Winners engage their minds and experiences to create new levels of greatness. I’m not just talking about athletes here, I’m talking about innovators and groundbreakers in business, entertainment, science, technology, education, medicine, parenting… every walk of life. Bill Gates personally checking every line of code for the first five years of

winners all understand one thing: There’s a price to pay, and you must pay it.

Winning will cost you everything, and reward you with more, if you’re willing to do the work. Don’t bother to roll up your sleeves, just rip the fucking things off—and do what others won’t or can’t. They don’t matter anyway; you are in this alone.

THE WINNING 13 #1. WINNING makes you different, and different scares people. #1. WINNING wages war on the battlefield in your mind. #1. WINNING is the ultimate gamble on yourself. #1. WINNING isn’t heartless, but you’ll use your heart less. #1. WINNING belongs to them, and it’s your job to take it. #1. WINNING wants all of you; there is no balance.

When you start apologizing for who you are, you stop growing and you stop winning. Permanently.

This book is about grit, not glamour. If your image matters more to you than your results, if you need to look and act a certain way to impress others, if “Fake it till you make it” is your strategy for success, if you need approval to be who you really are, you’re going to struggle.

Let me share with you some of the answers I’ve heard from the greats. Not just in sports but from the business world as well: Uncivilized. Hard. Nasty. Unpolished. Dirty. Rough. Unforgiving. Unapologetic. Uninhibited. Kobe: “Everything.”

Describe Winning in one word. That’s it. What does Winning feel like to you? What does it represent?

There’s nothing normal about Winning. If you need normal, if you need to fit in, be prepared for a long stay in the middle of the pack. Winning requires you to be different, and different scares people. So if you’re worried about what others will say, the long-term effects, the sacrifices you’ll make, the sleep you’ll lose, your family being angry…