Be Obsessed or Be Average

by Grant Cardone

Stop wasting time on tasks that don’t matter. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Most of us are brought up poor or middle class and then left to live the rest of our lives with the beliefs of the poor and the middle class. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Your job is to first get your own head right about money.

Answering these questions is an exercise that will reveal how money confident you are and whether you’re dominating your money: What is your money mantra? What do you think about money? How much is a lot of money to you? How much is too much money?

How much is too little money? What are your negative ideas about money? Do you spend most of your time trying to save money? How much time do you spend connecting with new money? How do you act when you see the price of something in a store or at a restaurant?

Instead of being offended by those who talk about money, you should avoid those who don’t. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

It doesn’t take money to make money; it takes courage. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

My battle cry is “Who’s got my money?” #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

If you aren’t influencing the way your people think about money, someone else is. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Be obsessed about your people doing well, and you will become a giant in their lives. Show a man or a woman how to produce more money than they ever dreamed while pursuing a greater purpose, and they will become loyal and dedicated.

Take a piece of paper. Draw your face in the center of it—that personalizes the exercise and reminds you who is at the center of all of these things. Then draw two columns, one labeled “professional life” and the other “personal life.” In each column write down what you have expertise in and what traits mark you.

I want to incite fear in my competitors and kick them into complete submission until they admit to themselves, Cardone will outspend me and outwork me.”

The reason so many people fail with marketing, is that they underestimate the effort required to dominate their niche. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Avoiding danger makes sense only if you want to make cents. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Comfort is your biggest threat—because in your effort to find it or maintain it, you lose out on making gains toward your potential.

Being the biggest fish in the smallest pond will be the death of your ambitions. #BeObsessed

@GrantCardone

If you’re not constantly connecting with new people, who are more influential and smarter, you are putting yourself in harm’s way. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Success is not a popularity contest. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

I would rather others think less of me than think less of myself. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

You are at risk every moment you aren’t investing in the expansion of your business. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Return on investment is a lie you tell yourself to justify not putting money at risk. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

You must spend, and continue to spend, while you focus on growing your revenue. You need to make enough money, raise enough money, or borrow enough money to expand. Especially when you are just starting out in your business, focusing on revenue that you can then reinvest is more important than getting good margins. Your top line must be the priority.

When new and unfamiliar technology comes out, hop on that bandwagon immediately.

I assume the role of a successful person, even if I’m not yet. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

No one who has made a great contribution on this planet rests on their laurels.

No one who has made a great contribution on this planet rests on their laurels. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Fear is an indication of what you should do, not what you shouldn’t do.

You have to convert your fear into power.

Fear is an indication of what you should do, not what you shouldn’t do. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

That said, don’t expect fear to go away and don’t try to eliminate it. Use it. The obsessed life is not about reaching a state of peace and balance. It’s about constantly moving in the direction of your fears and possibilities. Fear will always be there, so the question becomes what you will do with it.

The obsessed life is about constantly moving in the direction of your fears and possibilities. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

The greatest you will be discovered far outside your comfort zone. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Are you expanding and re-creating who you are? If not, you are stagnating. Are you reaching for new audiences? If not, you are becoming obsolete. Are you creating new products? If not, you are uninspired. Are you developing new streams of income? If not, you are on your way to losing money. Are you the biggest fish in a small pond? If so, you are getting lazy. Are you the smartest person in the room? If so, you are asking for boredom. Are you always worried about one client? If so, your pipeline is not full enough.

Sales affects everything: every person, every company, every industry, and entire economies. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Sales is the only thing a person can do to guarantee that they control the top line of their business. It is impossible to make anything happen without sales.

I didn’t get into sales because I liked it. I got into it to survive. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

To make sure you are continuing to be engaged with sales, ask yourself:

Is what I am doing every day making a difference for the better? Do I love my product? Do I love selling my product? Do I own my own product? Have I insisted that my family buy my product? Should people go into debt for my product? Do I continue to call people back after they have told me they are not interested? Could I charge double for my product and still make sense of the cost?

Either commit yourself to loving your product or service until you actually, truly do—as I did when I was selling cars—or change your product offering.

It’s a simple fact: If you miss a step, you will lose the sale. If you don’t ask for the order, you cannot close the sale. If you don’t present a proposal, you cannot close the sale. If you don’t deal with the decision maker, you will not close the sale. If you don’t deal with all the influencers, you will not close the sale. If you don’t solve the magic problem, you will not close the sale. If you don’t follow up, you will not close most of the sales.

If you are not obsessed with closing the deal, you won’t. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

First off, you should never, ever lower a target—that is the definition of failure. Instead, push yourself and others to increased action. I don’t lower my dreams, goals, or belief in myself; I increase the pressure I put on myself.

Demand that sales quotas be met by holding yourself and your people accountable. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

If one of your salespeople fails to close, ask him or her: “Did you present an offer?” “Did you present terms and figures?” “Did you back off from the close?” “Why did you fail the close?” You can also hold the salesperson accountable by going right to the source—the person he or she failed to close. Pick up the phone and call a customer who didn’t buy, and ask: “Why didn’t you buy from my guy today?” “What happened?” “Did he ask you to buy?” “Did he present the product?” “Did he present a proposal to you?”

Reward those who achieve and penalize those who do not. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Numbers don’t lie; people lie. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Get obsessed with “Show me, don’t tell me.” #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

My goal every morning is to get my sales team doing one amazing thing, not a hundred half-assed things. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone

Find the time each day to make an extra sales call for your company. #BeObsessed @GrantCardone