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

25. Create Your Own Reality
The successful are a lot like magicians; they don't deal in other people's realities.
Instead, they are bent on creating a new reality for themselves that is different
from the one that others accept. They aren't interested in what other people deem
possible or impossible; they only care about producing the things they dream are
possible. They're never sold on the idea of dealing in others' beliefs or
guidelines, and they don't submit to the agreed-upon “reality.” They want to
create what they want and have a high disregard—even dislike—for mass
agreement. Do a bit of research and you will see that those who have made it
really big created a reality that did not exist before they came along. Whether it
is a salesperson, an athlete, an artist, a politician, or an inventor, greatness is
achieved by those who think nothing of being practical and are instead obsessed
with the idea of creating the reality they want to make. The next reality of how
things will or can be is only as far away as the next person who creates it.
26. Commit First—Figure Out Later
At first glance, this might be appear to be a highly undesirable—even perilous—
trait of the highly successful. However, it's far less dangerous than the alternative
frequently practiced by the unsuccessful. Most people assume that they have to
figure everything out first and will commit once they do; however, they never
seem to get around to it. Even when they do figure it out and are ready to
commit, they usually find that the opportunity no longer exists or that someone
else has claimed the spoils.
Committing first means getting 100 percent behind whatever it is you are
committing to 
before
you figure out every detail. This is what allows small
companies and wild entrepreneurs to outmaneuver other bigger, richer
competitors. The great companies of yesterday get so powerful and so enamored
of layers of management that their staff spends most of its days in meetings—
which causes them to become cautious and incapable of pulling triggers the way

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they did when they were taking risks and growing. Although it can be dicey to
commit first and figure the rest out later, it is my belief that creativity and
problem solving are stimulated only 
after
a person fully commits. Although
preparation and training are critical, challenges of the marketplace will require
you to act before you determine how to make it turn out all right. It is not
necessarily the smartest and brightest who win in the game of life but rather
those who can commit the most passionately to their cause.