Product Description

The old saying is wrong—winners do quit, and quitters do win.

Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point—really hard, and not much fun at all.

And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you’re in a Dip—a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it’s really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try.

According to bestselling author Seth 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 quit fast, quit 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 even find the right Dip to conquer.

Whether you’re a graphic designer, a sales rep, an athlete, or an aspiring CEO, this fun little book will help you figure out if you’re in a Dip that’s worthy 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.

Seth Godin doesn’t claim to have all the answers. But he will teach you how to ask the right questions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1750 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 96 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Yet another easily digestible social marketplace commentary from the blogger/author who penned Purple Cow and Small is the New Big, Godin prescribes a cleverly counter-intuitive way to approach one's potential for success. Smart, honest, and refreshingly free of self-help posturing, this primer on winning-through-quitting is at once motivational and comically indifferent, making the lofty goal of "becoming the best in the world" an achievable proposition-all you need is to "start doing some quitting." The secret to "strategic quitting" is seeking, understanding and embracing "the Dip," "the long slog between starting and mastery" in which those without the determination or will find themselves burning out. As such, Godin demonstrates how to identify and quit your "Cul-de-Sac" and "Cliff" situations, in which no amount of work will lead to success. Godin provides tips for finding your Dip, taking advantage of it and becoming one of the few (inevitably valuable) players to emerge on the other side; he also provides guidelines for quitting with confidence. Quick, hilarious and happily irreverent, Godin's truth-that "we fail when we get distracted by tasks we don't have the guts to quit"-makes excellent sense of an often-difficult career move.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Seth Godin is the author of the bestsellers Permission Marketing, Unleashing the Ideavirus, Purple Cow, Free Prize Inside!, All Marketers Are Liars, and Small Is the New Big, among other books. He is also the editor of The Big Moo, the founder and CEO of Squidoo, and one of the most popular business bloggers in the world.

Customer Reviews

A very timely perspective
This book probably saved me from myself. We were starting up yet another business. And this one seemed different at the outset. It had more going for it than anything else we have done and the timing seemed right. We embarked on it with more enthusiasm than before and when everything started to fall into place, we were excited beyond belief.

Then we hit the Dip. A couple of things went wrong. And because we'd been so excited initially, it felt like a kick in the guts. We lost faith rapidly. It all seemed so hard.

Then I read this book. I now understand where we were and why we had to embrace, not avoid, the Dip. If you want to go after something that's important to you, you have to read this book.

Some Solid Statements in This Book
I originally gave this book a lousy review. (I bought the CD). But after thinking about it for a while, I changed my mind. It does not cover every possible angle of the "dip" concept and all of its ramifications. However, the basic argument of the book is sound. The lesson of the book is simple. If you are going after a worthy goal, make sure that you give it your best. If you get hung up (the dip), keep pushing. You will get results beyond typical. If you are not going after a worthy goal, drop it and move on. Simple but great advice. I originally got hung up on all of the "what ifs" resulting from this concept. Don't overthink this book! Take it for what it is - a very simple set of rules for basic decision making.

Stuck at the Bottom?
"Being the Best in the World Is Seriously Underrated"

The Dip is a book dedicated to being the Best. Why settle at being anything else? The book also is very helpful in determining when to quit. Quitting is a part of a success time line. I have been in each of the cycles that Seth describes in his book the Dip, the Cliff, and the Cul-de-Sac.

Seth just has a way of simplifying the process to identify what to do in each of the above cases. It is a remarkable mix of common sense and guidance in asking the hard questions to yourself about your situation.