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

by Grant Cardone

An interesting thing about success is that it's like a breath of air; although your last breath of air is important, it's not nearly as important as the next one.

Extremely successful people know that their efforts must continue in order for them to realize new achievements. Once the hunt for a desired object or goal is abandoned, the cycle of success comes to an end.

When people start limiting the amount of success they desire, I assure you they will limit what will be required of them in order to achieve success and will fail miserably at doing what it takes to keep

Massive thoughts must be followed by massive actions.

As long as you are alive, you will either live to accomplish your own goals and dreams or be used as a resource to accomplish someone else's.

Never reduce a target. Instead, increase actions. When you start rethinking your targets, making up excuses, and letting yourself off the hook, you are giving up on your dreams!

Regardless of the timing, the economy, the product, or how big your venture is, the right acts done to the right degree over time will make you successful.

You have to approach the notion of success the way good parents approach their duty to their children; it's an honor, an obligation, and a priority.

“The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

If you are able to repeatedly attain success, it becomes less of a “success” and more of a habit

Success must be approached from an ethical viewpoint. Success is your duty, obligation, and responsibility!

Great ideas, new technologies, innovative products, and fresh solutions to old problems are all things that will never exist in shortages.

There are four consistent factors in the life of the victim: (1) bad things happen to them, (2) bad things happen often, (3) they are always involved, and (4) someone or something else is always to blame.

Success isn't just a “journey,” as countless people and books suggest it is; rather, it's a state—constant or otherwise—over which you have control and responsibility. You either create success or you don't—and it isn't for whiners, crybabies, and victims.

Disciplined, consistent, and persistent actions are more of a determining factor in the creation of success than any other combination of things.

Unfortunately, most people on the planet spend their time in the first through third degrees: doing nothing, retreating completely, or just operating at normal levels of activity. The first two degrees of action (do nothing and retreat) are the basis for failure, and the third degree (normal levels) will only create a normal existence at best. Only the most successful people hit on very high levels of action that I refer to as massive.

It is only by moving from the third to the fourth degree of action that a person can turn an average existence into an exceptional life.

The goal is to be seen, thought of, and considered—in one way or another. Your only problem is obscurity, not talent.

Massive action can never hurt you and will always help you. This is also one place where quantity is more important than quality. Money and power follow attention, so whoever can get the most attention is the person who takes the most action and sooner or later will get the most results.

when people think of your product, service, or industry, they think of you.

Surround yourself with exceptional thinkers and doers.

That is why I make sure to always do two things: (1) I write my goals down every day and (2) I choose objectives that are just out of reach.

Realistic thinking is based on what others think is possible—but they are not you and have no way of knowing your potential and purposes.

Then take the following into account: (1) You are setting these for you—not for anyone else. (2) Anything is possible. (3) You have much more potential than you realize. (4) Success is your duty, obligation, and responsibility. (5) There is no shortage of success. (6) Regardless of the size of the goal, it will require work.

“If competition is healthy, then domination is immunity!”

Another problem for all of us is just getting through the amount of noise in the marketplace. You have to do two things: (1) get noticed and (2) get through the noise.

obsession is like a fire; you want to build it so big that people feel compelled to sit around it in admiration.

Most people make only enough effort for it to feel like work, whereas the most successful follow up every action with an obsession to see it through to a reward.

I suggest that you become obsessed about the things you want; otherwise, you are going to spend a lifetime being obsessed with making up excuses as to why you didn't get the life you wanted.

What if the world encouraged obsession instead of judging it?

Fear doesn't just tell you what to do; it also tells you when to do it. Ask yourself what time it is at any point in the day, and the answer is always the same: now. The time is always now—and when you experience fear, it's a sign that the best time to take action is at that very moment.

Fear is one of the most disabling emotions a human being can experience. It immobilizes people, and often, it ultimately prevents them from going for their goals and dreams.

Everyone fears something in life; however, it's what we each do with that fear that distinguishes us from others. When you allow fear to set you back, you lose energy, momentum, and confidence—and your fears will only grow.

Receiving criticism is a surefire sign that you are well on your way. Criticism is not something that you want to avoid; rather, it's what you must expect to come your way once you start hitting it big.

Success is not a popularity contest. It is your duty, obligation, and responsibility.

From what I can tell, criticism precedes admiration and—like it or not—goes hand in hand with success.

When you fail to find supporters, establish customers, secure investors, and close the deal because you fail to do whatever it takes to get the job done and then you hide under the excuse of protecting brand and customer satisfaction, you'd just as soon have a shovel in your hand and dig your own grave.

Complaints and problems are opportunities to do more business and solve more issues—and to give your customers the chance to spread the word about how great you are at making their problems go away!

“Your name is your most important asset. [People] can take everything away from you—but they can't take your name.” Although I agree with my dad's emphasis on the importance of names, it of course becomes less important if no one knows it. Unless people know who you are, no one will pay attention to what you represent.

You have to get people to know you, which means that you have to get attention. The more attention you get, the more places you will be; the more people you are with, the more you can be everywhere. And all of this will improve your chances of using your good name to do good work.

Excuses are never the reason for why you did or didn't do something. They're just a revision of the facts that you make up in order to help yourself feel better about what happened (or didn't).

Remember: You don't need to “make” money. It has already been made. There are no shortages of actual money—only shortages of people creating wealth. Move your attention from conserving money to creating wealth, and you'll be thinking as successful people do.

Commitment is a sign that someone is pledging him- or herself completely to a position, issue, or action. Successful people see past the problems and are able to keep their focus on the promise they've made to themselves or others. They keep their eyes on the outcome or action the entire time. When I commit to ensuring success for myself, my family, a project, or my company, it means that I will do whatever is necessary to make that pledge a reality and fulfill my commitment. Commitments are not something for which you can make excuses, nor are they something you negotiate with or on which you can “give up.” Commit fully as though you are already successful and demonstrate that commitment to all those with—and for—whom you work.

The unsuccessful spend most of their time in the past and regard the future as an opportunity to procrastinate. “Now” is the period of time that successful people utilize most often to create the futures they desire in order to dominate their environments.

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.

If you don't stay focused on your goals, you will spend your life achieving the objectives of other people—particularly those who are goal-oriented.

The most successful people I know read everything they can get their hands on. They approach a $30 book as though it has the potential to make them a million dollars. They see every opportunity to train and educate themselves as the most solid and sure investment they can make. Unsuccessful people, on the other hand, simply worry about the cost of a book or seminar without ever giving consideration to the benefits it will provide.

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

The vocabulary and mind-set of average people, even those you love, is always the same—be careful, play it safe, don't be impractical, success isn't everything, be satisfied with what you have, life is to be lived, money won't make you happy, don't want so much, take it easy, you don't have experience, you're too young, you're too old—and on and on.

Staying small and quiet are just ways to continue being small and quiet. Keep thinking this way, and sometime in the very near future, no one will be able to see you, hear you—or be aware that you ever existed.