Grant Cardone - If You're Not First, You're Last - Sales Strategies to Dominate Your Market and Beat Your Competition

Unreasonable people are often criticized for being so eager to challenge societal barriers. But those who stand by their actions and get things accomplished—despite the negativity, ridicule, and fear they endure—will eventually lose their label as an outcast and instead receive admiration. These people are content to make their own rules; they risk breaking the rules in order to build the life, business, industry, and economy they want. Anyone who has contributed at exceptional levels has at some point in his or her life acted irrationally—and been ridiculed, even condemned for it.

For example, where would Christianity be without the teachings, stories, and examples left to us by the life of Jesus Christ? He was willing to be ridiculed and even had to leave his own land in order to get others to listen to him. What if the Founding Fathers had not fought against the powers of England? What if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had decided to abide by the laws of his day and never made himself heard? More recently—and on a somewhat smaller scale—what if Howard Schultz had taken the advice of his father-in-law and abandoned his dream to build Starbucks? People weren’t requesting coffee shops on every corner, after all. What if Bill Gates had listened to his father and remained at Harvard? He might not have founded Microsoft and become one of the richest men in the world. What if Mother Teresa had not spent her whole life dedicated to her causes? She would not have saved the countless lives nor made the impact on this planet that she did. Where would the world be if the Wright Brothers had not insanely and unreasonably continued their pursuit of flight?

What if Barack Obama had listened to what many said was “impossible”? He would not have become the first African American president of the United States.

I could go on and on, listing examples of people who refused to quit and follow societal conventions in order to realize their dreams. The economy you have is only limited by the amount of unreasonable action you take to create it . During periods of economic contraction, you must refuse to agree with any social norms that hold you back. Of course, you want to avoid anything that will get you into trouble or hurt other people. But barring those scenarios, think about some of the rules you blindly follow—and what might be different if you didn’t. Those who are able to utilize the childlike ability to disagree, go against the tide, and act illogically will be ensured success, despite economic conditions. I encourage you to (1) disagree with the masses; and (2) go overboard with your actions. It certainly won’t be easy. You’ll have to throw off what you consider appropriate and acceptable. You’ll probably receive some criticism, judgment, and even ridicule. These reactions are simply indications that you’re on the right track.

Most people spend their lives receiving too little attention, with no one ever noticing them. Creating the life you want requires that you demand others’ attention. You want people to be talking about you because otherwise, no one will ever know about you, your products, or your services. And the only trouble you will get from being unreasonable is envy on the part of others—as well as financial freedom. If you don’t stand out, you probably will not be left standing during serious economic contractions.

Show me someone who did something exceptional, and I will show you an exceptional person—a case to which a rule does not apply. To do something out of the ordinary, you have to act that way. Now is the time to get attention, go the extra mile, break free from the masses, do what others refuse to do, and be unreasonable in your thinking and actions.

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Ifeel that it’s now my job to inspire you to actually implement and execute these actions. Let’s face it: The big, bad, vast economy is not going to accommodate you with more opportunities and more business without you taking some serious initial steps. The economy most likely doesn’t even know you exist; up until now, you only operated as a small part of the economy and probably never gave a thought to creating your own. The government is not going to bail you out, and it certainly is not going to help you and your company advance and conquer. (In fact, if it offered to, you would probably be better off resisting.) The “money gods” aren’t going to guarantee your solvency or financial freedom, no matter how hard you pray to them. The economy is in the state it’s in; you can be part of it and get whatever is left over after billions of people take their piece, or you can create your own and no longer be a victim of it.

Taking the time to pick up this book and read it suggests that you truly do want to do something different. For this, I acknowledge and congratulate you. Well done to you on getting the book. I applaud you for reading it and even more for finishing it. Now, if you want the world to give you a standing ovation, put the lessons in it to work. Interestingly, one of the most effective ways of perfecting these disciplines is to help others attain success and implement these actions themselves. When people with common goals and motivations come together, they tend to learn faster and become a support system for one another. So gather a group of like-minded, “unreasonable,” and highly driven people who refuse to live by the social norms of the mediocre. Spend time with others who demand to be first in the market and who desire to advance and conquer as much as you do. Assemble a study group to read this book and do the exercises with you. If you own a company, ask your employees to read this book as a team. Then help one another apply and commit to using the actions—and hold one another accountable to these commitments. Go through one chapter per week in a study and discussion session, and follow the recorded audio program. Take the time to look up words in the glossary and really evaluate what each of them means. Teaching others and being part of a group will galvanize your understanding of the material. It will increase your need to perfect what you’ve learned and prove it workable in the marketplace. It will also immediately connect you with other like-minded people who want to improve their futures, and it will extend your power base. Something tells me that you didn’t pick up this book because you are comfortable or satisfied with where you are in life. Chances are you want to change or improve your current position; this will require that you engage in actions that are outside your comfort zone. You won’t find it easy to execute these techniques at first because you’re doing something new. If you aren’t at least a little bit uncomfortable, then you’re likely only doing more of what you have done before, not taking new actions that will incite growth. There are disciplines you must pursue in order to be first , and these require a new mind-set about how to build your business and create your own economy. The discomforts you experience now may well guarantee that you’ll be comfortable in the future. So I hope you elect to be uncomfortable—at least for awhile. Go out there and break through the social norms that your education, family, and the media taught you. Stay with each of the actions until each becomes such a habit that you no longer even see it as being exceptional. Any action alone will get you great results; all of them together will get you phenomenal ones. I even hope that you’re ridiculed, judged, and mocked a bit because if you are willing to go to those lengths, you will reach every financial and personal goal you’ve set. Tough economies are not “normal” times, so stop worrying about being normal. When the economic slowdown ends—and I promise, at some point, it will—you will have developed a skill set that no one else has, a mind-set above those with whom you compete, a superior advantage in the marketplace, and hopefully, an economy of your own that doesn’t depend on outside sources. This will not be a sprint but a marathon of forming new habits and honing a discipline that will become a way of life for you. I suggest that you become a fanatic of each of these actions and use them in a completely unreasonable way. Don’t worry about logic; take action as though your life depends on it—because it does. Your financial life, personal confidence, and overall outlook all depend on the results you attain in the marketplace. The economy does not control people; we compose and control it. Your financial situation is the sum total of the actions you take each day. I have great hopes for you, and I encourage you to take the information herein and use it to ensure that your actions—not the marketplace—determine your, your family, and your company’s financial future. Be outrageous in your thinking, relentless in your execution, and unreasonable in your actions, and you too will advance and conquer.