“Our past determines our present and our future” - that’s what most of us have been taught and what we believe. What if this concept is entirely wrong? What if our future determines our present and our present determines our past? We frame time based on our past, but it’s much more powerful to frame time based on our future, that’s what the people who achieve impossible goals and unreasonable success do.
10Xing is a whole lot easier than 2Xing. When we’re operating in the 2X version of ourselves, we’re just doing more of what we’ve already been doing. When we 10X or set the intention to 10X, we unlock more growth and put ourselves in conditions that will completely transform our lives.
How do we master our past, and learn how to operate much more powerfully in the present? How do we set a 10X goal and how does this propel us further than a 2X goal?
Renowned organizational psychologist and author of many books, including “10x Is Easier Than 2x”, Dr. Benjamin Hardy talks about the concepts of the book and how we can apply them to master time.
Quotes
Instead of letting the present determine the future, you let the future determine the present and you let the present determine the past. -Dr. Benjamin Hardy
These books teach you how to operate so powerfully in the present because of what they teach you about how to handle your past and your future. -Dr. Benjamin Hardy
The past is a skill. If you’re not very skilled with the past, then you’re not going to grow very much and you’re not going to gain a lot from your experiences. -Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Your quality of life in the present is largely based on the level of meaning and purpose you’re striving for in your future. -Dr. Benjamin Hardy
We’re living in the present, but our present is largely based on how we frame the past and our future. -Dr. Benjamin Hardy
The future is a draft, right now have your best current approach and over time you might shift the goal. -Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Key Points
Understanding the trilogy
“The Gap and The Gain” teaches you how to have mastery over your past. “10x is Easier” teaches us how to have mastery over our present and future. We’re all in the present moment, but everyone is having a very different experience because of our past and our future. Everything happening in the present is based on how we’re filtering our past and future. These books teach you how to operate so powerfully in the present because of what they teach you about how to handle your past and your future.
A more masterful approach to the past
We assume that the past actually comes before the present but that’s not the only way to look at time. We say who we are in the present is because of the past. We can look at this completely differently, rather than having the past cause the present, we actually have the present cause the meaning of the past. The past is a skill - if you’re not very skilled with the past, you’re not going to grow very much and you’re not going to gain a lot from your experiences.
Squeeze meaning out of small increments of time
In this present moment, we’re not who we were even 24 hours ago, we’re already different. The more juice we can squeeze out of a small amount of time, the more empowered we’ll be in the present and future. Recognizing the difference between our present self and past self and appreciating that difference is powerful. It also gives us the opportunity to turn our past into more of an asset rather than a liability. Even our biggest traumas or failures can be turned into our biggest gains and they can be things that pay us in the present and future. For a lot of people, their past is a liability, meaning it’s draining their present and future and they are blaming their limited present and future on the past. On the other hand, we can turn the past into something valuable that helps us instead of hindering us.
Why it’s easier to achieve impossible goals
Impossible goals are easier because they force you out of your current assumptions.
If something is possible, you believe you know how to do it. If we change the goal and make it truly impossible, that means we don’t know how to do it. That’s actually the best place to start because we’re no longer operating from our past. If it’s impossible, then we really can’t access it from our past. We can’t go about it in a similar way to get to the goal. If we look at our goals, chances are we’ll discover that we’re dogmatic about how we’ll go about achieving them. Setting an impossible goal forces you out of your current fixed mindset of how you have to do it.
2X vs. 10X
2X means you can keep 80% of your existing life. If we keep 80% of what’s in that present, we change our future only by 20%. In the 10x model, the future is so high and impossible but also so intrinsically exciting and motivating that we can only keep the best 20%, and 80% has to go.
Who Not How
What can make an impossible goal possible? The answer is usually a who. In the 10x model, who not how becomes more important because you need better who’s to do it. Whether it’s handing off the 80% so you can focus on the 20% or collaborating with people, your goal shapes your process.
What 20% looks like and what 80% to let go of
We’re living in the present, but our present is largely based on how we frame the past and our future. What if we started to view both the past and the present as a draft, and not be so tied to either of them? The future is a draft. Right now, you have your best current approach and over time you might shift the goal. If you think about it like a book where the first draft sucks and you continue refining, you can work on getting a clearer and clearer view of yourself.
Defining your 10X Goal
A 2x goal is us just continuing more of what we’ve been doing. A 10X should be intrinsically motivating and maybe even feel a little impossible. It’s going to be personal to you. It’s not going to necessarily be linear - it might be in a completely different space to what you’re doing right now. It’s the goal you might be afraid to admit to anyone.
4 major reasons why people waste their time
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Doing the wrong things
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Not doing the right things enough
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Doing the right things ineffectively
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Not learning from their experiences so they repeat 1,2 and 3
Guest Info
Dr. Hardy is an organizational psychologist, keynote speaker, author of MANY BOOKS, and the world's leading teacher on transformational psychology. Dr. Hardy is known for his work in the fields of productivity, motivation, and personal development. He is the author of several books, including “10x Is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less”. His work focuses on the importance of personalized approaches to productivity, motivation, and goal-achievement, and he has developed several frameworks and strategies for improving performance and achieving success.
Subscribe to Dr. Hardy’s YouTube channel and buy the book here.
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