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The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)

Name: The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)
Rating: 5 (13 reviews)
Author: Seth Godin
ISBN: 9781591841661

Seth Godin · 2007 · 80 pages

A New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller

In this iconic bestseller, popular business blogger and bestselling author Seth Godin proves that winners are really just the best quitters. Godin shows that winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt—until they commit to beating the right Dip.

Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out fun…then gets really hard, and not much fun at all. You might be in a Dip—a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it’s really a Cul-de-Sac—a total dead end. What really sets superstars apart is the ability to tell the two apart.

Winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can beat the Dip to be the best, you’ll earn profits, glory, and long-term security.
Whether you’re an intern or a 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. The old saying is wrong—winners do quit, and quitters do win.

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recommended by 13 people

sourced from public statements

Ryan Holiday
“Some of the books that have changed my life and had the most influence on me: The Power Broker by Robert Caro, 48 Laws of Power, The Black Swan, life is unpredictable. Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club. Four Hour Work Week - Huge! 33 Strategies of War, obviously Robert Greene's Mastery. Pia Mellody, one of my favorite authors [Facing Codependence]. This biography of John D Rockefeller, maybe you remember it from The Obstacle is the way? This book by John Boyd [...] Malcolm X the autobiography, Great Gatsby, What Makes Sammy Run. A friend of mine recommended this biography William Lee Miller on President Lincoln. It was one of the books that changed his life. Had totally changed how I thought about leadership. The War of Art, Turning Pro - two favorites from Steven Pressfield. Haruki Murakami's book on running 'What I talk about when I talk about running'. Ellison's Invisible Man. Again another book from Pia Mellody [Facing Love Addiction]. Cheryl Strayed's Tiny Beautiful Things. Thích Nhất Hạnh's Taming the Tiger Within. The Brass Check - this book inspired the name of my marketing company and my book Trust Me I'm Lying. This is one of my copies of Meditations. Why Don't We Learn From History by BH Liddell Hart. Prescription For Adversity, a strange book biography of Ambrose Bierce that I like. Candide, interesting story I stole this from where I got married they had this on the shelf. I read it while I was waiting for my wife to get ready to get married and I thought hey I'm keeping this. [...] Second Mountain, this is a new addition to the shelf. Dr. Drew [The Mirror Effect] who introduced me to stoicism, Great! This is a cool book -Lincoln: the Biography of a Writer it's an analysis of Lincoln as if he was a writer. This book: Strategy by BH Liddell Hart influenced how I think about strategy.John Graves Hard Scrabble, influenced how I think about my farm. Fishing For Fun is a new book, I just read by Herbert Hoover about the philosophical benefits of fishing and yes Herbert Hoover, the president. Chesterfield's letters to his son [...] Seth Godin's the Dip, great book. Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves To Death. Jane Jacobs also amazing. Daniel Boorstin, great. Death Be Not Proud, beautiful book. So these are some of the books, it's my life shelf. [...] Oh Austin Kleon's Steal Like An Artist, great! The Way To Love by Anthony De Mello.”↗
Nathaniel Drew
“"The Dip". Seth Godin is such a talented writer that several of his books could have ended up on here. I picked this one because it's incredibly short and yet it was incredibly impactful for me in my career. "Quitting" for me has always been an ugly word. I usually stick with things until the bitter end, but this book really showed me that knowing when to quit can be an incredible skill. As he said it: "Quit or be exceptional. Average is for losers." I listened to this while driving through the Oregon countryside at the very beginning of this year. Wondering if posting these videos online was going to work out for me. All I can say is: "Seth, you're the man"”↗
Chris Do
“Books on “doing the work” and why showing up each day matters. The ONE Thing (← this), The Dip (fastest), The Compound Effect (classic), The Obstacle is the Way (philosophical), and ReWork (the plan). You only need to read one, but I recommend them all.”↗
Thomas Frank
“@Wo16SarDQ12yret Highly recommend reading @ThisIsSethsBlog's book "The Dip" (can be read in 2 hours) Also this:”↗
Derek Sivers
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