So, I’ve been reading “Relentless: From Good to Unstoppable.” And so should you.

Seriously, it’s perfect to take your mindset exactly where it needs to be if you want to be a total badass on and off the mat. Why?

Because the guy who wrote it trained Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. Unless your mental strength somehow has their beat, read on…

Are You Merely Good or Great… or Are You Unstoppable?

The author talks about the 3 types of personalities (good, great and unstoppable a.k.a. “relentless”) and he’s identified 13 traits the Unstoppables have.

I’m going to list 8 of them below, and I DARE you to tell me that these traits won’t make you into a much more devastating machine on the mat.

Are you ready? Then dammit, let’s go…

#1 You keep pushing yourself harder when everyone else has had enough.

Bottom line on this one: Do the work you don’t want to do, and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Get rid of your off switch… you’re always turned on. When everyone else in the gym is saying “It’s Miller time”, you’re thinking that Miller is the last name of the next guy you’re going to tap out.

#2 You get into a zone, you shut out everything else and control the uncontrollable.

The zone is the state when your intuition takes over and you stop thinking.

Get in the zone and stay there. You practice your grappling, train hard and dominate everyone who gets in your way. Nothing else matters. You laser focus on your goal, you don’t think and you just act.

It’s an attitude of being detached emotionally, and becoming all instinct.

#3 You know exactly who you are.

You are already relentless, you just don’t know it. You were born with the instinct to survive no matter what, right? Well, that means you were born relentless.

Unfortunately, you were taught to relent along the way. You were taught to worry about what others think, taught to comply with what others want and to think you have limitations.

Well, get over it. Get back to who you were meant to be before all that garbage got dumped on you.

Stop waiting to be taught how to do what you already know how to do. Stop waiting to be told to do what you already know you have to do.

You already know who you were meant to be. Stop thinking and just do it.

Do you REALLY need someone to tell you what it takes to become the baddest grappler you know? Really?

#4 You have a dark side that refuses to be taught to be good.

We all have a “dark” side. Even you mild mannered nice guys who just want to get along.

Your dark side doesn’t mean you have a sick mind, just that on some level it’s always going to be untamed and wanting to be wild and free.

And your dark side knows that no challenge is too great or too intimidating for you. It lives to be challenged and runs straight for it rather than hiding from it.

#5 You’re not intimidated by pressure, you thrive on it.

Perfect attitude for grappling, right? You’ve got to take a screwdriver to your brain and tweak the machinery in there that tells you how you’re going to respond to a threat.

Rather than thinking “OMG, this guys going to destroy me”… turn it into “Oh man, I can’t WAIT to tap sucker out!”

Whether you actually feel that way or not, keep telling yourself that and watch your inner feelings change.

#6 You don’t compete with anyone, you find your opponent’s weakness and attack.

When you “compete” with someone, you’re telling yourself they are on your level and have a chance of beating you.

Screw that. You’re there to beat your opponent, not engage in a competition.

Schwarzennager said “I didn’t train to compete. I trained to win”

#7 You’d rather be feared than liked.

Yeah, saying this in public will make you sound like a real dick. But I guarantee you that no champion fighter has ever won by wanting his opponent to like him.

There’s polite things you need to say outwardly, and things you need to think inwardly. This is one you need to think in order to dominate opponents that are trying you make you fear them.

#8 You don’t celebrate your achievements because you always want more.

I’ve seen so many guys train for years to reach their goal of black belt. Then they celebrate it with a big party…

…and two years later they are fat, out of shape, their skills are disappearing and their grappling career is almost over.

Sure, an acknowledgement of your achievement is cool, but being relentless means you really could care less because you’re already working towards your next goal while everybody else is toasting you with champagne.

Being Relentless means never being content, driving to be the best and when you get there, not slowing down because you’re already going for a whole new level.

The Bottom Line on Being “Relentless”…

To quote Han from Enter The Dragon… “We forge our bodies in the fire of our will.”

It’s your mind, baby. It directs the show, and everything else falls in line behind it.

The more you become a person that INSISTS on being the best, the more you become the best. Every person who has ever accomplished great things was relentless. No truly great or amazing accomplishments ever come without it.