"Hardworking, motivated people find diversification a natural outlet for their energy and drive. Diversification feels like the right thing to do. Enter a new market, apply for job in a new area, start a new sport. Who knows? This might just be the one. And yet the real success goes to those who obsess. The focus that leads you through the Dip to the other side is rewarded by a marketplace in search of the best in the world....Before you enter a new market, consider what would happen if yo managed to get through the Dip and win in the market you're already in"
"The challenge is simple: Quit when you hit the Dip is a bad idea. If the journey you started was worth doing, then quitting when you hit the Dip just wastes the time you've already invested. Quit in the Dip often enough and you'll find yourself becoming a serial quitter, starting many things but accomplishing little. Simple: If you can't make it through the Dip, don't start. If you can embrace that simple rule, you'll be a lot choosier about which journeys you start"
"The Dip is actually your greatest ally because it makes the project worthwhile (and keeps others from competing with you). But wait, that's not enough. Not only do you need to find a Dip that you can conquer but you also need to quit all the Cul-de-Sacs that you're currently idling your way through. You must quit the projects and investments and endeavors that don't offer you the same opportunity. It's difficult, but it's vitally important. Being better than 98 percent of the competition used to be fine. In the world of Google, though, it's useless. It's useless because all of your competition is just a click away, whatever it is you do. The only position you can count on now is best in the world"
"Seven reasons you might fail to become the best in the world: you run out of time (and quit). You run out of money (and quit). You get scared (and quit). You're not serious about it (and quit). You lose interest or enthusiasm or settle for being mediocre (and quit). You focus on the short term instead of the long (and quit when the short term gets too hard). You pick the wrong thing at which to be the best in the world (because you don't have the talent). By "you" I mean your team, your company, or just plain you, the job seeker, the employee, or the entrepreneur. The important thing to remember about these seven things is that you can plan for them. You can know before you start whether or not you have the resources and the will to get to the end. Most of the time, if you fail to become the best in the world, it's either because you planned wrong or because you gave up before you reached your goal"
"You're explaining to yourself why those Cul-de-Sacs you're in aren't really dead ends (they are). You're busy defending the mediocre work your organization does because it's the best you can do under the circumstances (it's not). You don't want to quit. It's not fun. It's not easy. So you haven't. But you should. You must! Or, you could just settle for being average"
"When should I quit? I need to decide now, not when I'm in the middle of it, and not when part of me is begging to quit"
Bestâ = best for them, right now, based on what they believe and what they know.
âin the worldâ = their world, the world they have access to.
So if Iâm looking for a freelance copy editor, I want the best copy editor in English, whoâs available, who can find a way to work with me at a price I can afford.
Thatâs my best in the world.
If your micromarket is âorganic markets in Tulsa,â then thatâs your world.
Being the best in that world is the place to be.
Before you enter a new market, consider what would happen if you managed to get through the dip and win in the market youâre already in.
The opposite of quitting is rededication - an invigorated new strategy designed to break the problem apart.
Short-term pain has more impact on most people than long-term benefits do.
Thatâs why itâs so important for you to amplify the long-term benefits of not quitting.
When people quit, they are often focused on the short-term benefits.
Before you start something, write down under what circumstances youâre willing to quit. And when. And then stick with it