Another book that I recently finished reading is The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone. I picked up the book at the airport in New Jersey, while I was attending the Tony Robbins Unleash The Power Within seminar and was looking for some reading material on the flight home. I was looking for a book that would help me raise my standards and give me some extra motivation, and I feel that The 10X Rule did exactly that.
I've never heard of The 10X Rule or Grant Cardone, but the headline of the book intrigued me: The 10X Rule: The only difference between success and failure.
So, what is the 10X rule? It's basically a philosophy towards achieving your goals in life. First, Grant Cardone states many times throughout the book that success is your duty and obligation. He talks about how success is a standard we all need to strive for, simply because the alternative of being mediocre carries far too many consequences. By being successful, there are many perks that Grant Cardone states throughout the book, but it's clear that pushes the message that success needs to be the top priority in your life.
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He describes that in order to be successful, we need to set really big goals. Grant mentions how the biggest regret and mistake he's made is not setting goals big enough. You need a big vision if you want to be successful, and most of us play too small. We mitigate our goals and don't set anything that will really challenge us or motivate us to go after. The bigger the goals the better, even if you have no idea how it will happen. This is where the 10X rule comes into play. Whatever goal you currently have for yourself, Grant says you should multiple that by 10. Go 10 times higher than what you think you are capable of achieving. Stop limiting yourself – you will be surprised what you're truly capable of.
Having big goals isn't enough. You need to take action. Massive action. The 10X rule also states that you need to take 10X more action than what you're normally taking at this very moment. If you normally make 10 sales calls per day, start making 100. Put in 10 times more effort than what you're doing. The more action you're taking, the closer you will be to your success. It's time to raise your standards. Again, stop limiting yourself – you're capable of so much more.
One thing that I personally benefitted from that has stayed with me since I've read the book is to not be afraid to put myself out there more. In business, you need to get noticed. The more you get your name out there and put out content, the better. The goal is to reach as many people as possible. Grant talks about how he started tweeting and using Facebook 10X more than what he'd normally do, and all of a sudden people would start saying to him “I see your name everywhere!” While some people were annoyed by it, others really loved it and he was able to build his business further that way. You can't please everybody. The same goes with Grant's sales philosophy, which is to not be afraid to be too aggressive. While some people will complain, you want your sales people to continue taking massive action and influence people to improve their lives.
There are so many more gold nuggets in this book. I really enjoy Grant Cardone's direct style of communicating. There's no BS or fluff – everything is straight to the point and is written to jolt you to wake up. At the end of each chapter, he has an exercise for you to complete. I really enjoyed this, as it's one thing to read something, but totally different to apply it. Grant gets you applying what you're learning and thinking about how it relates to your life in The 10X Rule.
On Chapter 22, Grant shares some important patterns of those who are successful, and how we can put them into action in our own lives. Real quick, I'll mention what they are below, because I think they are all very important. If you want to find out more of what each one means, I recommend you pick up the book.
1. Have a “Can Do” Attitude
2. Believe That “I Will Figure It Out”
3. Focus on Opportunity
4. Love Challenges
5. Seek To Solve Problems
6. Persist Until Successful
7. Take Risks
8. Be Unreasonable
9. Be Dangerous
10. Create Wealth
11. Readily Take ACtion
12. Always Say “Yes”
13. Habitually Commit
14. Go All The Way
15. Focus on “Now”
16. Demonstrate Courage
17. Embrace Change
18. Determine and Take the Right Approach
19. Break Traditional Ideas
20. Be Goal-Oriented
21. Be on a Mission
22. Have a High Level of Motivation
23. Be Interested in Results
24. Have Big Goals and Dreams
25. Create Your Own Reality
26. Commit First – Figure Out Later
27. Be Highly Ethical
28. Be Interested in the Group
29. Be Dedicated to Continuous Learning
30. Be Uncomfortable
31. “Reach Up” in Relationships
32. Be Disciplined
All fantastic principles. It's important to know which one of these you do best now, and which you need to work on.
After reading The 10X Rule, I began researching Grant Cardone online. I really like his personality and the way he communicates. He's primarily known for sales training, but has some fantastic advice for anyone that wants to be successful. The 10X Rule is a great book if you're looking for a boost of motivation and to raise your standards to achieve higher goals. You can find The 10X Rule on Amazon.com here.