To achieve any worthwhile goal, you have to be relentless.
You must have the grit and determination to never give up. You have to promise yourself that you will keep getting back up, no matter how many times you get knocked down. You have to commit yourself to always moving forward, no matter what type of adversity comes your way.
As stated in Think Like a Warrior, perseverance is a choice. You must CHOOSE to never give up on your dreams—no matter how tough it gets along the way. Making the choice to never give up is the first step to making any difficult dream come true.
However, when it comes to being relentless, it’s also important to understand that making the decision to never give up means being willing to adapt along the way. You have to be willing to change course and attack your goals in new ways if you hit a brick wall with your original plan.
Tim Grover is a sports performance coach who has trained world-class athletes like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade. Being relentless is the foundation of Grover’s philosophy and he’s known for pushing people further than they ever thought they could go.
Grover also knows that there will be times when you must change course and alter your plan of attack. This change requires courage…
One of the hardest things to do is to change course once you’ve set your goals. You made a decision, you worked for it, you earned the payoff…but for whatever reason, it’s not going the way you planned.
It’s not weak to recognize when it’s time to shift directions.
It’s weak to refuse to consider other options and fail at everything because you couldn’t adapt to anything.
We’ve all been there: you just know something’s not right. Maybe you’re not advancing as quickly as you planned, or you’re not making the money you anticipated, or maybe you just don’t like what you’re doing or whom you’re doing it with. Or maybe events outside of your control have impacted your situation.
This is where instinct is the most valuable tool you can possibly possess, because only you can decide whether to hear what the voice inside is telling you.
In pro sports, it’s the decision to retire or to take a shot at one more season. For a young athlete, it’s deciding whether to sit on the bench or to find a new sport to play. In business, it can be the choice to change careers or jobs, start or sell a business. In any situation, it’s the courage and confidence to know it’s time to make a change.
It takes a special person to say enough is enough and know when it’s time to start redirecting your efforts into something that can succeed.
Maybe your dream isn’t going to play out the way you originally envisioned it, but with some creativity and vision you can redirect your goals toward something that keeps you connected to what you always wanted.
— Tim Grover, from his book Relentless
Michael Jordan is an excellent example of what it means to adapt and change course when necessary. His work ethic, his extreme competitiveness, and his passion for the game of basketball made him the NBA’s greatest player ever.
Of course, time catches up with us all and even the greatest player ever had to eventually hang up his sneakers and retire. But Jordan still wanted to compete in the game he loved. He still wanted to win. He still had the desire and work ethic to pursue his passion.
Instead of kicking back and walking away from the game he loved, Michael Jordan had the courage to adapt. He realized it was time to find a new way to continue pursuing his dream. If his body would no longer allow him to compete as a team player in the NBA, Jordan decided to compete as a team owner. When Jordan became the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010, it made him the first former player ever to become majority owner of an NBA team.
No matter how strong-willed you are and no matter how well-prepared you are, life has a way of forcing you to adapt along the way. You have to be willing to accept this as part of the game and change your plans. You have to recognize when it’s time for a new chapter in your life.
Attack, adapt, and attack again. This is the process for achieving your goals and that’s what it means to be relentless.
It’s not a failure to change course. It’s an essential part of the success process.
