I know something about you. You want to light a fire under yourself to ignite your success in 2018. We’re nearing the end of the month, and that’s when most people slow down and back off from their dreams and goals.

The book The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone has been out for a few years. Industry leaders are loving this book, and I think you will too. It’s one of the best current motivational books out there. When you’re done, you won’t want to be average or playing it safe anymore. And you’ll be asking “What new problems can I create!”

What Is the Book About

Take your goal, and multiply it by 10. If your goal is to earn $1500 this month, shoot for $15,000!

Have you heard of the idea of shooting for the stars and hitting the moon? If your goal is $1500 and you achieve it, you will feel happy. But what happens if you shoot for $15000 and earn $8000. Would you be sad? I don’t think so. And just think how much you will have learned. You can then apply that for the next month and you’ll really be igniting your success in 2018.

What Is the 10X Rule?

The focus of the 10X Rule is that you must set targets that are 10 times what you think you want, and then do 10 times what you think it will take to accomplish those targets. Sounds easy, right?

Many people make the four big mistakes when setting up their target:

Choosing the wrong target. In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Covey said this was like putting your ladder of success against the wrong wall.
Underestimating the amount of money, resources, and energy it will take to achieve the goal.
Trying to compete with other businesses instead of dominating the niche.
Underestimating the amount of courage needed to overcome all the problems that will pop up.

Often when we create our goals, when we write them down, we make them smaller than our dreams. We’re afraid of standing out or even hoping to achieve them. But we need to push past that and make it okay to want big dreams and believe in our ability to achieve big things.

Remember to motivate yourself every day by reading your goals and connecting back to that feeling of success.

What Is Success?

This is a tough question to answer. Success is unique. We need to spend some time exploring our strengths and decide where we want to have success. I’d recommend you have goals in many areas like

Spiritual
Financial
Physical
Mental
Emotional
Social/Philanthropic/Communal
Family/Friends

I’m sure you can think of others (and put them in the comments to help others think about their goals).

Remember to make them truly your goals. Don’t just write down the standard ones that everyone thinks they should have. I once knew a child in special ed. She was shy and on the Autism spectrum. Her parents’ goal for her for the year was to get invited to birthday parties. Sometimes our goals may seem simple to others, but they resonate deeply within ourselves.

Take some time every day for a week to meditate on what you really want. What brings you happiness? What will make you smile and feel like you’ve done a great job? And please don’t feel like this has to be the perfect list. As time goes by, it’s perfectly fine to make adjustments based on new things you’ve learned.

Just make sure you’re not changing the goals downward because you don’t think you’ll achieve them. Grant Cardone has some pretty firm words for managers who do that.

Additionally, this book is full of exercises to help you break through your limiting beliefs about success and why it’s your duty to be successful. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed about wanting to be fit and wealthy. Think how you’ll be able to help others when you achieve your goals.

Why Being Average Hurts You

Does anyone want to go to an average restaurant? Or how many people want to see an average movie or buy an average car? That’s why you need good focus and a large vision of success. You stand out from the average competition. The book will teach you that you want to dominate your competition, and you can’t be the authority if you appear to be just like everyone else.

For example, if you’re in real estate, would you want to be referred to as a real estate agent? It’s a generic term, isn’t it? But, what if people referred to you as the real estate agent who specializes in first time buyers in the area where you want to purchase?

Think really big. Then identify where you want to dominate with your business, and become the go-to person.

Fear Is the Great Indicator

Did you know the feeling of fear is a lot like the feeling of excitement? It’s only your brain that decides what it is. So when you’re getting afraid, that means you’re on the path to greatness. Tell yourself you’re excited about how you’re moving forward.

Grant Cardone says that if you have no concerns, it signals you’re only doing what’s comfortable. You want to be scared until you have to push yourself to new levels to experience that fear again.

Feeling the fear also teaches you to take massive action. It’s only through this action that we are able to grow and make progress.

Think about the last time you did something that scared you. Chances are you had to face the fear and take action to move through it. Now look at how you are today. You’re not as afraid because you know you’ll survive, right?

So fear is how we get better in all areas of our lives. And as Grand Cardone says – snuff out your fear!

And So On

The book expands from there discussing the myth of time management and how to help you break free of excuses and determine if your actions are successful or unsuccessful. We all have the same number of hours in a day. The people who are successful know how to focus on their priorities. They know how to say ‘no.’ They stay in touch with what motivates them.

So maximize every second that you have in your life.

My Favorite Part of the Book

This book has inspired me to think big. Here’s a clip from a speech I gave talking about how we need to think big about bringing Inner Origin to the United States.

Doesn’t it just make you so excited to think about expanding your success in every area of your life?

So don’t just think about walking a 5k. Think about running a marathon!

What Did I Disagree With

I’m not sure I disagreed with anything. I noticed he doesn’t talk about masterminds or accountability partners. I am assuming he’s so motivated that he never needs them. When you’re first getting started, it may help to have someone help you stay connected to your goals and what motivates you if you find you’re having difficulties doing that on your own.

In another chapter called Customer Satisfaction Is the Wrong Target, at first, I thought Grant Cardone was saying you shouldn’t focus on customer satisfaction, and I didn’t agree with that. But as I dug down in, he is really saying that you provide exceptional service to everyone. You set high expectations and then over-deliver that. But he doesn’t focus on it as a metric. He assumes that people are happy because they’re getting more value that they’re paying.

That does sound good in theory. However, I think it’s also important to check in occasionally to verify that you’re really over-delivering and people are delighted with what you’re providing.

What Is Your Takeaway

Embrace the idea that you want to have bigger problems to solve. Don’t think you have to have everything all figured out before you start. Just learn to say yes, and then figure out how to do it. Those are the problems you want to have.

Now, you may not want to embrace the 10X everything with your life, and that’s just fine. This book will inspire you to want to do more this year. It’s good to connect with your imagination and think about how much more you could do.

Then write it all down. Grant Cardone writes his goals down twice a day – once when he gets up and once before he goes to bed. He lives his life for his goals. Not all of his goals are financial, and that may surprise you.

Most of Grant’s goals are for what he can do once he’s achieved financial success. For example, he wants to make a positive difference in his community and politics. And another is to be in perfect health and physical condition. He recognizes that our goals need to encompass all the areas of our lives.

Where Can You Get the Book

Look for this book online or at Dymocks and other good bookstores in your area. If you enjoy listening to books, the Audible version is read by the author. I always enjoy when that happens because they get so excited during certain parts of their book. Plus, Grant Cardone will go “off script” and add in more material than what’s in the book.