The 10x Problem
If your Linkedin inbox is anything like mine, it’s a lot of this.
Helping Experts Scale to $50k
Helping Clients Grow Over $100 Million in 2021
…hire me to scale to 6-7 figures
I’m bored.
The 10x Problem
I’m tired of all the cold outreach that assumes what my goals are, and that those assumptions are exclusively about money. What’s worse, is that I know just how easy it is to make these claims without anything to back it up. I’ve had Zoom calls with people, recently, where despite what their profile said and all those logos on their website, I could feel the desperation in their voices hoping that I’d sign onto their coaching program without even the faintest scent that I’d expressed ANY interest at all.
But, as angry as this trend makes me, more so, it makes me sad. Look closely and you will see this problem everywhere right now.
- It’s the abundance of coaches coaching coaches to coach coaches
- It’s the legions of 10x gurus and “contrepreneurs“
- It’s the Crypto-NFT community trying desperately to convince everyone that all this crappy, uninspired, computer generated “artwork” and magic internet money will really be worth something, someday. No, really. We’re gonna build a real island to mirror the fake island in the Matrix.
One thing we love in this country is a good grift. The reason is simple. We’ve put money above all else.
In a country where money equates to safety and survival, we’re all scurrying to acquire as much as we can in an effort to feel safe. Because it’s something we all need, it’s something everyone is trying to sell you access to.
The most unfortunate part is that our myopia has us only solving part of the problem, both individually and collectively.
The Purpose Gap
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard of the Japanese concept of Ikigai.
- I’ve never had a Linkedin message ask me what I’m good at, or indicate that they’d dug deep enough to know.
- I’ve never had one ask me what I thought the world needs.
- I’ve never had one ask me what I love.
They just want to tell me about the system they are selling that they assure me, I can be paid for. Trust me, you are no more than one pixel away from someone willing to show you how to 10x your life, how to flip real estate, and how to “get in on it early.” The question is money, the answer is money.
I have to believe we’re more than that.
Where do we go from here?
Today, I don’t have a clever framework to share. There’s no deep-dive, no cheat sheet, and no email-gated download. All I have for you today is two questions.
- What if more people adopted an approach where money was only one component paired alongside what we are good at, what we enjoy, and what the world needs from us?
- What if we looked at the problems that money is seeking to answer and tried to identify other solutions?
We can do better than this.
Whether it’s 10x, 20x, or 30x, 6-figures, 7-figures, or 8, it’s all the same pitch, all the same rhetoric and it’s profoundly uninspired. Furthermore, by staying locked into this one answer, we fail to address the underlying situations we’re attempting to solve for.
That’s it. This is the unofficial end to this post/rant but if you want to stick around, I’ll illustrate how answering those questions might change things.
…
1. Ikigai Pitches
I’m going to give you two pitches for my new podcast networking Shareable.FM and two pitches for my book The Lovable Leader.
One will be the standard, hyper-growth method (V1), the other will use what I’ll just refer to as the Ikigai method (V2).
Shareable.fm
V1: Hey Jeff, I found your profile and I can help you monetize your podcast. My podcast network Shareable.fm teaches you the monetization strategies that have helped our clients generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue from their podcast. In 30 days, I can help you book at least 6 new high dollar clients using our G2C formula.
Here’s my calendar link: calendly.com/billionairemindset/podcast-hustle
V2: Hey Jeff, I want to ask you a question that not many people think about…
What do you think the world needs right now?
Here’s the thing, whatever your answer to that question is, I want to help you make that happen and here’s how…
I just launched a new podcast network called Shareable.fm designed for people who want to share their expertise, and build a business that lets them do what they love. I’ve been podcasting since 2013 and one of the things I’m good at is simplifying how podcasting works, including production and how it can be used as a tool for both business and spreading ideas. So, I built shareable.fm for podcasters, so they can make a living on their own terms.
If you’ve even thought about starting a podcast before, I’d love to grab 15 minutes to hear about your biggest ideas, and tell you about how our network can help you do that. Does this sound like something you’d be interested in talking about?
Lovable Leader
V1: Hey Jeff, I see that you are a new manager. I recently wrote a book called The Lovable Leader that can help you become a better leader. If you want to move from new manager to the next level and eventually into the c-suite, this book is for you. Learning the ability to lead and manage people can dramatically increase your earning potential within just a few months. Invest in your future now, before someone else gets promoted into the position that is yours for the taking.
V2: Hey Jeff, I see that you just moved into a new manager role and wanted to reach out and say congratulations. I vividly remember my early days of managing people. It’s a big responsibility and even though it may feel like a burden at times, it’s a privilege that I am confident you’ll embrace.
Everyone comes to leadership with different experiences, strengths, and weaknesses. Similarly, everyone finds something different that draws them to leadership. I love the idea of inspiring people and help them become their best.
I’m curious, what do you find you like best about leadership so far?
I believe now, more than ever, the world needs leaders who build teams with trust, respect and kindness. If that is something you also think the world needs, I want to invite you to check out my book written specifically for new managers: The Lovable Leader. Whatever your starting point as a manager, I wrote the book to help you lean into your strengths and round out your leadership skills. The earlier you can learn to lead people, the more helpful it will be later on as you grow into leadership roles with more responsibility.
Either way, congrats again on the new role. I’ll be cheering you on.
2. Alternative Solutions
What other solutions can we come up with to the problems where the current answer is money?
This goes deeper than business and beyond the 10x pitches and instead asks us to question the entire system that produces a mode of thinking where money is the answer to every question.
The 10x pitches presume that we don’t have enough money. The follow-up question must be: enough money for what? Once we answer that, instead of answering it with how to make more money, we might instead follow the 5 whys exercise to get to the root of the problem.
Let’s try it.
I fear I don’t have enough money for retirement
Why?
I don’t have a pension and Social Security won’t be enough to cover my needs. I also haven’t put away enough money and even if I start now compounding interest won’t have enough time to cover my future expenses.
Why?
Because I don’t have enough money left to save after all of my cost of living expenses.
Why?
I don’t make enough money and between my student loans, health insurance premiums, rent, and food, I’m living paycheck to paycheck.
Why?
Because I haven’t gotten a raise in years and my employer health insurance is okay, but leaves me trapped because I can’t afford to lose it. Because I work so much, I can’t even take time off work to interview. Also, my rent goes up every year and even after cutting out dining out, my grocery budget is outrageous unless I buy cheap, unhealthy food.
Why?
…and this is where we ask ourselves what problems actually need to be solved. There’s at least 7 mentioned above.
Sure, if this one person makes more money, they will probably be better off. Yet every other person in their situation is no better off. Our problems individually and collectively will not be solved by the newest tactic to 10x. We cannot Bored Ape our way out of these problems. Even if we convince everyone to become a coach, start an online course, or become an AirBNB superhost, we cannot escape structural problems created by how our systems are designed, and who benefits from it.
- Maybe the problem isn’t hustle, it’s that the gig economy removes all benefits and protections for workers while handsomely rewarding shareholders for the labor of people who work their second shift delivering food through Doordash.
- Maybe the problem isn’t your saving habits, it’s that anti-union measures have removed collective bargaining for employees leaving them with lower salaries and reduced benefits like pensions or worker protections.
- Maybe the problem isn’t that you don’t have enough clients, it’s that we’ve created a world where we will actually let people literally starve to death or become homeless if they don’t have enough money.
Or maybe I’m wrong and what we all really need to do is just join more programs until we all find a way out, and no longer need to grow 10x to survive.