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

If
You're Not First, You're Last
a 
New York Times
best-seller. (g) Make a major
push using social media to have people around the world become acquainted
with my name. Again, I didn't know how to do any of this at this point—nor did
I want to figure it out during these early steps. I know I would only become
derailed by the “how tos” and the “cannots,” and I just wanted to focus on hitting
my target.
As I considered my goal of becoming synonymous with selling, I knew I was
setting a target big enough to keep me interested. I was inspired to do anything
consistent with the answers we developed to our quality questions. Every single
action my company and I took was aimed at getting my name out there. We
didn't know anything or have any connections to television. I had written two
self-published books but didn't even know how to get a book published, much
less sold in book stores. At this time, I hadn't done any TV/news or media
interviews and assumed that sites like Facebook and Twitter were for people
who didn't have anything better to do. Yet of all the goals I had listed, I firmly
believed that getting a TV show would have the biggest bang. I know that all the
actions I took were somehow connected and were going to be vital.
I immediately went to my wife and informed her that I was somehow going to
get a TV show where I could demonstrate my ability to enter any company
anywhere and sell anything in any economy—and increase that company's sales.
I knew that this would help me avoid any potential obscurity among sales
organizations worldwide. Without reservation, she responded, “That would make
an incredible TV show! You'd be great—let's do it! How can I help?” No
questions asked—just full support.
I was extremely excited, but I did everything I could not to share my new idea
with anyone who might tell me it was impossible. I realized this was a big and

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exciting enough challenge to get all my resources behind. I also knew it wouldn't
take place overnight.
My first move was to inform my team—and emphasize that any project that
moved us in the direction of our target had to get done. I made it clear that I
didn't want to hear “I can't, we can't, it's too hard, it can't be done.” We started
making 10X moves by making calls to anyone we knew who could put me in
touch with someone involved in the media, television, and book industries. This
was somewhat of a painful step. People who work in the book and television
industries have seen more than their share of failures and have therefore come to
view projects like this in a fairly pessimistic light. They didn't hesitate to let me
know—multiple times—how long something like this would take and that I
couldn't set my expectations too high. I was hammered by the average kind of
thinking ingrained in so many people—the very kind that keeps them from
accomplishing what they want. I repeatedly received comments like “300 shows
are pitched for every single show that gets picked up,” “The networks aren't
spending money,” “A sales show is not a topic people care about,” “There are
over 750,000 books written a year,” “When you don't have a well-known name,
getting on TV is very difficult,” and on and on.
Although this might be about the time when many people consider giving up, I
didn't—and you can't either. Realize that everyone who's trying to get their
“break” is going through the same thing. I had to continually disregard the
naysayers and refocus on my goals. I would look again at what I had to do to
accomplish that goal and then do it—regardless of whether I was scared or
comfortable. Remember: Successful people embrace fear and discomfort!
I don't know if it was because of what we were doing or because we kept our
focus on what we wanted, but I think it had to be a combination of both. I hired
my first PR firm, and even though it was a complete disappointment, I didn't
give up, because I knew it was important. When the second one didn't work out,
I hired another one. We were undertaking a lot of projects simultaneously; they
all took time, energy, money, and creativity, and they were all new to us. I had no
way to gauge whether it was going to work or not. Additionally, I was doing this
at a time when the economy was terrible. Everyone was contracting. My
company—and the economy at large—was experiencing the greatest economic
reduction I'd seen in my lifetime. My clients were reducing employees by up to
40 percent. My best competitor cut his staff in half, and countless others literally
shut their doors. Entire companies were collapsing—and even complete
industries were at risk. Everyone was scared, but I kept one important point in
mind: that the most successful expand while others get smaller. They take risks

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while others conserve. So rather than cut my staff or cut our expansion, I
eliminated my own salary—and took the money I normally paid myself and used
it to fund 10X.
Even as I was challenged like never before on every front imaginable, I did
everything I could just to keep the target in focus. It wasn't easy, and there was
no guaranteed outcome, but I did everything I could to remind myself that we
could make it happen. The more committed I became, the more challenges I
faced. I almost felt as though the universe was just trying to see how strong I
was and whether I could stick to it. My PR firms would get me one measly
interview in three months, the banks were asking for more and more money, and
my income had been cut off (by me, of course—but it still hurt!). The only thing
I had going for me was my marriage, a new baby coming into the world, and my
fierce belief in my capacity to persist and work. I was in love with my 10X goal.
I knew it wasn't just good for me but that the world needed to know a new way
of doing things. To me, it wasn't just an issue of personal success; it was about
being on a mission to help. The entire world was suffering economically. I felt
that my goal was substantial enough to move the bar in a big way—and not just
for me. I felt that the risk of expansion was worth more than the money or the
energy I was expending.