When the Great Recession hit in late 2007, Grant Cardone lost a lot of money.
A lot of money. At first, he wallowed in the misfortune. Then he got to work on bouncing back by writing his first book. Since then, he’s studied what the highest achievers do when their life and security appears to be going up in flames.
1. Get past denial.
The stages of grief begin with denial, but it is the least helpful emotion of all. Cardone says it is the stage when “all of your efforts and energy are put into resisting the change that has just happened.” Examples include Blockbuster execs chalking up Netflix as a fad in the early 2000s or a man dismissing his wife’s request for a divorce as just another emotional argument.
2. Overcome anger and blame.
Rather than accepting responsibility for what has happened, we tend to look for scapegoats. Cardone says we must look intrinsically at our own role in the problem to be able to bounce back.
3. Stop bargaining and hoping.
Hope is not a strategy. In this stage of dealing with our troubles, we search for a white knight to save us. It is, again, a low level of responsibility that should be overcome as quickly as possible.
4. Eliminate apathy.
Cardone cites examples in this stage that would include a business owner deciding to no longer advertise after one big marketing effort failed to produce fruit, or the husband retreating inward in an attempt to ride out the storms in his marriage rather than working harder to fix them. In this stage, we have accepted the reality of the big change, but we refuse to do what is necessary to right the ship. It is a stage of withdrawal, and should be dealt with quickly.
5. Understand the limitations of false actions.
If the problem is deep and serious enough, small fixes and half measures will not suffice. Cardone says this stage occurs when we underestimate the severity of the change that has occurred.
6. Strike out disappointment.
This is another version of apathy, and it is the result of false actions that don’t do enough to rectify the situation.
7. Reach true acceptance.
Only when you allow yourself to admit, deep down, the severity and scale of the loss will you be able to take the necessary actions to move forward. Cardone says ultimate acceptance comes with the realization that new skills, energy and commitment are needed. In this stage, you will experience renewed excitement about your future, and begin to take the necessary steps to rebuild—perhaps 10 times bigger than before.
Related: Grant Cardone’s 10x Commandments
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2020 issue of SUCCESS magazine.
Photo by Joseph Gruenthal / Unsplash
