Welcome to “How You Living?” a transformative podcast featuring best-selling author, inspirational speaker and minister, Dr. Rick Rigsby—and, now, Dr. Rick.
Dr. Rigsby: Hello, friends. Thanks so much for listening today. I want to discuss the topic of being relentless.
People who are relentless are constant, incessant, persistent, and fierce. These are the people determined to do something regardless. They refuse to give up despite circumstances, despite situations. It has been said, being relentless and having purpose offers opportunities, because those two things can make you great at anything. You not only reshape how you live your life, but others as well. [01:04.0]
Napoleon Hill once said you can achieve the impossible with a singleness of purpose and a burning desire to accomplish that purpose. That speaks at the heart of being relentless. This is where relentless lives. Relentless does not occupy residents in spaces such as making excuses or blaming others, or the land of self-pity or talking a big game. What we say in Texas is big hat, no cattle.
Relentless people change the environment. They change the trajectory of their lives. They even change the world. Those within their orbit become motivated. At the very least, they're convicted and challenged. They're always inspired and encouraged. I love being around relentless people. They control their destiny. They're the captain of their own ship. They're responsible for what does or does not happen. [02:10.5]
I consider myself to be relentless, but I need growth in one specific area. You see, I choose to be more relentless in my faith, in my pursuit of Christ. For me, being an authentic Christian is my chief desire and I choose to dedicate my all to this endeavor.
This got me looking at books on the topic of being relentless. My favorite that I came across is by Tim Grover. It's titled Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable. I both love and hate this book at the same time, and I would argue that's not a bad thing for, you see, tension encourages growth, both physically and mentally. In fact, Tim predicted that the book will either inspire or infuriate you. It has done both for me and I still highly recommend it. [03:11.0]
Here's a sample of what Grover says that simply frustrates me, quote, “What you won’t find in this book is a lot of garbage about ‘passion’ and ‘inner drive.’ I don’t have any feel-good strategies for dreamers who love to talk about ‘thinking outside the box.’ There is no box. I’m going to show you how to stop thinking about how you’re going to think, and do something instead,” end quote.
Now here's a sample of what Grover says that inspires me. “What you won’t find in this book is a lot of garbage about ‘passion’ and ‘inner drive.’ I don’t have any feel-good strategies for dreamers who love to talk about ‘thinking outside the box.’ There is no box. I’m going to show you how to stop thinking about how you’re going to think, and do something instead,” end quote. [04:10.8]
You’ve got it. Grover's book forced me out of my comfort zone. I’ve got to be honest with you, his book rocked my world. His book forced me to expand my world of motivation. Now, I don't completely totally agree with Grover. For example, I believe in motivation and I don't believe passion and inner drive are garbage. However, I have to confess, at the end of the day, do something. At the end of the day, we must do something. We must go beyond the realm of words. We must accomplish something and what I love about Grover's challenge is he forces us to go beyond the realm of rhetoric. [05:00.0]
Grover stated that, quote, “Success isn’t the same as talent. The world is full of incredibly talented people who never succeed at anything. They show up, do what they do, and if it doesn’t work out, they blame everyone else because they believe talent should be enough,” end quote. That's convicting, friends. We need to offer more than just talent. Being relentless is choosing to discover that next year. It makes one achieve the impossible. It makes one unstoppable.
I was working on this podcast as I was flying home recently and I was talking to one of the passengers on the plane. She happens to be 65 years old. She has been running marathons for 50 years and she said, “I just absolutely love the fact that I’ve dedicated my life to getting out of my comfort zone at age 50.” For the last 15 years, this woman said, she had been involved in 50 marathons. Fifty. [06:13.5]
I was reading a portion of Grover's book and I looked at her and I said, “You epitomize what I'm talking about. You're unstoppable.” She looked at me and said, “I am and anybody can be.” Oh, I like that, friends. That just kind of fires me up. That frost my flakes, let me tell you.
Grover tells this story of one of his clients, the late Kobe Bryant, who during a Los Angeles Lakers game tore his Achilles tendon. Now, many of us know that that is season ending and oftentimes can be career ending. Usually, this injury requires assistance just to get off the floor and we've all seen the athlete get carried off the court by other athletes in the training staff. But not Kobe. Why? There was still work for Kobe to do. [07:06.3]
After suffering this season-ending injury, he walks to the free-throw line. He shoots two free throws, made them both, and then walked unassisted to the locker room. Friends, that's relentless. That was Kobe Bryant.
I want to close with a great example of what I considered to be relentless from the entertainment industry. I want to talk for a moment about the late great Ray Charles, born Ray Charles Robinson, but he went by his first and middle name, who amidst charges of sacrilege and hypocrisy, he decides that he's going to create a new musical genre combining gospel and the blues. The result, a legendary career. [08:02.8]
Ray Charles was blind since childhood. However, his mother was relentless as well. She was a sharecropper in the Deep South. She had two children. Ray was the oldest and she refused to pity either one. She refused to pity her son and would not allow Ray to feel sorry for himself either. His mother would often say, “Ray, you're blind, but you're not stupid.” I like that, friends. Ray learned how to see with his ears, something that served him well his entire life.
I really enjoyed the biopic titled, Ray, starring Jamie Foxx, who, by the way, won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the famous singer. There's a scene where Ray is having a meal with his girlfriend and he asks, “Do you see the hummingbird outside the window?”
She said, “How did you know there was a hummingbird outside the window?”
Ray responded, “Because I can hear it hum.” [09:03.5]
Ray learned to use sound to direct him. Ray learned to use sound to guide him. Ray also learned how to count his steps. When he left his girlfriend's house to return to the hotel later that day, Ray memorized how many steps he needed to take before making a particular turn. He walked from his girlfriend's house back to the hotel by himself, totally unassisted.
Ray Charles, despite his kid brother drowning and Ray blaming himself, Ray Charles, despite growing up the son of a sharecropper, a single mom, Ray Charles, despite being poor as dirt, despite dealing with unbridled segregation, despite being perceived as dumb and handicapped, despite having no sight, Ray Charles changed the music landscape forever. He became a global icon, considered among the greatest entertainers ever. [10:08.7]
Friends, there's a word that captures Ray's success, relentless. Not talent, not money, not background, not experience, not education, not connections. Relentless. You see, it's not about what you don't have, but rather what you're willing to do.
Alabama football coach, Nick Saban, said it best when he said on one occasion, “It's not even about what you want. It's about what you're willing to do to get it.” Relentless people do things others don't. Relentless people do what others won't. You see, Ray Charles was willing to do whatever it took to go to the top. Ray Charles chose to pay the price. His choice required him to be relentless. [11:06.8]
I want to ask you a question as we close. Is there an area in your life that you want to improve, that you want to be relentless in? Why not go all out? Hold nothing back. No excuses, no shifting blame, no small talk, Just a simple yet profound choice every single day to allow nothing, absolutely nothing, to stop you from achieving victory. The great wins make that choice. LeBron, Kobe, Billie Jean, Serena, Tiger, MJ, Disney, and guess what? We can make that very same choice as well. Relentless. It all begins with a choice.
Friends, that's going to do it for this episode. Until we meet again, this is Dr. Rick, asking the most important question I can ask, how ya livin’? [12:06.7]
Are you ready to make an impact in your world right now? Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Dr. Rick wants to give you the first chapter of his bestselling book, “Lessons from a Third Grade Dropout”, absolutely free. Just go to www.RickRigsby.com/FreeGift to get the print or audiobook right now.
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