(deep sigh): Haaaaaaaaa…… The 10X Rule…… what to say/write when you encounter people like Gary Vaynerchuk, Brendon Burchard, Dan Lok, Robert Kiyosaki, Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins…or Grant Cardone? What is truth, and what is illusion when it comes to these people? Are they individuals who first achieved some success, then began to (media) expose themselves more and gain armies of followers, convincing them that they can help them be happier/more successful, while (incidentally) increasing their already acquired wealth? Or did they start by aggressively exposing themselves and presenting to people, convincing them that they are the right choice, and then building their wealth on the beliefs of these people? When you talk to people a little (or scour the internet), you see that opinions are quite divided, aren’t they? For some, they are something to aspire to, for others just a bunch of fraudsters who manipulate people and enrich themselves at their expense.
Where is the truth? Probably the famous diplomatic answer is the most accurate – the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Maybe a better answer would be – it doesn’t matter who is right. If you truly believe/feel/know that you can learn something from any of them (or all of them) that you can use for your (and others’) knowledge about wealth/happiness, then go ahead. 🙂
If you, at all, roam social networks (and the internet in general), and “accidentally” type (in English) words like “motivation”, “inspiration”, “sales”, “real estate”, or similar, there’s a high chance that Grant Cardone will “pop up” on your screen. The man has a ton of “titles” (let’s call them that) like “bestselling author”, “successful businessman”, “sought-after speaker” and so on. However, if we had to highlight his strongest points, they would be (both according to him and apparently others) investing in real estate and sales skills.
Grant Cardone, especially in recent years, has become popular for his approach, called “The 10X Rule”.
“The 10X Rule” (which is also the name of this book) is, in my opinion, Cardone’s version of the concept of taking action on a much higher level and with more intensity (massive action).
You know how… it’s hard to say whether this book is good or bad. The fact is that Cardone wrote this book in his later years, and he has undoubtedly gone through a lot in life (if we are to believe Cardone and the internet). It’s not that the man has nothing to share with the world…but, somehow I got the strange impression that this book could have been shorter…maybe it didn’t even need to be written, who knows… In the category of motivational-inspirational books, “10X” is certainly not a masterpiece.
The point is that Cardone wants to encourage and “fire you up” to aim high in life. Because, if you don’t aim high, then you don’t have a strong desire to achieve much in your life. You’ve probably heard people say that in life, people are disappointed not because they set their goals too high and they are hard to achieve, but because they set them too low and at an easily achievable level, and then don’t have strong motivation.
As we mentioned, with Cardone, everything is about doing, thinking, believing… x 10.
In the book “The 10X Rule”, Cardone points out:
- the most common mistakes people make (poorly defined goals, significantly underestimating the necessary effort, spending too much time on competition instead of dominating, and underestimating the amount of difficulties to be overcome)
- why success is the most important (according to Cardone, success is: 1. important; 2. your moral obligation; 3. there is no scarcity of it)
- about our choices of action (no action, retreat, action at a normal level, and taking massive action)
- how to dominate (make a decision and do what others refuse to do)
- how during a crisis one should not retreat, but continue with expansion
- how criticism is a necessary companion of success
- how one should not think about satisfying clients, but increasing their number (the trick is that from the start you set a high level of service quality, so you don’t focus on it much)
- how quality comes with quantity (when you think about it, it makes some logical sense)
- what are the traits/qualities that characterize successful people (there are 32 of them and each is given attention)
Probably some of you will think/say: “Well, all this is nice and true. But, man, all this is already more or less known!” And here is both the flaw and virtue of the book. If you haven’t much touched on books about success, it will be an interesting read for you. But, if you’re already deep in this material, this title won’t be some “success bible” for you.
Summa summarum, the essence of Cardone’s approach is massive action and expansion, never retreat, and focus on 10X, both in business and personal life.
Of course, there are plenty of anecdotes from his (business) life, mistakes he made, a lot of self-praise (but written in a way that always makes him appear as a victim or cool in his stories 😀). Some might say the man has a sizable ego and brags a lot, but what can you do…
The writing style is direct and simple, so the book is easy to read. What is interesting (or unusual) is that at the end of the book there is a glossary with explanations of some terms. To be honest, I think this section will only mean something to an absolute beginner/novice… though I’m not sure in what. Business? Politics? It seems to me that this is a glossary of general culture, and I’m pretty sure you will recognize the meaning of more than 90% of the terms (to be honest, I only didn’t know the meaning of two abbreviations… which I probably will never need anyway 🙂).
And so… you know… it’s hard to share some final impressions about the book “The 10X Rule”. Grant Cardone was, if I’m not mistaken, about 50 years old when he wrote this book. The fact is that the man has some life and business experience behind him. There is also his (net) value of “only” 300 million dollars. But was this book necessary? It’s not a bad read, but it’s not essential either.
For fans of Grant Cardone (and especially people in sales), this book will be great. Others, well… it won’t hurt to read it… after all, it’s written by someone who has achieved something in life. But, don’t expect something revolutionary or sobering. 🙂
And you, dear reader, what do you think of the 10X concept? 🙂
(Originally reviewed: 22/02/2020)
Grant Cardone’s Website
Price of the book in Serbia: Makart | Delfi | Dereta | Laguna
Ratings (and purchasing) on international sites: Goodreads | Amazon (US) / Amazon (UK) | Waterstones | Barnes & Noble | Audible (US) / Audible (UK)
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