What’s 10x Is Easier Than 2x about? What if the secret to success isn’t working harder, but thinking bigger?
In 10x Is Easier Than 2x, Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy explore the transformative power of pursuing 10x growth. They explain how to focus your efforts, follow your true desires, and create self-running systems that drive big results.
Read below for a brief 10x Is Easier Than 2x book overview.
Overview of 10x Is Easier Than 2x
In their book 10x Is Easier Than 2x, Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy argue that aiming for 10x growth in your career, business, or personal life is easier and more rewarding than aiming for 2x growth. They explain that 2x growth often requires you to just work harder, but 10x growth requires you to transform how you approach work and life. It forces you to focus on what matters most, leverage your special strengths, and think creatively to open up new paths and find new opportunities that put you in a league of your own.
Sullivan is a business coach, entrepreneur, and cofounder of Strategic Coach—a coaching and training company that’s worked with over 20,000 entrepreneurs worldwide. He developed the foundational ideas of 10x growth. Hardy is a best-selling author and organizational psychologist who has collaborated with Sullivan on other best-selling books, including Who Not How and The Gap and the Gain. 10x Is Easier Than 2x was published in 2023.
The Transformative Power of 10x Growth
Sullivan and Hardy explain three reasons 10x growth is more achievable and transformative than 2x growth:
1. 10x growth makes you work smarter, not harder. When people try to achieve 2x growth, they typically do so by increasing their work and effort—putting in longer hours at the office, for instance. This approach is tiring, and it doesn’t lead to meaningful changes to how you work. Pursuing 10x growth is such a monumental task, however, that it drives you to rethink your approach. You simply can’t work 10 times harder or longer, so you’re forced to find new ways to work smarter. This ambitious level of growth sparks your creativity, helping you think up transformative solutions and continually grow yourself and your company.
2. 10x growth provides focus. There are many ways you can achieve 2x goals, which makes it harder to determine where you should best focus your efforts. This often leads to scattered efforts, wasted resources, and slower progress as you try different approaches. In contrast, 10x goals are so ambitious that most approaches wouldn’t work, revealing only a few paths you could take. This instantly narrows the field of possibilities to only the most transformative ideas, allowing you to take more decisive action and not waste time on low-impact efforts.
For example, a small bakery trying to double its revenue might consider extending hours, adding products, increasing marketing, and so on. With so many options, the bakery might waste months testing different approaches or spread itself too thin trying everything at once. But if it aimed for 10x growth, the bakery would need to think bigger, and there are only a few ideas that could achieve this scale, like franchising nationally or becoming a large-scale supplier. This clarity helps the bakery focus its resources and energy on the most impactful opportunities rather than getting distracted by smaller improvements.
3. 10x growth means less competition. Most people set achievable targets, creating a crowded field of competitors all striving for similar outcomes. Since fewer people are aiming for ambitious 10x goals, you’ll have a better chance of success.
For example, let’s look at how this works for a personal trainer. Most trainers might compete for clients in the $50-$100 per session range, creating an overcrowded market where dozens of trainers fight for the same customers. But imagine a trainer who aims 10x higher—targeting high-end clients at $500 per session. This trainer would need to develop premium expertise, create unique programs, and deliver exceptional results. While this seems harder at first, there’s actually less competition at this level because few trainers put in the work to reach this market, making the path to success clearer for those who do.
How to Achieve 10x Growth
Now that we’ve discussed the advantages of pursuing 10x growth over 2x growth, let’s turn our attention to the specific strategies and mindsets Sullivan and Hardy recommend for achieving this level of transformative growth.
Narrow Your Focus
Sullivan and Hardy argue that to achieve 10x growth, you need to focus your efforts on just a few things and become truly exceptional at them. They write that it’s better to do a few things exceptionally well than to try to do a decent job with many things because the biggest rewards go to the best performers in any field. So, by becoming exceptional in a few things, you can achieve results that far exceed what you’d get by spreading yourself thin.
The Pareto Principle
To decide what to focus on and what to let go of, Sullivan and Hardy recommend you use the Pareto Principle as a guide. The Pareto Principle states that 20% of your efforts produce 80% of your results. Because of this, the authors advise you to regularly identify the 20% of your activities that matter most and let go of the less important 80%.
Sullivan and Hardy acknowledge that your brain is wired to be more sensitive to losses than gains, which makes it difficult to let go of parts of your life, even when you know they’re holding you back. To overcome this, the authors suggest you reframe losses as gains that move you forward.
For example, if you cut back on watching TV so you have time to work on your side hustle, you might feel initially deprived because you’re attached to your routine of unwinding with a show every night. Instead of focusing on this loss, recognize that you’re actually gaining valuable time and energy for your passion project.
Follow Your True Desires
Sullivan and Hardy argue that to achieve transformative growth, you must commit to pursuing your true desires in life. This means going after the things you want without needing to justify them to yourself or others.
The authors explain that we often hold back from going after things we want because we’re afraid of losing things we think we need—like money, status, or security. However, worrying too much about meeting these needs can limit your potential and keep you at mediocre levels of success. This way of thinking makes you more likely to play it safe or make compromises that go against your true desires or values. For example, you might stay in an unfulfilling job because you need the paycheck, instead of pursuing your dream career.
Unlock Your Special Strengths
Sullivan and Hardy write that when you let go of your attachment to external markers and put your true desires first, you free yourself to pursue bold goals, create the most value, and reap the greatest rewards. This is because by focusing on what truly excites and energizes you, you can discover and develop your special strengths, which in turn allow you to create valuable work that no one else can replicate.
The authors add that when you develop your special strengths and create unique work, you remove yourself from competition with anyone else. Your perspective shifts from seeing the world as a place with limited resources to compete over to a place full of opportunities to innovate and create new possibilities for yourself and others. As you grow into the best version of yourself, opportunities to create extraordinary value—and be well compensated for it—naturally follow.
For example, imagine you’re an artist who loves making cardboard sculptures, but you feel pressured to take commercial illustration jobs to pay your bills. If you focus on your true desire, you’d devote more time to your sculptures, even if it means living on a tighter budget at first. Over time, your dedication could lead to breakthroughs in your artistic style, attracting galleries and collectors who may highly value your distinctive work.
Measure Progress Backward
Sullivan and Hardy argue that how you measure progress greatly impacts how easily you can achieve transformational growth. It can either motivate you and help you build momentum, or it can discourage you and cause you to miss valuable lessons.
The authors write that many people judge their progress by how close they are to their end goals—like how many items they have left on their to-do list or how many chapters they have left to write for their book. However, judging progress this way can actually hinder your ability to reach your goals.
Instead of looking at how far you still have to go to reach your goal, the authors recommend you look backward to see how far you’ve come. Measuring progress backward is better for two reasons:
1. Greater satisfaction: Recognizing how far you’ve come makes every step feel like a win. In contrast, when you always measure against an ideal future state, you’ll feel discouraged and unsuccessful no matter how much you achieve.
2. Valuable learning: By reflecting on past experiences, you can extract valuable lessons that help you toward your goal. For example, if a product launch fails, you can identify what went wrong and improve for next time. In contrast, if you measure forward against your ideal outcome, you’ll consider the launch as an outright failure and move on without reflecting on ways to improve.
Review Your Past Achievements
One way to measure backward is to review times when you’ve achieved transformative growth in the past. Sullivan and Hardy suggest you think about milestones like getting your first job, traveling abroad for the first time, or starting your career. At each stage, you grew far beyond what you could have imagined and developed new skills that are core to who you are today. Reviewing past achievements also normalizes the process of pursuing 10x growth—you realize it’s possible because you’ve done it before.
The authors suggest you also identify patterns in your growth and recognize the special strengths that consistently helped you succeed. Think about the 20% of efforts that drove your progress and the 80%t you let go of to make room for growth. For example, if you transitioned from an entry-level position to team leader, your 20% might have included developing leadership skills and building relationships with colleagues. The deprioritized 80% could have been tasks that didn’t contribute to leadership, like pointless busywork such as attending unnecessary meetings or creating reports that no one reads.
Develop the Skills for Your Next Transformative Growth
Sullivan and Hardy write that measuring progress backward helps you recognize the qualities and abilities you want to improve in yourself to prepare for your next transformative growth. By understanding what worked in the past, you can then consciously decide on which qualities to strengthen for your future growth and commit to developing them fully. The authors explain that whatever you focus on, you become. For instance, if you want to be a great teacher, you might focus on developing creativity, empathy, and a deep knowledge of your subject. The more specific you are, the easier it becomes to take action and develop those skills.
To accelerate your growth and skill-building, the authors recommend that you envision a “dream check”—imagine a check for a large sum of money you’d like to receive in the future. Then, clarify the skills and abilities you need to develop for someone to happily pay you that amount. For example, if you aim to start a successful tech company, you might focus on improving your coding skills, business knowledge, and ability to pitch to investors.
Manage Your Time for Productivity
Sullivan and Hardy argue that the traditional 9-to-5 workday is poorly suited for high productivity in our modern, knowledge-based economy. They contend that this outdated model, designed for early 20th-century factory systems, prioritizes busywork over creativity and innovation. To achieve transformative growth, you must focus on the value and impact of how you spend your time rather than the number of hours you work. By prioritizing high-impact activities and recovery time, you can dramatically increase your productivity and creativity.
Schedule Tasks to Maximize Productivity
Sullivan and Hardy write that if you want to perform at a 10x level, you must give yourself big blocks of uninterrupted time to do your best work. You can do this by grouping similar tasks on specific days. The authors explain that switching between different tasks like creative work and administrative tasks disrupts your focus and makes you less efficient. If you have a meeting scheduled in the middle of your creative work time, you’ll keep thinking about that upcoming meeting and struggle to focus on the task at hand.
Sullivan and Hardy suggest segmenting your time into three types of days:
1) Rest days: Disconnect completely from work and engage in activities that help you relax and feel good—such as exercise, hobbies, or spending time with loved ones.
2) Prep days: Focus on preparing for your high-value tasks and staying organized. You might use these days for team meetings, planning sessions, or administrative tasks that set you up for success on your achievement days.
3) Achievement days: Do deep, uninterrupted work on your most important tasks. These are the days when you perform at your peak, doing the work that directly contributes to your 10x growth. For example, if you’re a consultant, you might use these days for client meetings and delivering presentations.
Additionally, Sullivan and Hardy suggest you tackle no more than three key objectives each day. Having too many items on your to-do list leads to shallow work instead of going deep on what matters most. These objectives should be clear, specific, and slightly beyond your current skill level to promote growth and flow—a state of high performance.
Maximize Rest
Sullivan and Hardy recommend scheduling at least 150 free days per year before anything else. They argue that time away from work makes you more engaged, creative, and productive when you return.
The authors note that as your success grows, you’ll need more recovery time since higher-stakes decisions require more mental energy and deeper thinking. You need space for your mind to wander and make unexpected connections. Your best ideas might come while taking a leisurely walk or engaging in a recreational activity, rather than while sitting in your office.
In addition to having rest days, the authors encourage you to completely disconnect from work when you’re done with your daily tasks. Don’t work longer than necessary and avoid thinking about work once your day is complete. Instead, optimize your evening routine for high-quality sleep because the final hour of your day significantly impacts your sleep quality and performance the following day. Sullivan and Hardy suggest you put your phone on airplane mode 30-60 minutes before bed, journal about your daily wins, and plan for tomorrow. This practice helps frame each day positively and sets you up for success the following day.
Promote 10x Growth Within Your Company
If you’re an entrepreneur, Sullivan and Hardy suggest that you promote 10x growth within your business and build a self-sustaining company that operates smoothly without your day-to-day involvement. They explain that many entrepreneurs try to do everything themselves or micromanage the people they have working for them, which limits their company’s growth and creates bottlenecks in their business.
Sullivan and Hardy provide three steps to help you get your company on track to becoming a self-sustaining business with 10x growth.
Step 1: Delegate Tasks
Sullivan and Hardy write that the first step is to delegate tasks you’re currently doing that don’t play to your strengths. Instead of trying to do everything yourself, develop your leadership skills and find people with the right skills and abilities to handle various tasks and responsibilities. For example, instead of managing every client interaction, you might hire a customer service specialist to handle those tasks.
Delegating tasks like scheduling, email management, and other logistical work gives you more time and energy to use your special strengths and explore new opportunities for your business—like researching markets, developing products, or forming strategic partnerships that were previously out of reach due to time constraints.
The authors note that once you delegate tasks, you must let go of control and trust your team members to handle tasks in their own way. Micromanaging will only frustrate them and hold you back from focusing on the activities that create the most value. While it can feel scary at first, trusting others to do things without your constant oversight helps you become a true leader rather than a bottleneck.
Step 2: Replace Yourself With Capable Leaders
Next, Sullivan and Hardy recommend you develop leaders who can run your company without your daily involvement. The goal is to build a team that can make decisions and solve problems independently. By developing a strong leadership team, you free yourself even more to focus on bigger-picture strategy and innovation.
Start by identifying and training key leaders who can take on more responsibility, either by promoting from within or bringing in outside talent. Provide these prospective leaders with opportunities to take on more responsibility and decision-making authority, then gradually delegate more of your duties to them while offering guidance and support. As they grow into their expanded roles, you can step back from daily management. For example, you might groom department heads to manage their areas autonomously.
Step 3: Encourage Everyone to Pursue 10x Growth
Once you’ve created a self-sustaining company, encourage everyone to continually refine their roles to focus on their top strengths, creating a 10x growing team. You can do this by fostering a culture of freedom where all team members feel encouraged to clarify and expand their special strengths.
As people hone in on their strengths, they can delegate their other responsibilities to new hires who are excited to take them on. This allows the team to organically expand while everyone does what they do best. For example, a marketing manager might realize her true talent lies in creative strategy, so she brings on a new team member to handle the data analysis she previously struggled with.
