The 10x rule ffirs indd I 3/14/11 10: 22: 47 AM ffirs indd II 3/14/11 10: 22: 47 am the 10x rule The Only Difference Between Success and Failure Grant Cardone John Wiley & Sons, Inc

9. Be Dangerous
Since you were a child, someone has been trying to keep you 
from danger. “Be careful” is the mantra that parents repeat 
to their children while buying products from entire industries 
that have been created just to “safe proof” a home in order 
to protect a child. Unfortunately, many people get to the 
point where they’re so intent upon avoiding danger that they 
cease to truly live life! If you look back over your life, you’ll 
probably see that you have done yourself just as much—or 
even more—harm by being “careful” than by being dangerous. 
C22.indd 166
C22.indd 166
3/4/11 3:26:54 PM
3/4/11 3:26:54 PM

---

Successful or Unsuccessful? 
167
Think about the last time you got hurt. You were probably 
trying to protect something right before it happened. Being 
careful requires you to take actions cautiously—and there 
is no way that you will ever hit 10X activity levels by being 
cautious. Massive action demands that you throw caution to 
the wind, even if it puts you in the path of danger. Working 
with powerful people is dangerous in and of itself. Do you 
want to get investment dollars from a billionaire? A salary that 
pays you a million dollars a year? Take your company public? 
If so, you have to be willing to be dangerous because more will 
be expected of you with each of those situations. To do some-
thing big, you have to embrace danger. The way to ensure that 
danger doesn’t kill you is to be suffi ciently trained so that you 
can get into the ring and come out the victor.
10. Create Wealth
Attitude toward wealth is an especially signifi cant distinc-
tion between the fi nancially successful and the unsuccess-
ful. Poor people believe they need to work in order to 
make money and then spend their lives either spending it 
on nothing of importance or conserving like crazy in order 
to protect it. The very successful know that the money is 
already created. They think in terms of generating wealth 
through the exchange of new ideas, products, services, 
and solutions. The very successful realize that they’re not 
bound by shortages. They know that money exists in abun-
dance and fl ows to those who create products, services, and 
solutions—and that wealth is not limited to a monetary 
supply. The closer you are to the massive fl ows of money, 
the better chance you have of creating wealth for your own 
endeavors. 
Think in terms of creating money and wealth, not 
salaries and conservation of funds. Figure out how to create 
wealth through the exchange of great ideas, quality service, and 
C22.indd 167
C22.indd 167
3/4/11 3:26:54 PM
3/4/11 3:26:54 PM

---

168
THE 10X RULE
effective problem solving. Look, for example, at how power-
ful banks behave. They collect currency through methods that 
compel other people to either give them money or borrow it 
from them. Consider the way in which wealthy people own real 
estate that others pay for by way of rent. They produce money 
solely by owning this property and therefore create wealth. 
People who invest in their own companies do so in order to 
increase their wealth, not their incomes. The unsuccessful, on 
the other hand, spend money on things that affl uent individuals 
use to create wealth. Income is taxed; wealth is not. 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.