Tim Grover's "W1NNING 13" With A Fitness Transformation Spin
Sep 20, 2021
Winning is inside all of us, but very few people ever climb that mountain.
The same can be said for a physical and mental transformation.
If you aren't familiar with Tim Grover, here's the quick version. He was Michael Jordan's trainer for 15 years. He's a keynote speaker at events that fill entire arenas. He's worked elites in the business space, as well as other athletes like Dwayne Wade, and the late Kobe Bryant.
Few people have been as close to peak performance as him.
So when he release his second book, W1NNING, I knew I had to read it. I read his book Relentless in 2018 and I credit it for helping me launch my first business, Down Dog Athletics.
In the introduction of W1NNING, Tim gives his 13 definitions of Winning. He numbers each one one the list as #1 because every definition is as important as the other.
Now, Tim is a coach of athletes. Their job is to WIN.
I coach former athletes and athletic-mind individuals to use my E4 Fit Method to TRANSFORM so they can perform better at work, have better relationships, and live the life they truly want to live.
This article puts a fitness spin on the W1NNING 13 and shows you what it really takes to make a complete physical and mental transformation.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION makes you different, different scares people
You will stand out from the group you're in. Even if your group is into fitness, meditation, and personal development.
In your efforts to change, you will inevitably deal with resistance from other people. Whether it's haters, people telling you you look great already, or simply people telling you to relax.
Your changes, which is really you breaking away from the group, will scare people. It will sub-consciously trigger them and force them to confront the fact that they aren't growing.
What you need to realize is that their attempt to bring you back into your old habits is an attempt to make them feel better about themselves.
Think of toilet-papering a house. You feel more emboldened if people are doing it with you.
Hopefully, you will also have people supporting you. That's your squad. When you have someone to be different with... that's when things get fun.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION wages war on the battlefield in your mind
You will want to quit EVERY DAY.
When it gets hard, you will doubt whether you are capable. When you don't see progress, you wonder if it's worth it. When you have to face your fears, it can be crippling.
All those negative thoughts are clawing for you to come back down the mountain.
But in order for there to be a battle, you need a worthy adversary.
This is your purpose. This is where you show your courage, you grit, your toughness, your relentlessness.
It is your choice to step into fear and embrace discomfort.
That's what makes every day a battle. You are at war with the weaker version of yourself. Every time you win, your strength grows. Every time you lose, those claws tighten their grip around your ankle, pulling you back down to the hell you're escaping.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION is the ultimate gamble on yourself
The cool thing about transformation is that it is a transfer of power.
When you are stuck, you give your power away.
You are powerless because of your metabolism, your genetics, your boss, your dog, your sore finger. Whatever excuse you can think of, you give away your power to change because "something or someone is holding you back."
When you own your power, you gamble on yourself because you are taking 100% responsibility for the outcome.
Everything that happens to you is your fault.
Every time you invest in yourself, and lay the chips down, you are betting on yourself to do the work to extract the value (which is ALWAYS worth more than you realize).
# 1. TRANSFORMATION isn't heartless, but you'll use your heart less
From a young age, we are conditioned to make everyone else feel better. There is no finer example than participation trophies.
However, this misplaced empathy can cause you to slow down your momentum so other can catch up. You sabotage yourself to make others feel better about themselves.
Ultimately, it's not your job to sedate someone else's pain.
And before you go and think this truly is a heartless approach, let me realign you for a second.
Leading others and being an example of what is possible is one of the truest forms of service.
If a lighthouse dims its light, most boats will never find shore.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION belongs to them, and it's your job to take it
This is different from winning because you own transformation does not come at the expense of someone else. It is truly a competition against yourself.
However, living through someone else doesn't mean that YOU changed.
This is a mistake that so many people make. Seeing someone else transform can give you a good feeling. We see a movie where the hero saves the day and slays the monster. Our brain can't tell the difference between what is real and what is imagined.
If someone lost 50lbs. That's their transformation. Not yours.
If someone creates a successful business. That's their money. Not yours.
You have to go and take the transformation. It will not be given to you.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION wants all of you, there is no balance
Let me save you a lot of trouble in life. Balance is NOT 50/50.
Just because you ate good for a week does not mean that you need to reward yourself on the weekend.
It is the same concept as a ton of bricks and a ton of feathers. The daily effort weighs far less than the weight of things that can cause you to come crashing down.
Think about how long it takes to make $1,000, $10,000, $100,000. You can spend that amount is 1/1000th of the time it takes you to make it.
Recognize that it is the quality of the vacation, the night out, the event, the date night. Not the volume.
One last metaphor... your partner will appreciate you being 100% present for 30 minutes vs. being on your phone together for 10 hours.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION is selfish
When was the last time you put yourself first?
You will wake up at 6am to take your dogs out.
You will sacrifice your time, money, and health for someone that doesn't respect your boundaries. There's no shortage of people that will loop you into their agenda.
You can not make a transformation if you don't make physical, mental, and spiritual health your #1 priority.
And for those of you who are givers... I completely get where you're coming from. You want to help. You want to feel important. You want to feel accepted.
But you can't save someone from drowning if your boat has a massive hole in it.
If you aren't practicing relentless self-care, you are giving people your JV self.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION takes you through hell. And if you quit, that's where you'll stay
Quitting is the ultimate hell. I quit after my sophomore year at Washington State University and I still have dreams about it. When you quit, you erode your belief that you can do anything you put your mind to. You crack the foundation of your discipline and self-belief.
You start to doubt that any journey is possible or worth it. If you have started and stopped diets or workout programs, you know what I'm talking about. You wonder if you'll ever be able to follow through with anything because your relationship with yourself is strained.
This leaves you feeling helpless and if you stay here long enough, you will never leave. It will be too hard for you to fathom that there is a way out of the hell you're in and you'll sit in it until the day you die.
Ultimately, I've made the choice for my quitting to fuel me which is why your'e reading this article. I have had to repair my relationship with myself. To have 100% certainty that when I say I'm going to do something, I'll do it.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION is a test with no correct answers
Every transformation I've guided someone through is completely different.
Each person has a unique body, unique life experiences, and unique demons.
Just because something worked for your friend doesn't mean it will work for you. You can't download the answer key and share it with your friends like you did in college. Because the answer to question #1 is A for you and it's D for you friend.
You have to find what works for you. It may look similar to someone else, but it is it's own unique lock that changes it's code for the next person looking to transform.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION knows all your secrets
Whatever has caused you to fall off the wagon in previous years will return. It is part of your hero's journey. Until you defeat the boss (or bosses) that have caused you to restart, you will always be haunted with the demon that's waiting around the corner.
Maybe it's alcohol.
Maybe it's Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
Maybe it is a specific exercise.
Maybe it's going to bed and breaking the sleep habit you created in college.
Whatever your vice(s) are. You will have to overcome them before you truly transform.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION never lies
You either did all of your workouts for the week or you didn't.
You either ate under maintenance calories or you didn't.
You either got enough sleep or you didn't.
The body doesn't play a game of chance. It's governed by scientific and mathematic principles that apply to everyone.
That's one of the beauties of it. There's NO luck. If you follow the program with enough consistency and effort, you will get there.
But if you feel like you deserve a better body based on the work you done... you don't. Your present situation is an aggregate of the decisions you've made of the course of your life.
The good news is, the action you take TODAY is creating the situation you want in the future.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION is not a marathon, it's a sprint with no finish line
This can get confused because fitness is displayed as a journey, a process, or something that takes time.
And this is correct. You can't do 90 workouts in a day and have a 90 day transformation.
But the effort in a transformation isn't a slow and methodical effort.
The effort of a transformation is 100% a sprint. It is treadmill that has you sprint for 30 seconds and let's you rest, waiting for the next sprint.
Transformation is an act of aggressive patience.
When the time comes to make a meal choice, you give you best effort in the short period of time.
When it's time to workout, you give your best in that one hour and rest the other 23.
The execution is as fast as the strike of a snake. Then it waits for the next opportunity.
And there is no finish line because the transformation is a circle. Once you complete it, you start back over with the next journey.
# 1. TRANSFORMATION is everything
There is a universal law that life is either growing or dying.
You might think that stepping off the field means you aren't playing the game, but you couldn't be more wrong.
Every action has a cost. Even inaction.
Your decision to quit is a decision to slide further down the food chain where eventually a big problem will come and gobble you up.
Transformation is evolution. Evolution is adaptation.
Adapt or die.
Ultimately, life is a gift.
Every day on this earth is a gift.
That is why transformation is everything.
Because living life to the fullest is everything.
