The Dip by Seth Godin

Published by The Penguin Group, New York, NY

(c) 2007

"Quitters never win and winners never quit." Bad advice. Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.

Most people quit. They just don't do it successfully. If you learn about the systems that have been put in place that encourage quitting, you'll be more likely to beat them. And once you understand the common sinkhole that trips up so many people (I call it the Dip), you'll be one step closer to getting through it.

Almost everything in life worth doing is controlled by the Dip.

At the beginning, when you first start something, it's fun. You could be taking up golf, or acupuncture, or piloting a plane; it's interesting, and you get plenty of good feedback from the people around you. Over the next few days and weeks, the rapid learning you experience keeps you going. Whatever your new thing is, it's easy to stay engaged in. Then the Dip happens.

The Dip is the long slog between starting and mastery. A long slog that's actually a shortcut, because it gets you where you want to go faster than any other path.

Cul-de-sac

The cul-de-sac (French for dead end) is a situation where you work and work and work and nothing much changes. It doesn't get a lot better, it doesn't get a lot worse. It just is. That's why they call those jobs dead-end jobs. When you're caught in a cul-de-sac you need to get off it fast. That's because a dead end is keeping you from doing something better. The opportunity cost of investing your life in something that's not going to get better is just too high.

The Dip is the secret to your success. The people who set out to make it through the Dip--the people who invest the time and the energy and the effort to power through the Dip--those are the ones who become the best in the world. They are breaking the system, because instead of moving on to the next thing, instead of doing slightly above average, and settling for what they've got, they embrace the challenge. For whatever reason, they refuse to abandon the quest and they push through the Dip all the way to the next level.

Facing the Dip

You may be sure that your product is the best in the world, but no one outside a tiny group cares at all. The marketers who get rewarded are the ones who don't quit. They hunker down through the Dip and galvanize and insulate and perfect their product while others keep looking for another quick hit.

Getting off a cul-de-sace is not a moral failing. It's just smart. Seeing a cliff coming far in advance isn't a sign of weakness. Instead it represents real insight and bravery. It frees up your energy for the Dip.