This small book (96 pages) by Seth Godin is one of the best books that I have read this year. It has totally changed my approach to work and life. It is a book that teaches when to quit and when to stick.

It was Vance Lombardi who said “Quitters never win and winners never quit.” But according to Godin “Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.” Sounds like bad advice; read the book and see how it transforms your attitude to life and about winning and quitting.

The book gets its name (Dip) from the phases of hardship and slow progress that comes after you have started something. It can be a new project, job, hobby, or company. During the initial phases the going is fun. You are all fired up; you get results; you get accolades; it is exciting and fun and you are on a high. Once the initial euphoria is over, it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point. Once you reach this point you keep asking yourself whether the goal is worth the effort; you keep having doubts about your success; you are unable to decide what to do.

In such situations you could be either in a Dip or in a Cul-de-Sac. A Dip is a temporary setback that will overcome if you keep pushing. But a Cul-de-Sac is a state that will never get better, no matter how hard you try.

According to Godin, what really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly while staying focused and motivated when it really counts. Winners are the best in what they do. They are the number ones in their niche. There is no point in being number three or four. According to Zipf’s law the number one gets 10 times the benefit of number 10 and 100 times the benefit of number 100.

According to Godin, you should never try to be an all rounder or a jack-of-all-trades. You have to be the best in your field. “How often do you hope that you accountant is a safe driver or a decent golfer?” So the idea is to be the best in your field and get better in that every day.

Godin insists that you ask yourself the following questions before starting something new:

1. Can I/we become the best in the world? (Here, ‘world’ means your world, the world you’re competing in.)
2. Do I/we have the resources to make it happen?
3. Is the reward worth the effort?

If you believe the answer is “yes” to all three, slog through ‘The Dip’, keeping your eyes on the prize, because most of the others will quit. If you answer “no” to any of the questions, quitting is not just OK but smart. Quitting when you cannot win frees up you or your company’s resources to go after something that you can win. Godin convincingly makes the case that the axiom “quitters never win and winners never quit” is wrong, as long as quitters keep searching for the things they can win.

“Winners quit fast, quite often, and quit without guilt—until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can become number one in your niche, you’ll get more than your fair share of profits, glory, and long-term security. Losers on the other hand, fall into two basic traps. Either they fail to stick out the Dip—they get to the moment of truth and then give up—or they never find the right Dip to conquer.”

Irrespective of who you are and what profession you are in, this cute little book will help you figure out if you are in a Dip that is worth of your time, effort, and talents. If you are, the Dip will inspire you to hang tough. If not, it will help you find the courage to quit—so you can be number one at something else.

The writing is clean, precise and lean. The illustrations by Hugh Macleod are fun and thought provoking. This is a MUST read for all who want to win and succeed in life.

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 the tasks we don’t have the guts to quit.

Book Details:

• Author: Seth Godin
• Publisher: Portfolio
• Year: 2007
• ISBN: 9781591841661
• Cover & Page Count: Hardcover, 96 pages