Book: "The Dip," on When to Quit & When to Stick

Stuck in a rough spot? Do your press through or bail out? That seems to be the core dialogue in Seth Godin's upcoming new book, The Dip: a Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit and When to Stick.

Guy Kawasaki posted an interview with the author of The Dip on his blog today, and I really think you should read it. It will make you think.

While reading the interview (since the book isn't released yet) I was thinking of one big dip I was in last year. On my way towards building my company to a national level, I've been making leaps and bounds in the quality of my work and depth of my holistic businesses niche. But this intense level of growth forced me into one of the biggest dips in my career--working 16-hours a day, every day, for months. I was doing the work of a team; I had the overhead of a team; and I had the client capacity of a solo-professional. I had to decide if I wanted to continue, because this pace isn't sustainable.

Seeing what Seth Godin calls "a dip," I knew I had to cross through this one. I'm 100% sure I'm on my path. Yet to get through the dip, I could clearly see another 6-12 months of more effort. I would have to bring in other coaches on my team, build out the system for them, train them, and market them. And that's not the hard part. The hard part is that I would have to do it without one extra minute of time. There would be more pain in the short term, to get to the other side. Yet somehow, I know I can and should proceed through this dip. It was a conscious choice.

What's happening now, 6-months after really owning my decision, is that I'm seeing the other side of the dip. I've got 2 new coaches on my team who are amazing. The Laws of Attraction are definitely working. The more committed I am, the more opportunities that arrive. I'm still in the overworking phase that I knew I'd have to go through as part of the dip--but this pain is secondary to the rush of energy that comes with seeing the other side of the dip in plain view. I've never been so tired and yet so energized at the same time.

Now, don't get the wrong idea from my story that all dips are supposed to be worked through. There are other pitfalls that should be avoided. It seems the whole point of the book is in knowing how to decide.

I'm pre-ordering that book from Amazon today. The release date is May 10th. [Click here to buy it.]

You really should at least read Guy Kawasaki's interview with Seth Godin.

And if you're up for sharing your stories on dips, I'd love to hear them. I think a lot of people would. You can leave comments online at the bottom of the blog post.

Comments

[kristen]

what a great, useful concept for a book.

happy birthday dear little blog!