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Exercise
Before you read this chapter, what was your understanding
of the middle class?
What are the income levels of the middle class?
What does middle class mean to you now?
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CHAPTER
12
Obsession Isn’t a Disease;
It’s a Gift
T
he dictionary defi nes the term “obsessed” as “the domi-
nation of one’s thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea,
image, or desire.” Although the rest of the world tends to treat
this mind-set like a disease, I believe that it’s the perfect adjec-
tive for how you must approach success. To dominate your
sector, your goal, dream, or ambition, you must fi rst dominate
your every interest, thought, and consideration. Obsession is
not a bad thing here; it is a requirement to get where you want
to go. In fact, you want to be so fanatical about success that
the world knows you will not compromise or go away. And
until you become completely obsessed with your mission, no
one will take you seriously. Until the world understands that
you’re not going away—that you are 100 percent committed
and have complete and utter conviction and will persist in pur-
suing your project—you will not get the attention you need
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92
THE 10X RULE
and the support you want. In this context, obsession is like
a fi re; you want to build it so big that people feel compelled
to sit around it in admiration. And as with a fi re, you have to
keep adding wood to sustain the heat and the glow. You obsess
over how to keep your fi re burning—or it will turn to ashes.
To create a 10X reality, you have to follow up every
action with an obsession to see it through to success. You
need to stay seriously motivated to take 10X actions every day.
Though people take action constantly, we know that much of
this isn’t the kind of action that’s going to get them anywhere.
Most are doing nothing or have already given up, and others
retreat in an attempt to avoid failure and negative experiences.
Huge segments of the population are merely operating at nor-
mal levels in order to get by and fi t in. Each of these groups
lacks the obsession to see their actions all the way through to
success. Most people make only enough effort for it to feel like work,
whereas the most successful follow up every action with an obsession
to see it through to a reward.
If you become obsessed with your idea, purpose, or
goal, you will become equally addicted to the idea of mak-
ing it work. Anyone who makes it his or her mission to create
long-term, positive 10X survival will have to approach each
moment, decision, action, and day with this level of fi xation.
After all, if your ideas do not excessively preoccupy your own
thoughts, then how can you ever expect them to preoccupy
the thoughts of others? Something has to absorb your thoughts
every second of every day—so what should it be? Be obsessed
with something. Make your dreams, goals, and mission your
mind’s and actions’ dominant concern!
The word “obsessed” tends to have a negative connotation
because many people believe that obsession with something
(or someone) is usually destructive or harmful. But show me
one person who has achieved greatness without being obsessed
on some level. You simply cannot do it. Any individual or
group that accomplished something signifi cant was completely
obsessed with the idea of it. Whether it was an artist, musician,
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Obsession Isn’t a Disease; It’s a Gift
93
inventor, businessman, change agent, or philanthropist, their
greatness was a result of their fi xation.
Someone once asked me if I’ve always been as obsessed
with success and work as I am today. I answered, “Absolutely
not!” At fi rst, I was—until about the age of 10. Then I let it go
and didn’t become obsessed until I was 25. I have remained that
way—to some greater or lesser degree—ever since, and I regret
those years I was not obsessed with my dreams and goals. I can
tell you that my life has gone much better since I’ve been pas-
sionate about my dreams and goals—even when things went
wrong.
I recently saw a television interview with Israeli President
Shimon Peres. Mr. Peres was 87 years old at the time and had
done 900 interviews over the prior 18 months. His obsession
with his mission makes him seem youthful and energetic—
despite his age. Even those who may not believe in his mission
have to admire his commitment to it, which is evidenced by
his claim that “work is better than vacation—and it is impor-
tant to have a purpose to wake up each day.” Countless truly
successful people agree with the sentiment that their careers
do not feel like work but rather something they love to do.
That is obsession at its best.
Children are a wonderful example of inherent obses-
sion. They are almost instantly fi xated with any task they
encounter—learning, mimicking, discovering, playing, and
utilizing their full energy for whatever captures their interest.
Unless some part of their development has been delayed, no
child approaches his or her activities without thorough obses-
sion and complete preoccupation of whatever they desire—be
it a pacifi er, a toy, food, daddy’s attention, or an urgent need
to be changed. In this way, we see how obsession is a natural
human state. It doesn’t become a “problem” until a parent,
caretaker, teacher—and eventually, society as a whole—
begins suppressing this fi xation. They often make the child
feel as if his or her commitment to a goal is wrong rather
than something natural and very right! At this point, many
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THE 10X RULE
children begin to assume that their intense interest in life and
discovery—their innate commitment to be fully engaged—
is somehow wrong or unnatural. They have essentially been
bullied by others—who have long ago given up on their own
obsessions—in order to change their behavior. This is when
a person moves from higher levels of commitment and action
to “average” levels.
Lest you think I’m talking about something with which I
have no personal experience, I should tell you that I just had
my fi rst child. I will admit that although her obsessive nature
rears its head at inconvenient times for me, I never want to
suppress that. It is my fervent wish that my daughter becomes
obsessed with whatever her dreams are, never gives up achiev-
ing them, and then spends the rest of her life improving on
them! I love the feeling that comes with being obsessed about
an idea, and I admire seeing others who are that fanatical.
Who isn’t moved by the people or groups that goes after the
things in which they believe with all their heart—who is so
consumed by their ideas that they wake up to their dreams
each day, work on them all day long, and then go to sleep and
dream about them again all night? As soon as other people
see the intention, conviction, and commitment in the passion-
ate individual’s thoughts, eyes, and movements, they quickly
get out of the way. I suggest that you become obsessed about the
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