The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

by Grant Cardone

An excuse is just an alteration of reality; nothing about it will move you to a better situation.

You have to start understanding the differences between making excuses and providing actual, sound reasons for events.

Engaging in self-pity and excuse making are signs that someone has an extremely minimal degree of responsibility.

Excuses are one item that people seem to have an almost endless supply of. Because they are so plentiful, they have no value. Because they do not forward your desire to create more success for yourself, they are worthless uses of your energy.

You cannot allow yourself, your team, your family, or anyone in your organization to use another excuse as a reason why something didn't come to fruition.

Successful people talk, think, and approach situations, challenges, and problems differently than most people—and they definitely think about money differently.

The only way to be successful is to take the same actions that successful people take. Success is no different than any other skill. Duplicate the actions and mind-sets of successful people, and you will create success for yourself.

People with a “can do” attitude approach every situation with the outlook that no matter what, it can be done.

You must believe and convey to others that a solution does indeed exist—even if you're going to have to work a little harder to find it.

Even if you're not sure how to do something, the best answer is “I will figure it out”—not “I don't know.” No one values a person who not only doesn't have the information but doesn't want to know the information.This response does nothing for your credibility or competence.

Communicate to yourself and others that you are willing to do what is necessary to figure it out! An alternative response to “I don't know” is “Great question. Let me check into that and figure it out.” You are still being honest, but you're inciting a solution instead of implying ineptitude.

Successful people see all situations—even problems and complaints—as opportunities. Where others see difficulty, successful individuals know that problems solved equal new products, services, customers—and probably financial success. Remember: Success is overcoming a challenge. Therefore, you can't succeed without some kind of difficulty.

Whereas many people loathe challenges—and use them as reasons to sink further into indifference—highly successful individuals are compelled and invigorated by challenges.

When you are able to develop a more positive outlook, you begin to see a challenge as stimulation to engage—rather than as an excuse to avoid something. You have to reeducate yourself on the notion of this thing called a “challenge”—and know that every challenge provides an opportunity to win. And don't kid yourself—winning in life is vital.

Persistence is a great advantage to anyone who wants to multiply his or her success—because most other people have given up on their innate ability to persist. When you retrain yourself to do whatever is necessary to ensure that you are in the best mental, emotional, and financial position to persevere—you will find yourself on the list of the most successful.

The highly successful take unbelievable amounts of action. Regardless of what that action looks like, these people rarely do nothing—even when they are on vacation (just ask their spouses or families!).

Action is necessary in order to create success and can be the single defining quality that will enable you to make the list of successful people. No matter who you are or what you've done in life so far, you can develop this habit in order to enhance your success.

The successful fully and consistently commit to activities—some of which require them to put it all on the line.

Unsuccessful people rarely commit to anything entirely. They are always talking about “trying,” and when they do commit, it is normally in destructive acts and habits. Commitment is actually one of the things of which there is a shortage. Far too many individuals and organizations fail to commit fully to their activities, duties, obligations, and responsibilities to see things all the way through.

You cannot do what unsuccessful people do, which is to use any excuse they can think of to put off the tasks they should be completing immediately. Instead, you must acquire the discipline, muscle memory, and achievements that result from taking massive action—while others think, plan, and procrastinate.

Anyone who puts off doing what he or she can do right now will never gain the momentum and confidence that result from doing so.

You will be amazed how much you can get done when you quit thinking, calculating, and procrastinating and just get on with it and make a habit of acting now.

Courage is that quality of mind or spirit that compels people to face dangerous situations in spite of fear. It's rare that people feel or are described as courageous before the event that compels them to act in this way.

The more frequently you can do things that scare you a bit, the more others will label you as courageous—and then gravitate toward you. Courage comes to those who act, not to those who think, wait, and wonder. The only way to hone this trait is by taking action.

Do things that scare you more frequently, and they will slowly begin to scare you a bit less—until they become so habitual that you wonder why you ever feared them in the first place!

Successful people love change, whereas the unsuccessful do everything they can to keep things from changing. But how can you create success when you are trying to keep things from becoming any different?

Successful people invest time, energy, and money in improving themselves. As a result, they don't focus on how hard the work is but rather on how rewarding the results are! When you are winning because you have perfected your approach, it won't feel like work; it will feel like success. And nothing tastes as good as the victory of success.

Any time I encounter failure or a challenge, I take out a legal pad and write my goals down again. This helps keep my attention on where I desire to go and the goals I want to achieve—instead of letting me dwell on the difficulty of the moment.

Committing first means getting 100 percent behind whatever it is you are committing to before you figure out every detail.

be willing to be uncomfortable, and do what makes other people uncomfortable as well. It is a sure sign that you're on your way to success.

You have to interact with people who are better than you. It's the only way to become better yourself.

Discipline is what you use to complete any activity until the activity—regardless of how uncomfortable—becomes your normal operating procedure.

Start with first things first; make your initial list of goals, then a list of actions that will propel you in that direction. Then—without overthinking it—start taking those actions.

When you hear what average people say and think, thank them for their advice. Then remind them that you want their support in going for it, and let them know that you would rather commit to your dreams and goals and be disappointed than never commit and be disappointed.

I had to continually disregard the naysayers and refocus on my goals. I would look again at what I had to do to accomplish that goal and then do it—regardless of whether I was scared or comfortable. Remember: Successful people embrace fear and discomfort!

The goal has to be more valuable than the risk—or you have determined the wrong target.

Successful people commit first and figure the rest out later.

Training and learning are absolutely critical to your follow-through and the development of courage, persistence, unreasonable thinking, and especially discipline.

Make your fire so big and so hot that others will have no choice but to sit around it in amazement. You will never have all the answers, your timing will never be perfect, and there will always be obstacles and difficulties.

Taking massive actions consistently and persistently and then following up with more fourth-degree actions are the only ways to guarantee the success you desire.