Book Freak #53: Know When to Quit
I read on a Kindle and I make a lot of highlights. A few years ago I discovered Readwise, a service that automatically collects my highlights and presents me with a random assortment of all the highlights I've ever made in the form of a personal email newsletter. Every day I'm surprised by something I highlighted years or even weeks ago. Readwise has more features, but the daily review makes it worth the cost. Readwise is offering readers of Book Freak 60 days for free. If you're a book freak and read ebooks, I'm pretty sure you'll be glad you tried it. -- Mark
My friend Seth Godin is the author of innumerable books on leadership, creativity, business, and change. He also has a terrific podcast.
Here are four pieces of advice from his book, THE DIP.
Before you start, decide when quitting is the best choice
“Here’s a quote from ultramarathoner Dick Collins: Decide before the race the conditions that will cause you to stop and drop out. You don’t want to be out there saying, 'Well gee, my leg hurts, I’m a little dehydrated, I’m sleepy, I’m tired, and it’s cold and windy.' And talk yourself into quitting. If you are making a decision based on how you feel at that moment, you will probably make the wrong decision.”
Quit before you start
"If you’re going to quit, quit before you start. Reject the system. Don’t play the game if you realize you can’t be the best in the world."
Before you quit, ask yourself if you have anything to lose by contunuing
“When the pain gets so bad that you’re ready to quit, you’ve set yourself up as someone with nothing to lose. And someone with nothing to lose has quite a bit of power. You can go for broke. Challenge authority. Attempt unattempted alternatives. Lean into a problem; lean so far that you might just lean right through it.”
Know when not to quit
“Never quit something with great long-term potential just because you can’t deal with the stress of the moment.”
Buy THE DIP on Amazon
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