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

31. “Reach Up” in Relationships
If it were up to me, this would be a basic course for every 
year that someone attended school. It would include drills 
in which people are encouraged to do things that they are 
not comfortable doing. The successful constantly talk about 
having people around them who are smarter, brighter, and 
more creative. It’s unlikely that you’ll hear one of them say, 
“I got here by surrounding myself with more people just 
like me.” Yet the average person typically spends his or her 
time with like-minded people or even those who bring less to 
the table than they can. 
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Successful or Unsuccessful? 
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Make a habit of “reaching up” in all of your relationships—
toward people who are better connected, better educated, and 
even more successful. These individuals have much more to 
share than your supposed “equals.” This habit is connected 
to their willingness to change, challenge tradition, grow, 
and do what others can’t fathom. Reach up—never sideways 
and never down! You must base your decisions on what will 
be the greatest investment to move you toward your ethical 
commitment to create success for yourself, your family, and 
your business. The people with whom you surround yourself 
will have a great deal to do with whether you achieve your 
goals—or not. You don’t want to go horizontal. You want to go 
up—and you do this by associating yourself with bigger think-
ers, bigger dreamers, and bigger players. Black belts don’t 
learn new skills from white belts. They can be reminded of the 
basics, but a white belt cannot take the black belt to a red belt. 
And you can’t become a scratch golfer by playing with bogie 
golfers. You have to interact with people who are better than 
you. It’s the only way to become better yourself.