The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone

The Book in A Few Sentences

You have a moral obligation to be successful and, whether you are or not, your mind is keeping a running tab. Most people fail because their goals are too modest and uninspiring, and they don’t put in enough effort to be successful. To be successful, you must set goals for yourself that are 10X greater than what you believe you can achieve and take 10X more actions than you think are necessary to achieve your goals.

The 10X Rule summary

This is my book summary of The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone. My summary includes what I believe are the the key ideas, insights and lessons from the book along with direct quotes from the author.

Regardless of achievements, you will always desire more success.
Nearly every problem is due to not taking enough action.
You must be willing to do what others won’t do, even if it seems unreasonable.
Most people make the mistake of lowering their targets when they should raise them high enough that they get excited about them.
Success is vital to our well-being and sense of self.
People who fail tend to say “success isn’t everything” in order to diminish the importance of something they have’t been able to attain.
Approach success as a duty, obligation and responsibility.
There is no limit to what can be achieved, collectively and individually.
When you raise your targets, creative solutions will come naturally.
If you want to be in control, act instead of being acted upon.
You can’t always control what happens, but you can control how you respond to what happens.
There are four types of actions: 1) Do nothing 2) Retreat 3) Take normal levels of action 4) Take massive action.
When we do nothing, we tend to justify our situation.
People who retreat tend to think there is “nothing you can do.”
Expend effort only in the direction of success.
Normal levels of action will never create real success.
Approach every day like your life depends on the actions you take.
Massive action means new problems will arise and people will criticize you.
Massive action is unstoppable. Average action crumbles easily.
Think big enough, and actions and persistence follow.
Big goals aligned to purpose energize and fuel actions.
Take so much action and create so much success that others want to be like you.
Your biggest problem is obscurity.
Do what others are unwilling to do in quantities they can’t comprehend.
Middle-class mentality won’t create financial security.
Be so fanatical about success that the world knows you won’t go away.
Creating significance requires complete obsession with an idea.
There’s no shortage of energy, so you can keep going all-in after every failure.
Be the tortoise and the hare.
Regardless of circumstances, always be acting and producing in 10X quantities.
Fear is your indicator to go. Keep pushing until you feel fear and then push past your fear.
If you want happiness, security, confidence and fulfillment, use your gifts and energy to succeed.
People who are unsuccessful attack people who are successful.
Lower performers make higher performers wrong in order to make themselves feel better.
Keep succeeding, and eventually the naysayers will begin admiring you.
If you want satisfied customers, first you need customers to satisfy.
Break through obscurity and be everywhere at all times.
10x thinking means believing anything is possible.
Even if you don’t know what to do, think “I will figure it out,” not “I don’t know.”
Challenge doesn’t matter. If you put in adequate effort you’ll be rewarded.
Challenges motivate successful people. Feeling overwhelmed means you’re not taking enough action.
Winning in life is vital.
Be someone who solves problems, not someone who creates them.
Successful people share a common trait: Persistence in the face of resistance.
Be willing to take risks daily.
Reasonable people do ordinary things. Unreasonable people do extraordinary things.
Successful people create wealth. Others conserve money.
Massive action is a discipline that’s developed daily.
If you want to experience more in life, say “yes” more often.
Commitment means doing whatever is necessary to be successful.
Don’t go half way. Instead, see every action through to success.
When you are always acting now, you will be amazed at how much you get done.
Dispel fear by taking action.
Successful people know that change means opportunity.
Successful people are always seeking better ways of doing things.
Begin and end your day by writing down your goals.
Don’t think in terms of a job. Instead, be on a mission.
To stay motivated, keep creating new reasons to keep going.
Unsuccessful people value activity. Successful people value results.
Reach your full potential. Surround yourself with people and things that inspire you to think and act big.
Commit first. Then figure out the details.
Never stop learning.
Unsuccessful people seek comfort. Successful people seek discomfort.
Be better by engaging with people better than you.
Make these ideas who you are, not something you “do.”
Focus partly on now but mostly on the future you’re creating.
Better to commit and be disappointed than to never commit and be disappointed.
Fear means you’re moving in the right direction.

Direct quotes from the book

“Never decrease a target. Instead, increase actions.”
“…the right acts done to the right degree over time will make you successful.”
“Ask yourself how close you are to your full capability.”
“If you don’t consider it your duty to live up to your potential, then you simply won’t.”
“…your achievement does not prevent or limit my ability to achieve.”
“…success if not something that happens to you; it’s something that happens because of you and because of the actions you take.”
“Remember that success if your duty, obligation, and responsibility.”
“Work is better than vacation—and it is important to have a purpose to wake up each day.” - Shimon Peres
“I suggest that you become obsessed about the things you want; otherwise, you are going to spend a lifetime being obsessed with making up excuses as to why you didn’t get the life you wanted.”
“If you allow the economy to determine your choice, you will never be in control of your own economy.”
“Don’t rest, and don’t stop—ever.”
“You can never take too much action or accumulate too much success.”
“The more time you devote to the object of your apprehension, the stronger it becomes. So starve the fear of its favorite food by removing time from its menu.”
“…an imbalance is is always going to occur when you don’t do enough with the time you have.”
“Work should provide a purpose, a mission, and a sense of accomplishment. These things are vital to every single person’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being.”
“Excuses are never the reason for why you did or didn’t do something. They’re just a revision of the facts that you make up in order to help yourself feel better about what happened (or didn’t).”
“Excuses are for people who refuse to take responsibility for their life and how it turns out.”
“…when you keep pushing forward, something will result.”