“We don’t grow old. When we cease to grow, we become old.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Is it really possible to 10x your income in 3 years?
That sounds absolutely insane.
Well, I was actually able to do it!
I also know many others who have as well.
Recently, I interviewed Dr. Benjamin Hardy on my podcast, the Mailbox Money Show.
He gave a lot of great advice.
Today, I want to share some of the main, actionable takeaways from that conversation.
Let’s get into it!
1. Mind Shifting
Dr. Hardy has written many books.
Some notable ones are 10x is Easier Than 2x, Gap in the Game, and Who Not How.
All amazing books!
They all have to do with mind shifting.
Each one tells you how you can get where you want to go.
During our interview, he said a 10-year goal is not really a goal.
It’s always off on the horizon.
He asked: If you were going to 10x your income right now, how would you do it?
Think about your current life, your job, and your investing.
How would you start?
For me, I started with a goal.
According to The International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication, goals enrich lives, give energy, create a sense of purpose, and provide a “road map.”1
I want to have a $100 million net worth.
I also want to do other things, but that’s one of the big ones.
How would I go about doing that?
The only way I can see with my current means is by buying businesses.
Specifically, buying businesses that have high cash flow.
We can scale them up and grow them.
When told Dr. Hardy about that, he proposed a thought exercise of sorts.
Instead of making that a 10-year goal, could I shrink that goal down to 3 years?
Naturally, my eyes glazed over.
3 years?!
Is that even possible?
What would I do?
Questions like that force you to focus.
You think about how you can achieve that goal quickly.
It gives you actionable steps to get there,
You can even take it a step further.
Is it possible to achieve your goal in one year?
Sometimes the goal is not necessarily whether or not you get what you want.
We’re used to goals that have to be achievable.
Impossible goals can focus you in a whole new way.
You can find directions to achieve goals that you didn’t see before.
When the time comes, maybe you didn’t get to 10x, but you got to 5x.
This actually happened in an e-commerce business deal we were involved with.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to close it.
I didn’t see the opportunity for what it was at the time.
I saw it for someone else.
This is because I’ve been picturing myself as a 10x person.
I saw myself doing other deals that would get me closer to my goal.
2. Visualizing Your Goals
In your life, spend time visualizing one or two ways you can go after impossible goals.
You can go after things that get you to the life you want.
Think about the best ways to get there.
Is it possible to get there sooner?
As a passive investor specifically, you need to get clear on what you want.
Napoleon Hill said you should spend 30 minutes a day thinking about the person you intend to become.
Who do you want to be?
What’s the lifestyle you want to live?
How can you get there?
Ask yourself those questions and use them to walk forward.
That’s the biggest takeaway from my conversation with Dr. Hardy.
3. Create a Floor
He also talks about having a floor.
The enemy of your impossible goal is everything else that fills your life.
If you can, let go of a lot of those things.
Minimize distractions.
The good is sometimes the enemy of the great.
Dr. Hardy gives an example of this:
When Michelangelo carved out the David, it started as a big slab of stone.
Someone asked him how he did it.
He said he cut off everything that wasn’t David.2
In our own lives, we should aim to do the same thing.
We need to be relentless about cutting out the things that don’t get us closer to our goal.
Now I want to hear from you!
What goals are you going to mind shift?
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Disclaimer: I am not your investment advisor. This is for educational purposes only. I am not giving specific advice on what you can do. I am simply giving my opinions.
Work Cited
1. Greg Watts and Norman Watts. “Goal setting.” CPD in the Built Environment (2018). https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470970256.ch7.
2. Grismer, Jane. “Michaelangelo Chipped Away Everything That Wasn’t David.” Medium, March 29, 2023. https://jane-grismer.medium.com/michaelangelo-chipped-away-everything-that-wasnt-david-warning-nudity-cc6e429e696.
