| Source: [10x Is Easier Than 2x Summary of Key Ideas and Review | Dan Sullivan with Benjamin Hardy - Blinkist](https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/10x-is-easier-than-2x-en) |
Summary
Going 10x is the path to a life beyond your wildest dreams. In both your personal and professional life, thinking big (or exponentially) is key. Though discarding most of your previous work might feel daunting, you’ll quickly realize that going 10x is ultimately simpler, better, and more fun than is widely assumed. There’s limitless transformation and reward for those who choose to shoot for the moon.
Notes
Thinking 10x means thinking big/exponentially, as opposed to small/linearly. It seems very scary at first, but is paradoxically much easier than it seems!
10x is simpler. If you set a 10x goal, the options of getting there are much more confined than a 2x goal, which lowers decision fatigue / paralysis and feels freeing. It’s better to fall a long way off 10x than it is to barely miss 2x. In other words, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll among the stars.” Also, there’s much less competition in 10x fields due to the scary - but harmless - barrier to entry.
- Pareto principle: In any context, 80% of outputs will be due to just 20% of inputs. You can ignore / delegate the other 80% of inputs.
- When going for 10x, you will quickly free yourself from anything unnecessary, and focus on the 20%.
Your identity is influenced by unconscious beliefs such as not being “the type of person” to do something. The standards of someone who believes they can achieve 10x will be vastly different from someone who doesn’t believe. There’s a four step process to help with your identity:
- Commit to transformation. You have to want to grow for growth to happen.
- Summon the courage to shed your 2x goals, identity, and standards.
- Through action, develop the new capabilities your 10x goal, identity, and standards require.
- Gain self-confidence when seeing results, empowering you to go 10x again and again.
Wanting vs. needing: Needing (a scarcity mindset, getting just enough to fulfill needs) is society’s default mode. Wanting (an abundance mindset) is what leads to 10x goals. No one “needs” exponential growth, but you can break these limits and become someone who does.
10x goals are deeply personal, and they are unique. There’s less competition, since you’ll be specialized. Because of this, it’s also more fun!
The gap vs. the gain: Those in the gap measure themselves versus their “ideal” version, or who they should be (in the future). The issue is that ideals can provide direction, but can’t be reached. Those in the gain measure themselves from where they started. Instead of feeling less than their future self, they’re always feeling more than their past self.
- To practice this, think about your past. When have you made a 10x jump before? What about multiple? You’ll see that you have the ability to make 10x jumps!
Practical ways to achieve 10x: Abandon the industrial concepts of structured time - that is, a specific 9-5 work day schedule every day. Instead, go with the flow, with both performance time and recovery time. The recovery time (intentionally taking days off from any work) is an essential part of this! Also, empower others to manage themselves, without you needing to step in. Delegate - hire a personal assistant if you’d like. You want to be focusing on your unique abilities as much as possible.
Last updated: 11 August 2023