Why Bigger Goals Can Actually Be Easier
10x’ing your goals isn’t about working harder, it’s about becoming someone different.
At first glance, it sounds backwards. Our natural instinct is to work hard(er) to double our outcome. But what happens when you reach that ceiling and want to now triple your outcome or simply burn out?
The reality is that solely working harder has never been the solution to the big life we want. We understand it as something we have to do to get what we want, but we end up on a golden hamster wheel, pushing ourselves to do more, to reach the next step, when we should spend our time focused on a goal… a vision so big that the hard work needed feels like a reflex. When you focus on the big vision, it forces you into a new identity because it also forces you to ask different types of questions.
When your goal is to grow by 20% or even double your business, it's easy to assume you just need to work a little harder. Get a few more clients. Post more content. Improve what you're already doing.
A 10x goal doesn't allow you to think that way. It forces you to ask a completely different question:
Who would I have to become—and what would have to fundamentally change—for this to become possible?
That's what stayed with me.
Bigger goals force bigger thinking
A 2x goal usually asks you to optimize. A 10x goal asks you to redesign.
Instead of asking:
"How can I squeeze more out of my current business?"
You start asking:
What would I stop doing?
What would I automate?
What would I delegate?
What would I build differently?
What am I doing today that wouldn't exist in a business ten times this size?
Those questions create better businesses.
Whether or not you actually grow 10x becomes almost secondary.
You can't build a bigger business with the same habits
One of the biggest lessons I took away from the book is that exponential growth rarely comes from simply doing more.
It usually comes from doing less, but doing the right things.
As founders, we often feel rewarded for the busy tasks that feel productive.
Answering every email
Designing every graphic
Solving every problem
We become indispensable and that's exactly what limits the business.
Growth often requires letting go of the work that someone else could do so you can focus on the work ONLY YOU can do.
What this changed for me
Reading this book made me look at my own goals differently.
Instead of asking how I could book a few more projects or work a little more efficiently, I started asking whether my goals were actually big enough to require a different version of me. Were my goals aligned and big enough to prompt me into motion each day.
Because that's the point.
A meaningful goal shouldn't just change your business.
It should change the way you think and build the life you actually want to live.
Final Notes
Whether your version of "10x" is growing revenue, building a team, launching a new offer, or creating more freedom in your life, the principle remains the same.
Choose goals that require transformation, not just effort.
Sometimes the biggest value of a goal isn't reaching it.
It's becoming the person capable of pursuing it.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
The idea is that ambitious goals often require fundamentally different thinking instead of simply working harder. Rather than optimizing your current approach, you're forced to rethink how your business operates.
-
Not necessarily. The value isn't in the number itself but in choosing goals that inspire innovation, focus, and transformation instead of incremental improvements.
-
A 2x goal often focuses on doing more of what already works. A 10x goal usually requires new systems, new ways of thinking, and different priorities.
-
Start by asking questions that challenge your current assumptions. Instead of asking how to work harder, ask what would need to change if your business were ten times larger today.
