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WHEN YOU’RE A CLEANER . . . You don’t celebrate your achievements because you always want more.

A Cooler is first to arrive at the celebration and last to leave.
A Closer will make an appearance, then go out with his own crew.
A Cleaner just wants to get back to work.

A Cleaner’s favorite words.
There’s always more work to do. And more to prove. Always more to prove.
Let everyone else celebrate. You’re still not satisfied.

A true Cleaner is at his lowest soon after he reaches his highest. For five minutes, he’s completely exhilarated. For the next twenty-four hours, he’s relatively happy. After that . . . what?
Back to work.
Everyone else will tell him he did a great job, and he knows it’s true. But their approval means nothing to him because the standards he sets for himself are so much higher than anyone else can possibly set for him. Win or lose, all he thinks about is how he could have done it better or smoother or faster or some way other than how he did it. So the job gets done, but he’s still always thinking about how he could have done more.

That’s the relentless pursuit of excellence, always believing in your ability, demanding more of yourself than anyone else could ever ask of you.

Winning is an addiction. The great Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning is a habit,” which is also true, but I think it’s a habit that inevitably becomes the addiction. You can’t understand it until you taste it, and then you can spend a lifetime craving more. You feel it in your gut, in the dull ache of your dark side begging for it. When you’re alone in the Zone, you know nothing except the unwavering hunger for success. Every choice you make, every sacrifice, every moment you spent alone preparing and learning and dreaming . . . it’s all to feed that addiction.

And if you ever once feel the need to question why it’s necessary to work so hard or wonder if it’s all worth it . . . just go ahead and quit. You don’t get it.

The drive to close the gap between near-perfect and perfect is the difference between great and unstoppable. You never shake the uneasy feeling that you can’t ever be satisfied with your results; you always believe you could have done better, and you stop at nothing to prove it.

The greatest battles you will ever fight are with yourself, and you must always be your toughest opponent. Always demand more of yourself than others demand of you. Be honest with yourself, and you’ll be able to meet every challenge with confidence and the deep belief that you are prepared for anything. Life can be complicated; the truth is not. I truly believe I have zero limitations. You should believe the same about yourself. Listen to your instincts. They’re telling you the truth.

I want the satisfaction of knowing that every move I make, every thought, every idea, every action takes me further than anyone else has ever gone and makes me better at what I do than anyone else in the world. That’s what drives me. Whatever drives you, let it take you where you want to be. Everything you want can be yours. Be a Cleaner and go get it. Be relentless.

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