For any readers stumbling across this article, check out Part 1 of this series to see how I stumbled across the 10X Growth Con and won a free ticket.
When it was final that I would be attending Grant Cardone’s 10X Growth Conference, I really didn’t know what t to expect. In order to prepare, I immediately downloaded the 10X Rule on my Audible app.
For those of you who do not know about Audible, its Amazon’s audiobook service and it is AWESOME! I have a subscription and so should you. Whether I’m driving, working out, shaving, or cooking; I can consume books. In any given year, I probably get through 24 books or so.
Grant Cardone narrates his own books, which I was very happy about, and he does an awesome job at it. His style is very upbeat and high energy. I don’t anyone else could read his books the way he does.
After the listening to the 10X Rule, I felt pretty prepared for what I would be walking into, but I still didn’t really “get” what this conference was all about. For me, I knew at the very least I would be meeting up with some e-commerce folks I knew from Facebook Groups and that in itself would make the trip worth it to me.
Getting to the Conference
To get in the right mindset, I did something I have never done before; I booked a first class ticket to Las Vegas.
If you have never flown first class, I highly recommend trying it. The expense really wasn’t that much more considering the enjoyment and ability to work that I got out of it. It’s amazing how much more computer work you can get done when you’re first on the plane and not squished into an economy seat.
Right from boarding the last leg of my trip to Vegas, I started realizing that this conference was a bigger deal than I thought. I saw a guy wearing a 10X hoodie. Naively, I thought, “Wow, small world.” When I got to the airport and started heading to the baggage claim area, 10X apparel clad bros from every corner of the airport started to descend on the baggage carousels.
The 10X message was clearly everywhere. Even witnessing this, I still didn’t realize the magnitude of the experience I was entering.
After grabbing my bags, I took an elevator up to the floor where Uber drivers were permitted to pull up. Once my ride showed up, I was on my way to the Luxor Hotel, which is next door and connected to the Mandalay Bay where the conference was taking place.
A Hotel With a 10X Crowd
In the hotel reception line at the Luxor, more signs of 10X were everywhere. Some people had their lanyards already. Others chatted with that confidence you only see at a personal growth sales event. Not to be vain, but I noticed that most of these people were impressive looking.
Men and women, well dressed, mostly in-shape, and outgoing was the vibe. The way people carry themselves says a lot and I got the distinct impression that were a lot of success minded people around me. There seemed to be 10X chatter up and down the reception line as we waited to check in.
After dropping my bags off at the hotel room, I headed downstairs to look for the 10X registration area. This was quite the hike from the Luxor. Walking from the Luxor tower to the entrance of the conference center in Mandalay Bay seemed to be about a mile.
Unfortunately, since I booked so late, there were no rooms available at Mandalay Bay. I highly suggest you book your lodging early!
Conference Registration
The registration was in a large space well beyond the arena. I’m hesitant to call the space a ballroom, because it looked more like a warehouse space. The lights were bright, the floor was concrete, and there were very bureaucratic lines guiding you towards the proper registration area.
The registration itself was very smooth and if you plan on attending this conference in the future, I highly suggest that you go to registration the day before the event starts. I was warned by the staff that the first morning would be much crazier in terms of lines.
For me, it was a quick process. I showed my ID and was provided with the basic registration items. The registration items included a cloth 10X wristband that I was instructed not to take off, as well as my lanyard with 10X badge. The whole process took less than 5 minutes.
Lots of Networking
After leaving registration, I wandered back towards the main casino in Mandalay Bay. I hadn’t eaten, wasn’t there with anyone, and figured it would be unlikely I’d meet up with my acquaintances from the Facebook group that night.
On a whim, I stopped into the first bar/restaurant I saw on the way back. Seated at the bar, I ordered a drink and asked for a dinner menu. Seeing my new lanyard, a gentleman by the name of David introduced himself and it turned out he was going to be at the same conference.
David explained how he was a small business owner on Long Island and that he was attending the conference to grow his business and his mindset.
David and I chatted over dinner about business. He was the first 10X’er I had a meaningful conversation with, but he would wouldn’t be the last.
What I found was that I was completely surrounded by highly energized and motivated entrepreneurs. I loved every minute of it. Everyone was outgoing and in networking mode. If you’re an introvert, be prepared for people to drag you out of your shell because they will want to meet you.
Notable people I met included a young guy from Canada who was a real estate investor, a gentlemen who was mining/investing in cryptocurrency, and a guy who had authored a series of children’s books.
First Morning of the Conference
When it finally came to the morning of conference, I had breakfast with a fellow conference attendee I had just met and then proceeded to the venue. It wasn’t until this point I realized the sheer magnitude of a Grant Cardone event.
The attendance was somewhere in excess of 10,000 people. There was strong security and beyond that, promotional material everywhere. Thumping music laid the background to a pumped up crowd waiting to get into the arena.
Seating was kind of tight in general admission, just as it would have been for a concert at the Mandalay Bay arena. In each seat there was a bag with various goodies that included bumper stickers, a 10X notebook, and 10X pen.
When the conference started, it was like being at a rock concert. Smoke, lights, music, you name it… people were fired up. To culminate the start of the event, Grant Cardone <I shit you not> descended from the ceiling. That was pretty cool, to say the least.
Conference Format
I could write a book on the whole 3-day conference, but to give you an idea of what the material was like I’ll give you the basic format.
A speaker is introduced, they speak for 30 to 45 minutes, they pitch a product for 10 to 15 minutes, they get off the stage, repeat. I know some of you will be turned off by the product pitches, but we are talking about an event sponsored by one of the premier sales guys in the world. Pitches are to be expected and you can learn from them.
Seeing as the event is large, this isn’t really a high pressured sales environment, so it’s up to you to go seek out the product if you really want it. I found the predictable sales pitch pattern to be a good time to go hit the concession stand or use the bathroom, so in a way it was convenient break time.
The speakers and the content was phenomenal. I can’t think of a single speaker that did a bad job. They were all-stars all around. Some speeches were different than others though.
Some people will give you straightforward strategies, some people will give you a motivational speech, and some will talk about topics that veer off far from just being business oriented.
Topics others than business that I walked away understanding a lot more about included health, relationships, and science. It was fascinating stuff and I still find myself nearly 6 months later talking to friends about the things I heard.
More Networking
In my case, I wasn’t just there for the conference. I was there to network with e-commerce contacts I had “met” through a Facebook Group community.
It’s so funny how much meeting someone for business networking from the internet is like meeting a blind date from a dating app. You search the room, squinting, debating whether it’s them or not. You go up, shake hands, and try to feel out whether they are an ax murderer. You start having conversation, build rapport, and before you know it they don’t feel like a stranger anymore. It’s a beautiful thing.
Anthony Busciglio, mentioned in Part 1 of this series, hadn’t arrived in Vegas yet as of the end of day 1. A married business couple, Amanda and John, from the Facebook group were in town and had invited me to Margaritaville.
We had a great time discussing our respective e-commerce ventures. I learned a bunch from this couple as they had many more years of experience than I did. It had turned out John hadn’t met Anthony in the flesh yet either, so later on that evening we would both be meeting him for the first time.
We made our way over to a casino bar nearby and Anthony eventually arrived after taking a late flight in from New Jersey with his wife. It was great to finally meet the guy who gave me this great opportunity to come out to the 10X Conference.
We drank and had a wonderful time. I bought shots to get the party going… and then I bought myself time in the oxygen kiosk the next morning to fight the hangover. It was a good time. Always come physically prepared for after hours conference networking!
Final Thoughts on the Conference
My time spent at the 10X Growth Conference was transformational. Being around over 10,000 motivated entrepreneurs and investors was inspiring. The speakers I heard shared a lot of knowledge and left a lasting impression on me.
The networking was phenomenal and cemented relationships with people that were online acquaintances.
Bottom line, the 10X Growth Conference is totally worth it if you’re looking to get motivated and get some strategies for growing your business or investing efforts.
I already bought my tickets for 10X Growth Con 3, so if you’re coming, let me know. I would love to meet you. You can get your tickets by clicking here.
5/23/2019 Update: The location and dates for the 2020 10X GrowthCon 4 has been announced! The event will be in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay February 21st to the 23rd. Check out this ticket deal here. Get them quick because this venue will sell out quickly based on seats available!
3/8/2021 Update: This year is a mix of in-person and virtual attendance. There is still time to get a virtual seat at GrantCardone.com
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