“That’s completely backward. Excellence isn’t only about hitting the gym and working up a sweat; that’s the smallest part of what you have to do. Physical ability can only take you so far. The fact is, you can’t train your body—or excel at anything—before you train your mind. You can’t commit to excellence until your mind is ready to take you there. Teach the mind to train the body.”

Grover characterizes mental stamina and discipline as an essential part of success, even for professional athletes whose jobs center on physical fitness. This quotation encourages the reader to consider how their mental state is impacting their ability to work towards their goals.

“Do. The. Work. Every day, you have to do something you don’t want to do. Every day […] Cleaners do the hardest things first, just to show there’s no task too big.”

Grover emphasizes how Cleaners always put in the work, no matter how uncomfortable or unglamorous. This passage argues that success is not merely a mindset or vision but requires real, consistent action. It especially connects to the takeaway to Treat Pressure as a Fuel, Not a Stressor by noting that Cleaners intentionally cultivate discomfort to push themselves.

“A Cleaner is never going to stand up in front waving a towel; he’s down at the end, alone, focused and unemotional. At a critical moment when everyone gets too pumped up and overheated, he’s the guy telling everyone else to keep it cool.”

Grover praises Cleaners’ ability to calm their emotions and stay “cool,” even when others are panicking. This adds to his lesson on treating pressure as a fuel and not a stressor, as he describes how Cleaners can perform under pressure without it affecting them negatively.

“You’re not thinking, because thinking turns your thoughts on to everything, and the Zone is about the opposite, turning your thoughts off to everything except the task at hand. Thinking takes you away; the Zone keeps you where you need to be. That’s your safe haven: you go inside that space, and nothing can touch you, nothing can hurt you, no one can call you or text you or hassle you or bother you.”

Grover argues that thinking tends to generate worry and rumination, while acting on instinct produces a focused mindset that he calls “the zone.” This passage underscores his lesson to Prioritize Instinct over Deliberation by encouraging the reader not to think but simply to trust their gut and act.

“Again: emotions make you weak. The fastest way to tumble out of the Zone is to allow emotions to drive your actions. When you feel fear, you recoil and put up a wall to protect yourself. Is there really a wall there? No, but you act as if there were. Now you can’t go forward because of the wall.”

Grover portrays emotions as mental obstacles to success. His example suggests that when people try to protect themselves, they limit their own achievements by creating mental barriers. This quotation asks the reader to take a stoic view of the challenges ahead and not allow themselves to be frightened.

“Can you even remember a time when you weren’t being taught limitations and compliance, watching what everyone else was doing, scrutinizing the options, worrying about what others would say? At some point you stopped doing what came naturally and started doing what you were told. You took all your crazy urges and ideas and desires, and you stuffed them down where no one could see.”

Grover believes that being taught to conform dulls people’s ambition and competitive instincts. In this passage, he explains his theory that everyone can unearth their repressed killer instincts and become more creative, productive, and dominant. In doing so, he coaches the reader to consider how they might unlearn some of these taming influences and renew their drive to succeed, which relates to his advice to Harness Anger and Your Dark Side.

“Everything you need is already inside you. You are completely wired with instincts and reflexes specifically designed so you can survive and succeed. You don’t have to think about using them, they’re always working.”

This passage adds to Grover’s insistence that people should prioritize instinct over deliberation. His claim that everyone is already equipped with the perfect toolkit—their instincts—encourages the reader to develop self-belief and stop agonizing over options.

“Like all Cleaners, he didn’t study the competition, he made the competition study him. Other guys sat there analyzing and contemplating what might happen; he didn’t have to. He knew his skills and knowledge were so finely tuned that he could dominate any situation; he worked so long and hard that his body and mind reflexively knew what to do at all times.”

Grover praises Michael Jordan’s ability to shut out worry and comparison and simply focus on building his own skill set. In doing so, he was able to beat everyone on the court without wasting energy wondering what his competitors would do. This emphasizes Grover’s message that Cleaners respond most to internal pressure.

“Believe what you know about yourself. When I decided to get a degree in kinesiology, everyone said, ‘Oh, you’re going to be a gym teacher?’ No, I’m going to train pro athletes. ‘You can manage a health club!’ No, I’m going to train pro athletes. There is zero chance you’ll get anywhere if you allow yourself to become paralyzed by soft excuses and countless reasons why you’ll never get to where you want to be. Trust your gut to navigate the hard road to get there.”

Grover depicts self-belief as foundational to success. His personal anecdote about aspiring to be a pro athlete trainer shows how others’ doubts about his ability could have undermined his confidence, but instead, he stayed committed to his vision and eventually achieved it.

“If you’re so intensely wired to attack and win, you can’t just turn that on and off, it’s who you are, it defines you. Never exhaling. Never satisfied. We’re talking about day after day, year after year, getting on top and staying there. Being the best and still wanting to improve.”

Grover characterizes Cleaners as people who never stop working to improve their skills or earn a new achievement. This passage adds to his lesson to pursue excellence, not a finish line, arguing that achieving short-term goals is not the same as maintaining greatness.

“A Cleaner doesn’t want to give up the thing you disapprove of. To him, it’s not a weakness, it’s his strength, his choice. Weakness would mean giving up what he craved because he was afraid of getting caught. A Cleaner earns his alter ego, his Mr. Hyde.”

The author urges the reader to embrace their “dark side” or “Mr. Hyde” and not apologize for their vices. This passage presents apologies and worries as weaknesses that may affect people’s ability to become dominant in what they do.

“I get the drama and thrill and intensity of succeeding in that moment, and going home a hero. But being relentless means constantly working for that result, not just when drama is on the line. Clutch is about the last minute. Relentless is about every minute.”

The author urges the reader to stop focusing on the finish line moments and instead recognize the value of consistent hard work. This passage is a reminder that every moment—not just the flashy ones—counts toward the big picture.

“I always felt Michael’s legendary trash talking wasn’t meant for the other guy; it was another way for him to heighten the pressure he put on himself, because once you’ve told others how bad you’re about to fuck them up, you’re gonna have to deliver on that promise.”

Grover teaches the reader to emulate one of his role models, Michael Jordan, and embrace pressure as a motivational tool. By framing Jordan’s trash talk as a way of ramping up self-pressure, the author shows that Cleaners see pressure as something that propels them to excellence.

“I tell my guys, ‘Pressure, pressure, pressure.’ Most people run from stress. I run to it. Stress keeps you sharp, it challenges you in ways you never imagined and forces you to solve issues and manage situations that send weaker people running for cover. You can’t succeed without it. Your level of success is defined by how well you embrace it and manage it.”

Grover builds on his argument that people must learn how to reframe stress as a positive to succeed. This includes seeking out high-pressure environments; for instance, a student might take a class outside their comfort zone, while an athlete might look for ways to push themselves physically in their off-season.

“That’s not about the myth of ‘positive thinking’; it’s about the hard work and preparation that go into knowing everything there is to know, letting go of your fears and insecurities, and trusting your ability to handle any situation.”

Grover rejects positive thinking in favor of meticulous preparation, arguing that envisioning success is useless but that working toward it is a practical way to achieve it. By describing preparation as something that can dissolve people’s fears and build their self-confidence, the author encourages readers to get out of their heads and begin building their skill of choice.

“When you’re confident, you don’t care about what others think; you can take your mistakes seriously but still laugh because you know you can and will do better. Cleaners always have the confidence to know they’ll get it right. Accept the consequences and move on.”

Grover admits that Cleaners, like everyone, fail sometimes. What distinguishes them is that they are willing to admit it and move forward. This relates to his advice to Strategize Flexibly for Success, as Cleaners find novel ways to get around setbacks.

“It may be an opportunity that lasts a minute, maybe ten minutes, maybe a week or a month. But what you do in that time is going to determine what you’re going to do for a long time after. Someone is going to do something the coach or the boss doesn’t like, maybe a guy isn’t playing well or working hard enough, and you’re going to get the chance to take his spot. Will you be ready?”

Grover urges the reader to begin preparing for opportunities before they arise so that they are ready to meet them when they come. This passage reminds the reader that even if they are not sure of how they will execute their ambitions, they can begin the preparation today to be ready for tomorrow’s chances.

“Make a choice, or a choice will be made for you. Most people don’t want to make decisions. They make suggestions, and they wait to see what everyone else thinks, so they can say, ‘It was just a suggestion.’ They know the right answer, but can’t act because if something goes wrong, they’ll have to take responsibility and then they can’t blame anyone else.”

Grover admires the courage Cleaners have to make a decision and stick with it. By framing suggestions as cowardly, Grover urges the reader to be brave and decisive. For instance, rather than spending a lot of time soliciting advice in meetings and emails, a manager should simply choose a course of action and commit to it.

“What have you been handed and what are you willing to earn? At some point, you got a gift: maybe you were blessed with talent, or you inherited the family business, or someone took a chance on you and let you in the door. Then what? Doors swing two ways. Did you shut it on the competition or on yourself? There’s nothing wrong with receiving a gift; that’s where the challenge begins.”

This passage adds to Grover’s opinion that people should pursue excellence and avoid “finish-line” thinking. Rather than resting on their laurels, Grover believes that people should see these successful or fortunate moments as a foundation to continue building on.

“Cleaners always leave behind a taste of the fear factor to give their next victims something to think about, so everyone knows they’re coming; that’s the undeniable edge they give themselves.”

Grover celebrates how Cleaners can intimidate their opponents and dominate others through sheer excellence. His advice on this point connects to the takeaway of harnessing anger and one’s dark side.

“To Cleaners, trusting others is the same as giving up control, and they usually have a painfully hard time with that. Cleaners have this in common: at some point they learned they could only trust themselves. But trust doesn’t have to mean giving up control and allowing other people to make decisions for you.”

Grover notes that Cleaners believe that only they can be trusted. This passage acknowledges control issues as a weakness of the Cleaner type that they must resolve in order to outsource certain tasks and build a reliable and cooperative team.

“That’s how you decide to not fail. You go, and you go, always looking for the unexpected option that keeps the situation in your control. Success and failure are 100 percent mental. One person’s idea of success might seem like a complete failure to someone else. You must establish your own vision of what it means to be unstoppable; you can’t let anyone else define that for you.”

Grover recommends reframing failure as a chance to try again, underscoring the key takeaway to treat pressure as a fuel. By calling failure and success “100% mental,” the author asks the reader to take responsibility for how they perceive their experiences and urges them to keep going.

“The Cooler admits defeat. The Closer works harder. The Cleaner strategizes for a different outcome. Admitting defeat has no place in this discussion, or in this book, because the words quit and relentless just don’t work together in any productive way. People who admit defeat and say they had no choice just aren’t serious about success, excellence, or themselves. They say they’ll ‘try’ and then give up when that doesn’t work.”

The author explains his lesson to strategize flexibly for success, describing strategic planning as a Cleaner response to disappointment. This passage argues that the most successful people are resilient; they use the information they have gained to create a new strategy instead of dwelling on their losses.