Inner Circle The Power of True Identity By Michael Clegg is Life Changing

Say what you want, but Michael Jordan, he was the goat. I don't think it's LeBron. I definitely not going with Dwyane Wade. Kobe's in the conversation, but this conversation today is about personal transformation, like Michael Jordan. And we're going to talk about identity and what brought out Michael Jordan's true goatness, if you will. And part of that transformation is about his identity, who he really is. And I'm going to share some incredible insights that I've learned from Tim Grover. I had an opportunity at a conference to see him speak a couple years ago, and it was amazing to hear some of the stories. And he also coached Kobe and Dwyane Wade as well. But he dedicated his life to helping the greatest athletes reach the top. And he wasn't just any coach. You know, he's the owner of Attack Athletics, I believe his name is his company. He's a master trainer. And he's a man that understands that true success is built on unwavering commitment to excellence. And he's renowned for training elite athletes, you know, and emphasizing that true success stems from authenticity. And he has a book that's actually pretty good called Relentless. And in Relentless, he says, in order to have what you really want, you need to be who you really are. And that's just code for the word identity, or some people know it as Persona. It's who you are. It's likely who you're burying. And this philosophy guided his approach to coaching, focusing on enhancing the athlete's strengths rather than molding them into someone else. And that's important to understand because we all have unique abilities, we all have strengths. And don't get hung up on the word unique. But Grover was meticulous, meticulous attention to detail. And that exemplified why Michael Jordan was where he was. And in fact, if you look at Jordan's career, he didn't start winning championships until he hired Grover, until he surrounded himself around a bunch of who's that helped him really, truly bring out those strengths in him. And one of the things that, interestingly enough, and this got Jordan's attention when he interviewed Tim Grover is, is he observed that Jordan fell a lot during games. And the number one way that that players in the NBA are injured is actually through falling. And so Grover taught him how to fall safely to prevent harm. He even recorded Jordan's steps and how many steps he took in every single game. And he even earned the nickname the Original Fitbit, because he did. He recorded Michael Jordan's steps. And this commitment and precision extended to Those other athletes like Kobe and Dwyane Wade as I mentioned, but he emphasized the importance of recovery. He emphasized especially when he was working with Kobe. You know, Kobe had the Mamba mentality, right? Kobe didn't ever want to stop. He wanted to consistently go, go, go. But as he aged, rest and recovery was critically important if he wanted to sustain the peak performance. And that goes for Michael Jordan as well. But his insights aren't just limited to.

Physical training. They they really truly encompass mental resilience and the sacrifices required for excellence. And look, he believes that every win starts in the silence, in, in the dark with your thoughts. Highlighting that importance of mental preparation. He also distinguishes between being interested in winning and being obsessed with it. The world is filled with people that are interested in excellence or interested in winning, but how many people are truly obsessed with achieving it? And these are the principles that are applied beyond sports and they are really valuable insights and lessons in personal and professional growth. Embracing your identity, paying attention to the details, committing fully to, to the goals and the steps that you have to take, paying attention to the people you're surrounding yourselves with. Identity and authenticity are a core part of Tim Grover's wisdom. And one of the most powerful insights that really resonated with me is that quote, in order to, in order to have what you really want, you need to be who you really are. And authenticity is the foundation of real success because you if you're misaligned. And that's why we talked the last couple of weeks about self awareness because everybody says they're self aware, yet so few actually measure it. And so with Grover, he didn't try to mold Jordan into somebody else. He tried to make him the first Michael Jordan, which clearly he did. Now don't get me wrong, Michael Jordan had the unique abilities that some others don't have, but he maximized that. Tim Grover talks about the number of talented people that he's trained but didn't have the mental resilience to sustain and to capitalize on their talent. Said he sees he's seen thousands of very talented players, people that are equally as talented as Jordan and Kobe and some of those guys that he trained but they didn't have the mental ability. And so this is the same mindset that we need to have to bring to our lives every single day. Find the things that you and your teams, if you're a leader, that your teams, what their strengths are. If you've never taken stock in what are their strengths, you're missing out on an excellent opportunity to find alignment within their roles. So you have to sacrifice and focus. And it is a lesson in commitment. And one of the most touching stories that Tim Grover talked about was he shared.

He was packing up to leave for a business trip to go. You know, he often attended Michael and the rest of the guys games. And his daughter, who I think was pretty young at the time, she walks up to him and says, daddy, if I eat less, will you stay home? You know, she was thinking about, you know, saving money so daddy didn't have to go off to work and leave as often as he did. And it's that kind of sacrifice that absolutely can bring tears to your eyes. And I'm not saying you have to have this response, but you know, Grover explained that if it were a Disney fairy tale, then he would have closed his suitcase and spent time with his daughter. But he said, honey, this isn't a Disney fairy tale. And he finished packing and he left knowing the cost of being the best. Now I'm not saying you have to subscribe to that to be that elite. Most of us aren't trying to be that elite level, that top 1% of the 1%. But his message is clear. So don't let that blur your vision. In order to achieve greatness, it requires the hard choices. You have to be all in. You have to be all in, which is relevant advice. Winning requires obsession beyond interest. So here's something that I want you to think about. What aspects of yourself have you hidden or changed to meet the expectations of others? Where are you wearing that mask that your identity is not able to come out? How would embracing these parts of yourself emotional impact your growth? I want you to reflect on this and be real with yourself. Like try to have a little bit of self awareness. Living authentically and being relentless in our goals isn't easy, but it is the foundation for a meaningful life. As Tim Grover said it once again, in order to have what you really want, you need to be who you really are. Look back in your life, find areas of opportunities where you were wearing a mask or where you were doing things to impress others. But it wasn't natural to yourself. Chances are you have spots in your business life right now that you're doing that. So no masks, no regrets. Let's keep pushing forward, stay true to yourself and keep building the future you.