The Ten Times Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

Chapter 18
Criticism Is a Sign of Success

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Although getting criticized is certainly not the best feeling in the world, I have
great news: Receiving criticism is a surefire sign that you are well on your way.
Criticism is not something that you want to avoid; rather, it's what you must
expect to come your way once you start hitting it big.
Criticism is defined as the judgment of the merits and faults of the work or
actions of one individual by another. Although “criticizing” does not necessarily
mean “to imply fault,” the word is often taken to mean prejudice or disapproval.
The dictionary fails to include the following helpful bit of information: When
you start taking the right amount of action and therefore creating success,
criticism is often not far behind.
Of course, most people don't like being criticized. However, I've found that it
comes as a natural result of getting attention. This may be why some people
avoid attention in the first place—as an attempt to dodge judgment. However,
there's no way to achieve serious levels of success without getting some
attention. Yes, people will eye you and make it clear that they disapprove of
what you're doing. Let's face it: No matter what choices you make in life,
someone is going to criticize you somewhere along the way. Wouldn't you rather
receive it from people who are jealous of your success than from your family,
boss, or bill collectors for not taking enough action?
When you start taking enough action, it won't be long before you're judged by
people who aren't taking any. If you're generating substantial success, people
will start to pay attention to you. Some will admire you, some will want to learn
from you, but unfortunately, most will envy you. These are the people whose
excuses for not doing enough will morph into reasons why what you are doing is
wrong.
You need to expect and anticipate this as one of the signs of success. It will
come when you start really cranking at 10X levels—often before your
accomplishment is even evident. Beware: This criticism can come in many
forms. It may first show up as advice from others: “Why are you spending so
much energy on that one client? He never buys anything” or “You should enjoy
life more! It's not all work, you know.” These are the kinds of things that people
say to you to make themselves feel better—because your abundance highlights
their deficiency. Remember: Success is not a popularity contest. It is your duty,
obligation, and responsibility.
A buddy of mine who is in the fence business in Louisiana once admitted to
me, “Grant, I don't want attention. The minute I get it, competitors start coming

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after me. I want to fly under the radar so no one knows what I'm doing.”
Although that's certainly one way to approach success, you can't “fly under the
radar” for too long and expect to ever make it to the top. Laying low in order to
avoid attention (and consequently, criticism) probably means that you're holding
yourself back to some degree. Your fear of being attacked is keeping you from
going for it completely. However, once the naysayers realize and acknowledge
that you aren't going away—and that your success is something they should
imitate, not judge—they will give up and find someone else to pick on.
Weak and overwhelmed individuals respond to others' success by attacking it.
The moment you elect to dominate or acquire territory, you run the risk of
becoming a target for these people. You see this in politics constantly; when
neither side has a real solution, they merely criticize and lay into one another—
and that doesn't do anyone any good. Criticism of any individual or group should
signal to the recipient that the person flinging mud is threatened by the entity he
or she is belittling. People who habitually disparage others like this usually do
not have solutions to their situation—except to degrade other players.
The only way to handle criticism is to foresee it as an element of your success
formula. Much like fear, it's a sign that you are making the right moves in the
right volumes, getting enough attention, and making enough of a splash. One of
my clients recently called my company to complain that my staff had been
following up with him too aggressively. I called to ask him what the problem
was. After listening to him malign my employees for doing what was essentially
their job, I said, “Knock it off. They're simply doing what they know is right
because they know we can help you. The fact that you haven't made a decision to
move forward and pull the trigger is what should be criticized here—but I will
refrain from doing so because it won't do either of us any good. Now, let's stop
the negativity and do something positive to move your company forward.” I then
rewarded my staff for aggressively following up with the client. Receiving
complaints about “too much follow-up” is an indication that my staff is moving
in the right direction. I refused to allow this client's protests to stop us and
supported my staff in their efforts. We all understand that criticism is part of the
success cycle, and I won't apologize for any employee of mine who is seeking
success. And in case you were wondering—we 
did
close the deal. This very
same client now tells people with admiration and praise that “those guys follow
up like maniacs.”
When I finished college, I got a full-time sales job rather than taking a position
in the area in which I had received my degree. Within a couple of years, my sales
results had taken me to the top 1 percent of all the salespeople in that industry—

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and way ahead of the people with whom I worked directly. And if you think they
didn't criticize me—well, think again. Of course they did! They made jokes
about me, poked fun, tried to distract me, and even tried to convince me to cease
the very actions that had gotten me to where I was. That is what lower
performers do; they make others wrong for doing what is necessary in order to
make themselves feel okay about doing nothing! The highest performers—the
winners—respond by studying successful people and duplicating success. They
train themselves to reach top performers' levels. Because the lower performers
are not willing to step up and take responsibility to increase their production,
they can only seek to tear down those who are performing at higher levels.
When my book 
If You're Not First, You're Last
hit the 
New York Times
best-
seller list, some of my supposed competitors immediately began criticizing me.
One person called the book's title “arrogant.” Another asked, “Who does
Cardone think he is?” Yet another suggested that I was “getting too big for [my]
own good.” One person even called me to tell me to get a new editor because he
claimed that the grammar was wrong. Did I pay attention to any of these
comments? Not for a second. I had a 
New York Times
best-seller!
From what I can tell, criticism precedes admiration and—like it or not—goes
hand in hand with success. Keep pouring on the success, and sooner or later, the
very same people who were putting you down will be admiring you for what you
have done. Those who initially judged your actions will later be singing your
praises—just as long as you take the criticism as a sign of your growing success
and keep the accelerator on your actions at 10X. After all, what better way to
retaliate against criticism than to keep succeeding?

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