I knew it was ok to quit. All those times I was told to persevere and stick to it...no matter how bad a plan or unsuccessful the task or job at hand was. I have seen the light and it's in a little book called "The Dip" by Seth Godin.
When I finished the book this week, I began to think about the times in my life where I just wouldn't quit something because I was too comfortable. The pay was too good, the benefits were too nice, I really wanted to see it through to the end, because quitting was for losers. Even if the end meant going down in flames.
I also thought about the times I should have pushed through "the dip". That's the time where after you first start something that's fun and exciting and you get great feedback from people around you and suddenly it happens. Here's an excerpt from Seth's book:
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. It's the combination of bureaucracy and busywork you must deal with in order to get certified in scuba diving....The Dip is the set of artificial screens set up to keep people like you out... The Dip is the long stretch between beginner's luck and real accomplishment. (The Dip by Seth Goden, page 17)
Do you have a strategic plan for quitting? Is the strategy and vision still good? If it is maybe the tactics you are attempting to implement the strategy with just aren't working. It doesn't help the vision when you stick to your guns on a tactic that just doesn't have the legs. Maybe it did at one time, but it's time to honor the tactic and lay it to rest.
Is this book great for ministry? Absolutely. It doesn't matter where you're at. If you're a CEO, a ministry leader, an employee, pastor, church staff member, even a stay at home mommy. This book is great!
All our successes are the same. All our failures, too.
We succeed when we do something remarkable.
We fail when we give up too soon.
We succeed when we are the best in the world at what we do.
We fail when we get distracted by tasks we don't have the guts to quit. - Seth Godin
Check out Seth Godin's main blog here.
Visit his blog for "The Dip" here.
Purchase "The Dip" on Amazon here.
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