Book Summary – 10x is Easier Than 2x

3 Sentence Summary

Aiming for massive growth can be more effective than incremental progress; having a 10x mindset leads to a more strategic approach with better results. 10x change is transformational and requires stepping away from conformity and validation of others. When we make 10x leaps, we create the freedom to live life on our own terms.

Introduction

  • We have the option and ability to radically transform in life; this is going 10x
  • The alternative is incremental change; this is 2x
  • 10x is easier than 2x because there are fewer paths to distract us and the competition pool is smaller
  • 10x requires a willingness to make investments in ourself and take leaps of faith
  • Success and innovation come from 10x leaps
  • 10x requires us to know what we truly want and to fully commit to getting it
  • 10x creates simplicity as there are few paths that will take us there
  • There are many paths to 2x which can lead to analysis paralysis and distraction
  • 10x asks us to separate the 20% that is most effective from the 80% that is not
  • 10x asks us to focus on fewer things, not more
    • Task switching is detrimental to progress
  • Growth requires us to take calculated risks; when we take risks, we are psychologically incentivized to make things work
  • When we go 10x, we value freedom over certainty and security
  • Use the principle of ‘Who not How’: rather than getting caught in the decisions of ‘how’, ask who can help us achieve our goal
  • 10x is easier because there are far more people aiming for 2x goals
    • Most people are competing for $100K jobs than finding ways to make $1 million

2x is…

  • Working harder
  • Doing more; being busy
  • A focus on quantity
  • Linear thinking
  • Repetitive
  • Immediate results
  • Focused on a specific outcome
  • Valuing security
  • A consistent identity
  • Staying in our comfort zone

10x is…

  • Finding new solutions
  • Doing less; being strategic
  • A focus on quality
  • Exponential thinking
  • Creative
  • Long-term oriented
  • Focused on the process
  • Valuing freedom
  • Renewal and transformation
  • Willingness to be uncomfortable

Psychological Flexibility

  • We have the capacity to change our identity; how readily we do this is our psychological flexibility
    • Going 10x often requires us to shed 80% of who we are or what we do
    • Most people are afraid of radical transformation as it requires us to leave what is comfortable
    • Humans are loss-averse; we tend to focus on what we will lose instead of what se stand to gain
    • The more we practice psychological flexibility, the easier it becomes
  • Other people often don’t want us to go 10x, they want us to stay who we are to them
      • 10x change will make people around us uncomfortable
  • “What got you here will keep you there”
    • The tools and strategies that brought us to our current position are limited in taking us further.
  • 10x still requires hard work, but how we use our time and energy changes

Needers and Wanters

  • We have the option to be a ‘needer’ or a ‘wanter’ in any given situation
  • The world conditions us to be Needers; being a Wanter will make others uncomfortable
  • We didn’t need most of the advancements of the last 200 years, we wanted them
  • Most successful people and leaders are wanters
  • Freedom is doing what we want, not what we perceive we need
  • Most people are afraid to tell themselves what they truly want

Needers

  • See the world as scarce
  • Think that someone’s gain is another’s loss
  • Are competitive
  • Are extrinsically motivated
  • Require security
  • Feel like a victim of life’s circumstances
  • Are reactive
  • Have to justify their needs

Wanters

  • See the world as abundant
  • Recognize that value can be created
  • Are cooperative
  • Are intrinsically motivated
  • Seek freedom
  • See the world as exciting and exploratory
  • Are patient
  • Don’t feel the need to justify their wants

Unique Ability

  • We all have Unique Ability: how we provide the most value to the world in ways that other’s can’t
  • Unique Ability is the thing we love to do that we’re also excellent at
  • Where we have superior skill, we are intrinsically motivated to keep going
  • Unique Ability evolves as we change and evolve
  • Unique Ability requires vulnerability as it exposes who we truly are to the world
  • Unique Ability often ignores traditional career advice as we focus on listening to our internal voice

The Gap and the Gain

  • We have the option to look at life through the lens of ‘the gap’ or ‘the gain’
    • These are how we measure ourselves and our experience
  • When we are in the gap, we compare ourselves to an ideal and focus on how we fall short
  • When we are in the gain, we compare ourselves to our past self and celebrate our wins
  • Humans are loss averse, we have to make an effort to focus on the gain
  • We can look to the past to find previous 10x leaps to learn from
  • Letting go of things that don’t serve us is a huge gain
  • We can only become truly great by defining our own standards to measure ourselves against
    • We will be average if we use society’s standards
  • A Fitness Function is a filter that determines if something meets our standards
      • Anything outside of our narrow filter will atrophy, this is okay and necessary

The Gap Mindset

  • Dwells in failures
  • Compares to what could have been
  • Measures success against an arbitrary ideal
  • Labels experiences as good or bad
  • Sees the past as a problem and the future as a threat
  • Focus on success over happiness
  • Reactive and externally focused
  • Victim mindset
  • Cortisol and stress are the primary motivating forces

The Gain Mindset

  • Celebrates everything gained already
  • Focus on what was achieved
  • Measures backward against where we were before
  • Defines what experiences mean
  • Sees loss, failure, and change as a chances to learn
  • Celebrates past wins, no matter how small
  • Patient and intrinsically motivated
  • Antifragile mindset
  • Dopamine is the primary motivating force

Making Time Work for You

  • Time is one of our biggest assets if we use it properly
  • The Greeks had two ways of looking at time: Chronos time and Kairos time
    • Chronos time: The time we measure; clock time
    • Kairos time: Time not measured; deep time
  • Our modern culture is designed around Chronos time with our 9-5, defined schedules, and pressure to live a fast-paced life
  • Kairos time uses seasons and periods instead of hours and days
  • When we utilize Kairos time, we are free to step outside of clock time to be truly present
  • Our default state is to fill our time with menial tasks; this is 2x
  • Kairos time gives us flexibility and takes pressure away from always needing to be productive
  • Kairos time recognizes that change isn’t linear, but exponential (like a caterpillar into a butterfly)
  • We can bucket tasks to minimize task switching
    • Try to set a theme for each day such as preparation, performance, and recovery days
  • Going 10x means not always being super busy
    • To perform at 10/10, we need to be able to rest at 0/10
  • 10x focuses on qualitative results, 2x focuses on effort and doing ‘more’.

Chronos Time

  • Sequential, linear
  • Quantitative
  • Focus on the past and future
  • Industrial, Newtonian
  • Designed for routine and fixed schedules
  • Rigid
  • ‘Busy’ mindset; the hamster wheel
  • Schedules by the hour

Kairos Time

  • Non-linear, exponential
  • Qualitative
  • Deep time; being in the present
  • Separate from clocks or calendars
  • Transformative time
  • Flexible
  • Achievement mindset
  • Breaks time up into periods

10x Leaps in My Life

Here are some examples of the 10x leaps I’ve made in my life:

  • Going from making $800/month at my first job to $10K/month today
  • Having visited 1 country five years ago to 13 today
  • Running 5k to running 50k
  • Trying psychedelics, gaining a completely different perspective on life
  • Boyhood to adulthood; moving away from home and seeing a family member go through addiction and houselessness. Stepping into responsibility. 

Conclusion

  • When we learn the process of 10x, we elevate our consciousness
    • We move from fear into courage and joy
  • Change is scary, most people would literally rather die than change
  • Transformation and change require that we first be honest with ourselves about where we are and what we truly want.
  • Living a 10x life isn’t necessary, but it’s a path to freedom and is a choice that we can all make
  • 10x will look like different things to different people; it’s not about how we appear to the outside world, but how we feel inside

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