Maps/Gear | Generative Initiatives Overview | Personal 10X Commitments

What is a 10X Commitment?

A "10X Commitment" is the label we're using for a personal commitment to a radical shift in the lasting difference you're making in your world.

What's really lasting? What's the lasting legacy you want to leave for your children's children, and their children? What stories do you want them to tell about your role in this period of global awakening?

"10X" refers to an order-of-magnitude shift; one that feels impossible — a shift that will require you to explore outside the box of your current thinking — a shift that demands that you not go it alone.

Why make a 10X Commitment?

The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

Two ways that Providence plays out when you take a committed stand:

1. Those who are aligned will bring forth their support
2. Those who are resistant will help you see what's missing

We humans are much much more than we think we are. We are limited only by our current beliefs of what's possible. We are gifted with freedom of choice. A deep and passionate commitment is one of the most generative choices we can make. Use it or lose it.

How do I evolve my 10X Commitment?

Personal commitments usually develop slowly, like those Polaroid prints. What helps?


Why 10X? Why not 5X? And how do you measure whether you've achieved your commitment?

10X is arbitrary. The key is to get way beyond what you see as feasible or reasonable. 10X is a mental "forcing function" to support out-of-box exploration —to encourage your seeking alliances with other infinite players.

It's time to begin to think in terms of "quantum" or order-of-magnitude shifts. We have the capacity to shift the lasting difference we can make as leaders by much more than 10X. Unless we're thinking in terms of order-of-magnitude shifts we will miss the incredible possibilities that are open to us today.

We must find ways of breaking out of our boxes as leaders and as organizational architects. Einstein's assertion: The significant problems we face in life can not be solved at the level of thinking that created those problems could be paraphrased — Get outta da box!

What is meant by "out-of-box"?

Each of us lives in a box with walls defined by our beliefs, by how we speak and listen, by our distinctions and mental models, and by culturally reinforced ways of being. What we believe affects what we perceive. Believing is seeing. As Henry Ford put it: "Whether you believe you can or believe you can't, you'll be right."

We are unconscious of our boxes, and of their size. Like a fish in an aquarium, we can never imagine the possibility of oceans. Like our cartoon friends in the box, we can't imagine what might be possible if we designed and led our organizations in a way that freed our human spirit in the same way all the rest of nature has been free to create and evolve.

It's easy to see the boxes of those who are brought up in radically different cultures. We may be struck by their ignorance of what seems obvious to us. We are equally ignorant of the walls of our individual boxes, especially if they are culturally reinforced.

What are the critical success factors associated with making a 10X commitment?

Several come to mind:

• You are committing to something you feel passionate about. It's really important to you.
• It will help bring out your particular gifts and move you toward your higher purpose—a higher/larger game.
• It feels like you can't get there from here.
• You see making this commitment as a privilege versus a duty.
• You invite coaching and support from all quarters.
• You expect unexpected breakdowns and are committed to mining them for breakthroughs.

It also seems to help if you focus on making a lasting difference versus more transient achievements.

What is meant by "expecting unexpected breakdowns" and "mining them for breakthroughs?"

Every breakdown is a learning opportunity. I can choose to use the breakdown to expand my box, to dig for the potential breakthrough learning(s), or I can choose to deny, to blame self or others, to work harder and faster, etc.

When I go for the impossible, breakdowns are inevitable. I know that intellectually. In that sense I expect them. On the other hand, I don't know when or where they'll show up. And, incidentally, they don't feel good. It's much more comfortable to stay in my box.