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

30. Be Uncomfortable
Those who succeed were—at one point or another in their lives—willing to put
themselves in situations that were uncomfortable, whereas the unsuccessful seek
comfort from all their decisions. The most important things I have done in my
life were 
not
the things I was comfortable doing; in fact, many of them made me
very uneasy. Whether it was moving to a new city, cold calling a client, meeting
new people, doing a new presentation, or venturing into new sectors, most of it
was uncomfortable for me until I got used to doing it. It is so tempting to
become content with your surroundings, daily rituals, and habits—most of which
are probably not furthering your mission. It feels good when things are familiar.
However, successful people are willing to put themselves in new and unfamiliar
situations. That doesn't mean that they are always changing just for the sake of
changing; however, they know that getting too comfortable, too relaxed, and too
familiar causes a person to become soft and lose his or her creativity and hunger
to stay out front. So be willing to be uncomfortable, and do what makes other
people uncomfortable as well. It is a sure sign that you're on your way to
success.

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31. “Reach Up” in Relationships
If it were up to me, this would be a basic course for every year that someone
attended school. It would include drills in which people are encouraged to do
things that they are not comfortable doing. The successful constantly talk about
having people around them who are smarter, brighter, and more creative. It's
unlikely that you'll hear one of them say, “I got here by surrounding myself with
more people just like me.” Yet the average person typically spends his or her
time with like-minded people or even those who bring less to the table than they
can.
Make a habit of “reaching up” in all of your relationships—toward people who
are better connected, better educated, and even more successful. These
individuals have much more to share than your supposed “equals.” This habit is
connected to their willingness to change, challenge tradition, grow, and do what
others can't fathom. Reach up—never sideways and 
never
down! You must base
your decisions on what will be the greatest investment to move you toward your
ethical commitment to create success for yourself, your family, and your
business. The people with whom you surround yourself will have a great deal to
do with whether you achieve your goals—or not. You don't want to go
horizontal. You want to go up—and you do this by associating yourself with
bigger thinkers, bigger dreamers, and bigger players. Black belts don't learn new
skills from white belts. They can be reminded of the basics, but a white belt
cannot take the black belt to a red belt. And you can't become a scratch golfer by
playing with bogie golfers. You have to interact with people who are better than
you. It's the only way to become better yourself.