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

187
CHAPTER
23
Getting Started with 10X
S
o where do you even get started with all this? What kinds 
of challenges might you run into? And how do you make 
10X a truly persistent discipline? All you really have to do is 
look at the list of what successful people do to determine what 
you need to do. When to start? Well, remember: There are 
only two times that exist for successful people. You want to 
focus to some degree on now but keep most of your attention 
on the future you desire to create. You certainly can’t start 
yesterday, and if you wait until tomorrow, you won’t be a suc-
cess because you will have violated an important tenet of the 
successful: Act now and then keep acting with the knowledge 
that enough actions taken now will create the future. When 
successful people become lazy, they add time to their deci-
sions. At that point, they are probably more concerned with 
protecting what they have than with creating new levels of 
success. And conservation of success or what to do with it 
once you get it is not what this book is about!
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188
THE 10X RULE
I wrote this book at 52 years of age and have currently 
created enough success for myself, only to have an appetite for 
more. I truly believe that I have yet to entirely fulfi ll my capac-
ity or abilities. I don’t want it just for the game or the money 
but mostly because I really do consider it to be an ethical obli-
gation to utilize my potential. Whatever—or whoever—drives 
you, go get it now—and quit being reasonable with yourself.
I am undertaking a major personal and professional 
expansion as I write this—all while expanding my family and 
my philanthropic desires. Everyone in my organization and 
even my clients will tell you that when I go at something, 
I always go now with an unreasonable belief to do whatever is 
necessary to hit my targets. I am not an organizer, a great plan-
ner, or a manager. I realize that taking action without adding 
time, meetings, and overanalysis is both an asset and a defi -
ciency. The people who know me would probably also tell you 
that when I embark on a project—whether it is writing a new 
book, creating a seminar program, developing a new product, 
starting a new workout, improving my marriage, or spending 
time with my daughter—I go at it completely. I’m all in, fully 
committed, like a hungry dog on the back of a meat truck. 
I know myself fairly well. When I get involved in something, 
I am completely unreasonable with the actions I take until I get 
the results I want. I don’t make excuses for myself, nor do I let 
others make excuses. 
Now means now—not a minute from now. Start with fi rst 
things fi rst; make your initial list of goals, then a list of actions 
that will propel you in that direction. Then—without over-
thinking it—start taking those actions. A few things to keep in 
mind as you start:
Do not reduce your goals as you write them.
1. 
Do not get lost in the details of how to accomplish them 
2. 
at this point.
Ask yourself, “What actions can I take today to move me 
3. 
toward these goals?” 
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Getting Started with 10X 
189
Take whatever actions you come up with—regardless of 
4. 
what they are or how you feel.
Do not prematurely value the outcome of your actions.
5. 
Go back each day and review the list.
6. 
As you get started on this path of 10X, you may feel a 
bit overwhelmed. You might even notice a tendency to start 
talking yourself out of getting started and taking action. Don’t 
be tempted to wait. You know it doesn’t work to delay. Think 
of yourself like being a car stuck in the mud; you need just 
enough traction to move an inch, and then you can begin to 
get out. It may require that you get dirty—but it’s certainly 
better than being stuck. 
As I’ve mentioned previously, you want to be aware of 
friends and family who offer supposed “advice” because they 
love and care about you. Many of them may suggest that they 
don’t want you to be “unrealistic” and then disappointed. 
The vocabulary and mind-set of average people, even those 
you love, is always the same—be careful, play it safe, don’t be 
impractical, success isn’t everything, be satisfi ed with what 
you have, life is to be lived, money won’t make you happy, 
don’t want so much, take it easy, you don’t have experience, 
you’re too young, you’re too old—and on and on. When you 
hear what average people say and think, thank them for their 
advice. Then remind them that you want their support in 
going for it, and let them know that you would rather commit 
to your dreams and goals and be disappointed than never com-
mit and be disappointed.
Let me give you a real-life example of using 10X that 
took place for me as I was writing this book. You’ll see as you 
read the following scenario how I was able to employ many 
of the habits and traits of the successful to reach the goals 
I had set for myself—and even go beyond what I had initially 
imagined. Sometime before I wrote my last book, If You’re