Be Obsessed or Be Average - Book Summary

Unlock your potential: why being average is not an option

There's a conventional narrative that paints an idyllic image of life, highlighting years of dedicated work leading up to a tranquil, albeit predictable, retirement. Within this picture, it’s likely the most thrill you might anticipate involves, perhaps, an intense round of bingo. But, as it turns out, your life doesn’t necessarily have to follow this one-size-fits-all model.

The primary obstacle holding you back from realizing your boldest dreams is likely fear - fear of failure, of rejection, and a lack of ambition. However, if you dive deep into the powerful and exhilarating currents of obsession, you can actually leverage your fears into a force for your own benefit. Once you do this, the door to a world teeming with boundless rewards unlocked by audacious ambitions will swing open before you.

As we journey together in this narrative, you'll uncover the secret behind J.K. Rowling’s astounding success, what invaluable lessons about ambition the New England Patriots can teach us, and why having detractors might not be so bad, but rather an indicator of impending good fortune.

Dive into obsession: the secret recipe for energy and equilibrium

Picture this — it's another day at work and you're barely holding on, drained of vitality. It feels like you're teetering on the edge of burnout. Now you're faced with a choice: you can either take a breather and step back, or plunge headfirst into obsession.

Ordinary folks might opt for the former, but remember, that’s not the route that will lead you to your aspirations. If you're serious about scaling greater heights, you need to surrender to obsession and relentlessly pursue your objectives. Once you dive into the whirlpool of obsession, you'll find yourself not draining, but producing energy.

However, if fatigue sets in, take a moment for some self-reflection. Reconnect with your core purpose. Perhaps, you've strayed from your chosen path?

The author, at the age of 40, grappled with exhaustion and stress. He found himself incessantly jetting across the United States, delivering speeches one after another. On days marked for US holidays, he'd schedule talks in Canada. There were mornings when he woke up disoriented, unsure of his geographical whereabouts.

Cardone eventually realized that his frenetic travelling and speaking engagements had sidetracked him from his true obsession. His initial goal wasn't to be a renowned public speaker. What he had set out to become was the world's greatest salesman.

Reasserting his purpose and redefining his life goals on paper served as a rejuvenating tonic for him. He immediately felt revitalized.

There's a common misconception that being obsessed leads to an imbalanced life. But Cardone's experiences reveal that obsession, in fact, is the master key to unlock energy and foster genuine balance. Achieving a balanced life is not about idling away time in relaxation and leisure. It's about carving the career you want, amassing the wealth you desire, maintaining good health, nurturing a happy family life, and upholding a strong faith. All these demand unflagging hard work every single moment, which in turn requires the fervor ignited by obsession.

Fueled by this exuberant energy, you can maximize every single second of your life, creatively blending various activities — like taking your kids to the gym in the morning for some family-bonding-cum-fitness-time, a practice the author frequently indulges in.

Refresh your obsession: the secret fuel for enduring motivation

Imagine this: you've discovered your passion and set certain goals. Surprisingly, you've achieved those goals far quicker than anticipated. Now, the challenge is not about starting but about sustaining the momentum. It's about resisting the luring temptation to simply bask in your accomplishments, lazily swaying in a hammock day after day.

That's precisely when obsession becomes a valuable ally.

A remarkable career is not defined by achieving a solitary goal and then opting for early retirement. Instead, it is characterized by a succession of ambitious objectives, each surpassing the previous one in audacity.

When obsession fuels your passion, you don’t aspire to retire early with dreams of endless golf games. Your targets need to be lofty, propelling you towards an endless horizon of opportunities. You need to craft a purpose so intrinsic to your identity that it electrifies your spirit and instigates a fervor to rise and shine each day.

To illustrate, there was a time when the author owned a hundred apartments. The moment he hit this mark, he recalibrated his goal — to own five hundred apartments. Today, as of 2016, he proudly possesses 4,500 units.

Once you make a million dollars, why stop there? Why not aim for a billion next? Allow yourself to daydream about the myriad charitable foundations you could support, the robust safety net you could build for forthcoming generations. By fostering unlimited ambitions, you're essentially adding kindling to the fire that will light the path to an extraordinary life.

If the vision of your post-retirement life centers around a golf course with a goal to lower your handicap, then what happens once you've achieved that? In no time, you might find yourself whiling away hours in front of the television, inching towards ennui and, possibly, depression.

To dodge this ennui, it's crucial to carve a magnificent purpose that evolves in tandem with your career progression.

Therefore, don’t allow yourself to stagnate. Remain active and persistently strive for greater heights.

Set ambitious goals and figure out the specifics on the fly

No one, not even billionaires, can predict with exact precision how things will unfold. They often do what we all should: they pledge to deliver tenfold beyond what seems feasible and then relentlessly drive themselves and their team to fulfill that pledge.

The key takeaway here is to always aim high and make promises that force you to level up to the challenge.

Consider the significant events in your life, such as tying the knot, welcoming a child into your life, or launching your maiden business. They all required you to plunge in headfirst and learn to navigate the waters as you went along.

Apply the same principle to the goals you outline for yourself and your enterprise. Don’t shy away from launching products before they're fully primed, particularly if it gives you the advantage of being a market pioneer.

More often than not, speed trumps perfection — a lesson championed repeatedly by tech giant, Apple. Despite the glitches and flaws that have plagued nearly every Apple product, the company has consistently prioritized bold innovation over perfecting details. This unwavering commitment to big, daring ideas over protracted beta-testing phases is part of why Apple enjoys the status of one of the most successful brands in the world.

Similarly, the New England Patriots football team offers an inspiring example worth emulating.

Back in 1995, when Robert Kraft took over the reins of the Patriots, the team was floundering. Nonetheless, Kraft didn't hesitate to make audacious promises of securing Super Bowl victories. This bold promise kindled an unwavering determination in the players, motivating them to give their absolute best every season, every game. And the result? Five Super Bowl triumphs since Kraft took charge.

Moreover, the Patriots franchise now boasts a worth of $3.2 billion, with top-tier seats commanding $500 and corporate boxes, $500,000. Much like the players, even the fans are propelled to believe that their team will perform exceptionally well each year.

As these examples illustrate, it's smart business strategy to aim for the stars, confident in the belief that a viable plan will naturally take shape.

Encounter your fears: the uncharted path to triumph

Stretching beyond your comfort zone is a crucial catalyst for success, but it invariably invites fear. Yet, do not retreat in its face. Instead, acknowledge fear and warmly welcome it, for it is an intrinsic part of the journey to achievement.

Two main types of fear often plague us: the fear of rejection and the fear of failure. To stride towards success, it's essential to confront and conquer these fears.

Back in 2008, during her commencement address at Harvard University, J.K. Rowling expressed a potent truth. She asserted that the essence of leading a fulfilled life lies in the courage to fail. If you've never tasted failure, you've never truly lived.

Rowling's journey to global literary fame is testament to this truth. Before she could see the first book of the Harry Potter series published, she had to endure a string of 12 rejections. The series has since sold approximately twelve million copies. Just think — had Rowling allowed the fear of failure to overpower her, the world might have been robbed of the enchanting universe of Harry Potter!

So, permit yourself to experience fear, recognizing it as a signal that you're pushing your boundaries and advancing. Absence of fear could imply that you're nesting in your comfort zone, reigning as a large fish in a small pond — an indication of stagnation rather than growth.

Should you sense stagnation creeping in, consider it a cue to migrate to a bigger pond. Maybe it's time to expand your business to another city, or explore lucrative partnerships opening doors to fresh markets?

The element of fear can also lend you a strategic edge over your competitors. Leveraging fear is all about cultivating the right mindset, one that equips you with a psychological advantage.

The author experienced a major breakthrough in the aftermath of the 2008 economic downfall. With uncertainty looming large and fear gripping everyone, he chose to use that fear as a springboard to scale up his sales efforts and public presence. While others shrank away in apprehension, he seized the opportunity to break into more markets — a bold move that reaped rich rewards.

Stow away the savings mindset; drive towards expansion

Despite the fears that you might wrestle with, remember that success is always tantamount to growth. Therefore, the wise course of action is to invest your surplus profits and energy into enlarging your business scope. By doing so, you significantly boost your chances of carving out a dominant position in the market.

This perspective shifts the emphasis from saving to spending.

Consider this: Funds that lie idle don't serve much purpose, do they? The only money that truly counts is the money that aids your growth.

From a tax standpoint too, this approach makes sense. Profits invariably attract taxes, but funds reinvested into your business typically escape the tax net, rendering them more valuable in the long run. It's prudent to constantly scout for avenues of growth and investment, including untapped markets or unexplored strategies.

The author advises allocating 30 to 40 percent of your profits to expansion initiatives.

However, if expansion opportunities seem elusive, your next best bet is to direct funds towards publicity. Investments in marketing, advertising, and social media rarely go in vain. Effective publicity can catapult your brand into a household name, opening doors to expansion prospects that previously seemed out of reach.

Avoid succumbing to the temptation of being a "one-man army." True leadership entails steering your team to success, which often necessitates having a sizable team, much like Amazon's 200,000-strong workforce or the 100,000 members that constitute the teams at Apple and Microsoft.

Presently, about 75 percent of US companies fall into the "one-man army" category, as per the author's definition, and their average annual profit lingers around a mere $44,000.

The author tasted the bitter fruits of this approach firsthand, single-handedly managing his business for ten years until he acknowledged that effective leadership hinges on adept delegation and hiring personnel who contribute to your financial success. Once Cardone started hiring extensively, his company experienced a significant surge in growth.

Turn your detractors into driving forces for your passion

Achievement often attracts opposition. It's an inevitable part of the business landscape. But because you can expect competition and criticism, you can also arm yourself accordingly.

The sprawling realms of social media offer ample platforms for your detractors to target you, but the optimal strategy isn't to silence them – it's to express gratitude for the attention they generate.

Ponder on this: the more critics you garner, the more success you've likely achieved.

There's a long-standing adage that "there's no such thing as bad publicity," and in this context, critics can indeed be seen as free advertising. When someone criticizes you, it implies they view you as a formidable player in the market. No one bothers to nitpick at a business of no consequence. Only entities deemed significant merit the attention of trolls and intense criticism.

View it this way: if millions of Twitter users are disparaging you, you might well be on the way to becoming the next president!

Moreover, critics have the bonus benefit of bolstering our resilience. Reflect on the bullies you've encountered over the years. Despite the antagonism, they played a part in shaping who you are today.

It could have been the sports stars or popular kids who bullied you in high school, the bank manager who rejected your loan application, or the anonymous online troll accusing you of being a money-hungry capitalist. While these individuals may be aggravating, they can also help you develop a thicker skin and kindle your determination to prove them wrong. If you leverage their criticism judiciously, you might even tweak your products or strategies to make them better.

Nevertheless, it's not just critics who can pose hurdles to your obsessive drive for success. At times, members of your own team could be the ones pulling you back. In the next part, we'll delve into how best to handle problematic team members and foster a culture of obsession throughout your organization.

Forge an A-team with your obsessive zeal

Given a choice between being affable and being effective for boosting profits, which would you pick? Ideally, you'd choose the latter. In the world of business, it's crucial to occasionally make difficult decisions to uphold your leadership and keep everyone on the right track.

The best strategy to maintain command over your staff and business is to steer the conversation – literally.

Ensure everyone on your team knows that you're constantly listening to them and observing their performance. This means overseeing their sales calls to ascertain they're as aggressive and passionate about selling products as you would be in their shoes.

If a team member isn't living up to your standards or if a client isn't receiving the right guidance, it's completely fine to intervene in the conversation to set things right.

Other methods can also keep your team cognizant of the fact that you recognize dedicated efforts and are personally involved in every aspect of the business.

The author, for instance, makes it a point to send personal messages of appreciation to his hardworking staff. Even if he's thousands of miles away from the office, he'll record a video on his phone and send it to the team. Genuine, personal gestures like these ensure unwavering commitment.

However, real control begins with being unforgiving when it comes to hiring and firing.

Remember, a pact is made when you hire someone: in exchange for fair treatment and payment, they are to deliver a certain level of work. If an employee fails to uphold their end of the deal, it's perfectly okay to let them go and bring someone on board who can get the job done.

In today's world, nobody expects to stick to the same job for 50 years. Most individuals anticipate having numerous full-time jobs over their career span. Millennials are particularly adept at leveraging short-term contracts to develop a diverse career.

As a leader, it's your task to build a team that's as obsessed and passionate about your business as you are. With this in place, success is bound to follow.

In a nutshell

Embracing extraordinariness hinges on fostering a growth mentality. Real success entails setting lofty aspirations for yourself and your business that might appear unattainable. Yet, these grand ambitions serve as the fuel to ignite a relentless team and propel you towards genuinely exceptional outcomes.