This quarter, in our W Book Club, our team is reading,10x is easier than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More By Doing Less, written by Daniel Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy. We are used to hearing that if we want to double our results, we need to double our efforts. Does that mean if you want ten times the results, you must work 10 times harder? That sounds impossible! This eye-opening book debunks the myth that achieving 10x results requires ten times more effort. Rather than asking you to work harder, the authors ask you to challenge your mindset and the way that you are approaching your work. A 10x jump is so massive that the way you are approaching your work today simply won’t work. Along with having curiosity and creativity, you need to look at things differently. 

There are many takeaways that my team and I have discussed from this book. One concept, in particular, that stands out to me is the authors’ concept of “the gap” and “the gain.” Daniel Sullivan noticed over the years he coached entrepreneurs that many of them were hard-working, motivated people who achieved huge results but somehow still felt disappointed. Even though others would encourage them, and the outcome seemed positive overall, these entrepreneurs focused on what went wrong in any given situation. Daniel Sullivan began to compare this outlook to someone walking toward the horizon. No matter how far you walk toward it, the horizon just keeps getting further away. This is what it means to focus on “the gap.” The horizon represents “the impossible ideal” of any situation, and no matter how hard you try, you’ll never reach the absolute ideal outcome. If you always focus on the gap between where you are and that impossible ideal, you’ll always fall short. Contrast that with “the gain.” Rather than focusing on the impossible finish line, you focus on your starting point. Every time you take a step, you focus your mind on where you came from. The more steps you take, the more progress you realize you’ve made and the skills and knowledge you have gained since you started whatever journey you are working on. By focusing our energy on the gain, we develop the confidence we need to take the next steps.

Mindset shifts like these are the foundation for real change in how we approach the work that we do. If we recognize our growth and can celebrate it, we can also feel confident enough to dissect it and determine what is working for us and what is holding us back from our next 10x jump. I definitely recommend that you check it out if you are seeking the next level of growth in your journey. What books are helping you grow? Send an email to maria@wrealtygroup.com because we may read it next!