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

28. Be Interested in the Group
You can only do as well as the people around you. If everyone around you is
sick, underperforming, and struggling, then sooner or later, you will become
afflicted like everyone else. For example, pensions are strangling city and state
governments because handfuls of people were interested in their own situation
and didn't consider the impact it would have on the group as a whole. This type
of “me first” thinking—that has no regard for the group—ultimately stifles the
very group upon which an individual depends for survival. This self-serving
approach later makes it almost impossible for the group to survive—and puts
even that which was promised at peril.
The larger population's health and well-being should be of utmost importance
to each individual member—which is something that the most successful know.
You can only be as successful as the individuals with whom you involve and
associate yourself. It doesn't matter what position you hold—whether you are
leading a group or are part of a group—your success is limited to the ability of
those around you. This does not mean that successful people aren't interested in
themselves. It's just that they realize that they have to expend energy and express
interest in their associates because they know that if they are not doing well,
even the most well-to-do will be dragged down with them. It is actually self-
serving, to some degree, to care about what happens to everyone else. You want
everyone on your team winning and improving because this is likely to improve
your game. For that reason, you always want to do everything you can to bring
the rest of the team to higher levels.
29. Be Dedicated to Continuous Learning
The most successful CEOs are reported to read an average of 60 books and

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attend more than six conferences per year—whereas the average American
worker reads an average of less than one book and makes 319 times less income.
Although the media often discuss the disparity between the rich and the poor,
they frequently fail to cover the amount of time and energy the wealthy have
committed to reading, studying, and educating themselves. Successful people
make time for conventions, symposiums, and reading. There has never been a
book, audio program, download, webinar, or speech from which I have not
benefited—even from the ones that sucked.
The most successful people I know read everything they can get their hands
on. They approach a $30 book as though it has the potential to make them a
million dollars. They see every opportunity to train and educate themselves as
the most solid and sure investment they can make. Unsuccessful people, on the
other hand, simply worry about the cost of a book or seminar without ever
giving consideration to the benefits it will provide. So join the ranks of
successful people who know that their income, wealth, health, and future are
dependent upon their ability to continue to seek out new information and never
stop learning.