Recently I held a staff retreat exploring the difference between excellence and average. I asked everyone, in advance, to please come with as many words as possible that define each.  I had big sheets of paper on the walls for people to individually write all their words.  Then, I put folks into groups to discuss the lists they had and add to them.  Working collaboratively they come up with more.  We had huge lists of many of the words you would expect.  Here are just a few. 

AVERAGE 

Mediocre 

Ordinary 

Typical 

Common 

Excellence

Outstanding

Exceptional

Superior

Extraordinary

This is a group of very smart, talented, hard-working people but they still left off some that I find critical.  Nobody included ACCEPTABLE under average.  This is a pet peeve of mine.  Team members will ask me far too frequently isn’t this or that ACCEPTABLE?  I quickly reply, “the goal is NEVER to set the bar that low.”  Why would we ever want to be just acceptable?  On the flip side I was surprised that nobody wrote the words WORLD-CLASS or REMARKABLE under excellence.  As leaders we have to help our teams see the possibilities and explain regularly what the goal of our work is.  People often play too small.  They don’t have the vision for what’s possible.  Leaders cast the vision and need to keep it in front of our teams all the time.

If you’re playing small, you’re already losing. That’s the core message of Grant Cardone’s The 10X Rule, and if there’s one thing leaders should take from it, it’s this: success isn’t about doing what’s “reasonable or average” it’s about going all in, thinking bigger, and taking massive action so that you’re excellent in everything that you do.  From my perspective if you can’t be excellent at something, you shouldn’t be doing it some other business should.  People don’t pay for average.

Stop Aiming for Average

Most people set goals that are “realistic” because they don’t want to fail. But Cardone argues that this mindset is exactly what holds us back. He says, “The biggest mistake most people make in life is not setting goals high enough.” If you want to truly excel—whether in business, leadership, or personal growth—you need to multiply your expectations by ten.  First, you have to believe.  If you don’t believe it’s possible, it’s not.

For leaders, this means asking:

• Are we setting bold enough goals for our team?
• Are we pushing for growth, or just maintaining the status quo?
• Are we taking massive action, or just waiting for things to happen?

Massive Action = Massive Results

One of the key takeaways from The 10X Rule is that success doesn’t come from doing just enough—it comes from overdelivering. Many leaders assume if they work hard, things will naturally fall into place. But Cardone challenges this thinking. He believes most people underestimate the time, effort, and energy needed to win.

Consider this:

• If you think it’ll take 10 calls to land a deal, aim for 100.
• If you expect to reach a goal in a year, plan as if it’ll take a decade.
• If you think you’re doing enough, push yourself further.

It’s not about working endlessly—it’s about attacking goals with relentless energy.

Be Obsessed or Be Average

Cardone doesn’t sugarcoat it: you’re either all in, or you’re getting left behind. Many leaders hesitate because they fear burnout or failure. But what if the bigger risk is not pushing hard enough? Great leaders are obsessed with growth—not just for themselves, but for their teams, their mission, and their impact.

It’s been about two months since I’ve shared a quote from my mentor New York Times bestselling author John Maxwell.  I know some of you are shocked it’s been that long, but this may be one of my all-time favs.  Warning this is a long one, but I find it incredibly motivating.

“Average is the top of the bottom, the best of the worst, the bottom of the top, the worst of the best.  Which of these are you?

Average means being run-of-the-mill, mediocre, insignificant a nonentity.

Being average is to take up space for no purpose: to take the trip through life, but never to pay the fare.

To be average is to be forgotten once you pass from this life.  The successful are remembered for their contributions: the failures are remembered because they tried: but the average, the silent majority, is just forgotten.

To be average is to commit the greatest crime one can against one’s self and humanity.  The saddest epitaph is this: “Here lies Mr. and Ms Average-here lies the remains of what might have been except for their belief that they were only average.” John Maxwell

Ask yourself:

• Am I willing to do what others won’t to achieve what others can’t?
• Am I inspiring my team with action, not just words?
• Am I pushing beyond comfort to achieve extraordinary results?

10X Your Leadership

Applying The 10X Rule to leadership means:
✅ Setting goals so big they scare you.
✅ Taking responsibility instead of making excuses.
✅ Outworking and outlasting the competition.
✅ Never settling for “good enough.”

Success isn’t about luck—it’s about action. And the only way to guarantee success is to think bigger, push harder, and refuse to settle.

Will you play it safe, or will you 10X your vision, your strategy, and your leadership?