This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Relentless" by Tim Grover. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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Is Relentless by Tim Grover worth reading? How did Tim Grover come about writing this motivational book?
In Relentless, author Tim Grover encourages you to overcome obstacles and find success by committing everything you have, which can be summed up by what he calls “relentlessness.” By being relentless and taking Grover’s advice, you can be the best in your field and nothing will stop you.
This Relentless by Tim Grover book review gives an overview of what critics say about the book’s ideas and structure and provides background on the author and book.
About Tim Grover
Tim Grover is often recognized as the trainer of the most elite, and best athletes in the world. He’s trained Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Dwyane Wade and owns the training center Attack Athletics. He’s also a well-renowned businessman and motivational speaker.
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The Book’s Publication
Publisher: Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Tim Grover originally self-published Relentless through Relentless Publishing LLC. in 2014—Scribner published the book later that year. (This guide covers the later Scribner edition of the book.) While Relentless is Grover’s first and best-known book, he’s written two additional books since its release: personal training guide Jump Attack (2014) and self-help guide Winning (2021).
The Book’s Context
Tim Grover wrote Relentless 15 years into his personal training career working with basketball legends. He claims that working with these players helped him understand what being the best requires, and aims to share that knowledge through his writing—Relentless is the first book in Grover’s “Winning Trilogy,” which also includes Jump Attack and Winning.
While Relentless isn’t strictly a sports psychology book, it shares many similarities with the genre, which includes other books like Michael Sheard’s Mental Toughness (2009) and Sian Beilock’s Choke (2010). Grover’s book differs from others in the genre in that it’s based on his personal experiences and observations of excellent athletes, rather than on psychological research.
The Book’s Impact
Relentless is the number one bestselling sports training book on Amazon. It’s received positive reviews from celebrity athletes like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, who speak to Grover’s ability to encourage success in his clients. Since the publication of his book, Grover has built a larger Relentless System brand, which involves lifestyle coaching, a blog, online virtual training, and public speaking.
Relentless by Tim Grover Review
The majority of Relentless by Tim Grover reviews are positive, noting that the book is easy to understand and promotes a mindset that encourages success. Positive reviewers also appreciate the book’s direct and declarative approach to self-help, which tells readers to stop making excuses and start pursuing success.
Negative reviews of Relentless tend to criticize the book for not offering practical advice on how to become relentless and for relying too heavily on anecdotes to make arguments. Some also take issue with Grover’s recommendations, claiming that they promote working too hard at the expense of mental health or are unethical. They cite in particular Grover’s argument that relentless people shouldn’t apologize for misdeeds and his use of aggressive language like “attack” and “kill” in his discussions on achieving success.
Commentary on the Book’s Approach
Continuing our review of Relentless, Tim Grover’s approach continually connects his recommendations back to his overall definition of relentlessness—putting everything you have towards reaching a goal. When he recommends a method or principle, he’ll explain how his principle allows you to fully commit yourself to pursue success. He tends to argue via declarative statements backed up by anecdotes and experiences from his or his clients’ careers.
The extent to which Relentless makes recommendations is unclear—in the introduction of the book, Grover says that he’s not trying to tell readers what to do. This claim, combined with the book’s use of the third person to describe relentless people, suggests that the book is less instructive and more observational. However, Grover describes his book as a guide to being relentless, which suggests it’s more instructive than observational.
This question of instruction versus observation is important to consider when thinking about reviews of Relentless—a critic might say that Grover makes bad recommendations, but a supporter could say that Grover isn’t explicitly making recommendations.
Commentary on the Book’s Organization
Grover organizes his book into 13 sections covering the main qualities that consistently relentless people demonstrate. However, the 13 sections tend to overlap in their focus. This overlap allows a reader to fully understand what a relentless mindset is, but also means the book often repeats the same ideas multiple times.
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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Tim Grover's "Relentless" at Shortform .
Here's what you'll find in our full Relentless summary :
- The qualities you’ll need to become the best in your field
- Why sacrifices and discomfort are necessary for growth
- Why you should practice indulging in your primal self
