Relentless

Tim S. Glover's book, Relentless: Going from Good, to Great to Unstoppable, describes how the best get and stay there. He is professional trainer of top athletes. One of his first patrons was Michael Jordan and his career has developed from there with his facility in Chicago being one of the major go to places for rehabbing professional athletes and those looking to perfect aspects of their game. While he started in basketball, he now works with an assortment of athletes. Stories about working with the names he worked with fill the book.

He describes categories of skill as good- people who pull it off some of the time; closers- people who can usually help a team win; and cleaners- people who consistently, year after year, do whatever it takes to be the best. In order to achieve that level, he says people need to focus on continually getting better, never being satisfied with their performance or, usually, the performance of those around them. They never rest on their laurels. They focus on perfecting their craft with a single minded determination that ignores all else. Family and friends are secondary. Other hobbies are unimportant.

Living this way may enable you to move from great to stellar in your field, but also results in you sacrificing other things. Balance is not a goal for these people. It probably makes them less like people you want to be around unless you share the same goal. While I agree that consistent top performance requires an unwavering commitment, I am struck by how limiting that will be.