of The Ed Mylett Show. I’m so glad you’ve decided to join me for this episode. Tim Grover is here to teach you how to be RELENTLESS, and there’s no better way to #MAXOUT your life. Let’s go!

Who Is Tim Grover?

Tim Grover is the CEO of ATTACK Athletics, which has been training elite athletes like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade since 1989. His work is legendary, and he’s known around the world for being one of the best-of-the-best trainers. Tim is also the author of Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable, which is the book we dive deep into today. It’s a fantastic book, and I learned so much from every chapter. This book has decades of experience crammed into just a few pages, and I know you guys are going to want to read the whole thing! Besides being a CEO and national bestselling author, Tim is the creator of the digital training platform, The Relentless System. This program offers anyone the chance to learn from this “master of mental toughness,” to use Kobe’s words. By the end of this interview, I guarantee you’re going to want to dig deeper into Tim’s strategies and skills! And remember, if you wait all the way to the end, Tim’s going to offer you a special discount code so you can get his whole online program for 60% off! Here’s the truly amazing thing about Tim, though: He started with nothing. When he was just a little kid, he and his family moved to the US from India. He has a particular memory that brought tears to my eyes — on the day they came over, Tim and his dad got a taxi cab to take them to their new home.  But eventually, his dad realized he didn’t have enough money to pay the cab driver for the whole ride. So, he asked the driver to stop, and he said to his son, “Listen, we’re in a new country. I want you to enjoy the scenery!” They got out of the car and walked the rest of the way to their new home, and the whole time Tim had no idea his father didn’t have a dollar left in his pocket. Tim’s dad protected his son. He modeled relentlessness and strength for his son from a young age, and that gave Tim all the tools he needed to #MAXOUT his life and his career. Tim grew up to be a similar role model and trainer for elite athletes, and now he wants to be YOUR trainer, too. I am so pumped to have him in the studio today, and I can’t wait to get going on this interview. Let’s get started!

Coolers, Closers, and Cleaners

In his book Relentless, Tim outlines the 3 types of people. Over his years working with elite athletes, Tim’s noticed that people both on and off the court tend to fall into one of these categories. The first category is the coolers. These are people who are content to keep the status quo and just do their job. But they’re not the people who reach the kind of massive success of people like Michael Jordan.

“A cooler is an individual [who], you know, they’re average. And there’s nothing wrong with that. … If they have a 9-to-5 job, … they show up at 9:00, they leave at 5:00. … Those are your coolers, and every company needs them.” - Tim Grover

So coolers are simply doing their jobs. They do the minimum, and they fulfill their responsibilities, but they’re not going above and beyond. So the next category — sort of the next level up — are your closers. Closers are bringing a little more effort and a little more heat to their jobs, but they’re not quite top-tier successful.

“[Closers are] the individuals that … get you that end result … almost every single time, no matter what happens. As long as a lot of adversity isn’t thrown at them, they follow the playbook — they know exactly what to do. But when too many variables get thrown at them, they’re kind of like, ‘I can’t. I can’t do this.’” - Tim Grover

Finally, you’ve got your cleaners. Cleaners are the people like Michael or Kobe — they’re going all the way. They’re working harder and smarter than others, and they’re not afraid to push through the pain and the grind to be the best.

“A cleaner is an individual that’s going to get you that end result over and over again, no matter what’s thrown at them. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are, what crisis they have going on at work, what crisis they have going on at home — they know how to separate the two. They’re going to get you that end result not one time, not two times, but over and over again because what they did before doesn’t matter.” - Tim Grover

Cleaners are dependable. They work hard, they work smart, and they get the job done every time. Cleaners know how to #MAXOUT their potential and bring their very best to their sports, jobs, families, or any other aspect of their lives.

The SECRET to Being a Cleaner

Here’s the thing about cleaners: They’re pretty easy to identify. They’re easy to pick out of a crowd because they’re the people who are going the extra mile to succeed.

“A person who wants to be a cleaner — they kind of show themselves. … They’re not the ones hiding. They’re not the ones constantly celebrating. … They’re the ones that show up early. … They’re the ones that leave late. But it’s not just about that. You get people that say, ‘Oh … you don’t have to work harder. You gotta work smarter.’ No! You gotta work harder, AND you gotta work smarter. You gotta do both of them.” - Tim Grover

Cleaners are the people who always go above and beyond. They work harder than everybody else, and they’re totally relentless in pursuit of their goals. Think about someone like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. What makes guys like them successful? They work harder than anybody else. They show up early, leave late, and do everything they’ve got to do to WIN. And by actively pursuing excellence in themselves, they make everyone around them better, too. At their core, cleaners know that their toughest competition is with themselves. Cleaners aren’t worried about what anyone else is doing — they’re worried about being better today than they were yesterday. That’s why there can be a loneliness to being a cleaner — when you’re at that level, you’ve got to be able to stand alone.

“... you gotta distance yourself from the competition. You end up distancing yourself from your friends. Sometimes, you end up distancing yourself from your family. Okay. … So you’ve gone a little farther. … And it’s funny, you know, … who are the people we idolize most? The ones that stand alone.” - Tim Grover

Cleaners know that to SUCCEED and truly #MAXOUT, they’ve got to be willing to put in the hard work, and they’ve got to be willing to do it alone. Cleaners work harder than anyone, and if that creates some distance, so be it. Cleaners know what they want, and they’re not afraid to go get it.

Competition: It’s the Most Important Thing You Can Teach Your Kids

Here’s the thing: All the cleaners out there? They’re going for it. They’re relentlessly pursuing excellence in sports, careers, and life. That’s why it’s so important to teach your kids to be ready to compete.

“When you compete, you learn to deal with winning. You learn to deal with losing. You learn to deal with adversity no matter who you are. You could be the richest person in the world — you’re going to be dealing with winning, you’re going to be dealing with losing, and you’re going to be dealing with adversity.” - Tim Grover

No matter what, you’re always going to be dealing with those three things: winning, losing, and adversity. And your kids are going to be dealing with those things after you. That’s why it’s so important to teach your kids how to compete early. We live in a culture that likes to celebrate everything. We give out awards and trophies for the smallest achievements, and we make sure every kid gets recognized equally, whether they’ve shown up for themselves and their teams or not. But when we over-reward like that, we don’t prepare our kids for life. The truth is, there’s always going to be competition. There’s competition in sports and in school. There’s competition for jobs. If we don’t teach our kids to deal with that early, they won’t know what to do later in life.

“I keep saying it, but we’re getting too soft. … Nobody moves anymore. We’re getting unhealed. … We have access to some of the healthiest foods, all the diets out there, all the knowledge. There’s more gyms opening now than ever before. And why is the obesity rate going up? … people want to make excuses.” - Tim Grover

We’ve got to stop making excuses. We’ve got to endure the grind and be persistent so we can reach the SUCCESS we dream of. And we’ve got to teach our kids to do the same. They’re not going to survive in this world if we don’t teach them to be confident and competitive. Make sure you’re showing your kids how to work hard and maintain that mental toughness so they can WIN at whatever they do.

#MAXOUT with Tim Grover

At the end of the day, the cleaners are the ones who are going to succeed. And they succeed because they simply refuse to give up. They keep going no matter what, and they’re never satisfied.

“And this is key. This is key because this is what’s missing now with individuals, right? You have the talent, you have the intelligence, or you know how to compete. You don’t have the resiliency. … When failure comes, … you crumble … You gotta have that resiliency over and over again.” - Tim Grover

I want to encourage you guys to be resilient and to teach your kids to be resilient. If you just keep pushing, keep working harder AND smarter, and keep making yourself better, you’ll WIN. You’ll reach that SUCCESS you’ve been dreaming of, and all that sweating and grinding will have been worth it. Thank you guys so much for joining us on this powerful episode of The Ed Mylett Show. This interview taught me so much about success, and I hope you learned a lot from it too! If you want to connect with Tim, check out his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and website. He has tons of great information you can use to #MAXOUT! And, as promised, Tim’s got an awesome deal for The Ed Mylett Show listeners! If you use the code MAXOUT, you can get 60% off his online training program, The Relentless System. You guys, this is normally a $1297 program, but Tim’s giving it to you for just $499! For all the brilliant wisdom Tim has to share, that is a STEAL. This program has my full endorsement, and I hope you’ll take advantage of this deal! Thanks again for joining me today, guys. Remember to share it with the hashtag #MAXOUT! And tell me your biggest takeaways from the episode in the comments below! I read your comments every week, and a few select winners get all sorts of prizes from gear to coaching calls with me!