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

19. Break Traditional Ideas
The most successful of the successful go beyond the concept 
of mere change and challenge traditional thinking. Look at 
organizations like Google, Apple, and Facebook, and you will 
see companies that challenge traditions and create new ways 
of doing things. They break that which already works in order 
to get to a better place. The most successful are looking to 
create traditions—not follow already established ones. Do not 
be a prisoner of the thinking agreed upon by others. Figure 
out ways to take advantage of the traditional thinking that 
holds others back. 
The successful are called “thought leaders” who design the 
future with forward thinking. I built my fi rst company on the 
notion of breaking traditional ideas that one industry had long 
accepted by showing it a better way to take care of customers. 
Highly successful individuals are not concerned with the way 
things “have always been done”; they’re interested in fi nding 
new and better ways. They look at why automobiles, airplanes, 
newspapers, and homes have changed so little over the past 
50 years and try to determine ways to create new markets. 
A word of warning: These people are also able to maintain their 
companies’ existing structures while disputing conventional 
concepts and bringing new products to market. They don’t 
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suggest change for the sake of change; they do so in order to 
design superior products, relationships, and environments. The 
successful are willing to challenge tradition in order to discover 
new and better ways to accomplish their goals and dreams. 
20. Be Goal-Oriented
A goal is some desirable objective—typically something yet to 
be achieved—that a person or company needs in order to move 
forward. Successful people are highly goal-oriented and always 
pay more attention to the target than the problem. They are 
seemingly able to bend bullets because of their commitment 
and focus on the goal. Far too many folks spend more time 
planning what they will get at the grocery store than they do 
setting the most important goals of their lives. 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. 
Goals are incredibly important to me. I begin and fi nish 
each day by writing them down and reviewing them. 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 diffi culty of the moment. The 
ability to remain focused on the goal and keep your orienta-
tion on that goal’s achievement is vital to success. Although I 
try to stay focused on the present, I want to keep most of my 
attention on the bigger picture of my goals rather than on just 
the task I’m accomplishing at that moment.