Reading Seth Godin’s Book: The Dip (up to page 32)

As of last night, Seth Godin is my new teacher. I’ve plopped myself down in the Classroom de Seth and I’m soaking up any wisdom he cares to share with me.

Professor Seth, I’m ready to learn.

And I’m ready to receive gold stars.

Since I usually take notes when I read books anyway, thought I’d share them here.

Note: If I’m quoting Professor Seth, I’ll put quotes. Otherwise, the things I’m sharing here are my own notes, paraphrases, understandings, and ideas for application based on what I’ve read.

On with the learnings!

• We’ve been told that winners never quit. Seth debunks this myth. Winners DEFINITELY quit. They “quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff.” And “have the guts to do one or the other.”
• Too many choices makes people panic. Sometimes to the point of not even buying anything. Reminds me of when I was India when I was 20. My suitcase was lost for a few days and I needed a toothbrush. I went to the street corner and found a guy selling things. He had ONE type of toothbrush. And he had about 3 in stock. That’s it. It was one of the easiest purchases I ever made.
• Jerry Maguire moment: Reading this stuff about being good enough vs. best in the world is making me want to be a better (wo)man.
• “Strategic quitting is the secret of successful organizations.” Noticing that he’s taking a behavior that’s generally seen as “bad” (quitting) and making it okay by putting “strategic” in front of it. Watching TV isn’t a super great habit…but strategic TV watching…now we’re getting somewhere. Other places where some strategy might be useful? Strategic lying? Strategic laziness? Strategic infidelity?
• The Dip comes after the big excitement and the initial effort. Loved his example like Yay! You’re going to med school. Good for you! So you go to your classes all excited and then you hit The Dip – like organic chemistry and you start thinking UGH…was this such a good idea after all? Some make it through the dip and go on to become doctors. Others don’t.
• Getting through The Dip can take a long time. “Suck it up. Put your head down. Do as you’re told.” It’s not necessarily glorious and easy and fun. But that’s what separates out the Good Enoughs from the Best In The Worlds. “If there wasn’t a Dip…” (or it was super easy to get through it)…”there’d be no scarcity.”
• Being in the Dip isn’t a death sentence. It doesn’t make you a victim. You can speed up the rate at which you get out of the Dip by “leaning into it. Changing the rules, pushing harder, and whittling away at it.”
• One thing we should quit: Hanging out in Cul-de-Sacs. Jobs, projects, interests, whatever…that aren’t going anyway. Cul-de-Sac is French for “dead end.” So what in our lives is a Cul-De-Sac? Where are we riding our bikes around the Cul-de-Sac in a circle like kids on a lazy afternoon instead of riding out into the distance where we can actually see, do, and accomplish new things and growth? Stop hanging out in Cul-de-Sacs.
• “If it’s worth doing, there’s probably a Dip.” This makes a lot of experiences in my life make sense. And I see where I didn’t quit the wrong things and stick with the right things. I ended up quitting the things I should have stuck with. And kept doing the stuff I should have quit. That’s why I didn’t get the results I was looking for.  Good one, Seth.
• “Dips create scarcity. Scarcity creates value.” So many places to see this working. Olympic gold medals are valued because The Dip is so intense to get there. The medals are scarce and rare. Athletes go through Dips all the time. We go through Dips as business owners. I’ve gone through Dips in my health and fitness. And in my relationships as well. This framework is really useful.
• “What’s the point in “sticking it out” if you’re not going to get the result of being the best in the world?” Gee, Seth. I can’t see any reasons, actually. Maybe just fear of not doing what I said I would do. Thinking that I need to stick it out so that I can look good in the eyes of others. But that doesn’t make me the best in the world at anything. Except maybe selling out on myself. Ouch.
• Brave. Mature. Stupid. Which one are you? Brave people start something and then stick through The Dip. Mature people don’t even *start* the activity because they don’t think they’ll make it through The Dip. Stupid people start something all gung-ho about it (spending a lot of time, energy, and money on it) and then quit right when they get to The Dip. Seth says it’s okay to be Brave & Mature, but the being Stupid is going to keep us from being successful.
• “Every single function of an organization has a wind problem.” Wind meaing unpredictable stuff. He says that windsurfing is super easy. Except for the wind part of things because it’s so unpredictable. So basically EVERYTHING would be easy, except for the “wind”. “Customer service would be a lot easier if it weren’t for the customers.”
• “If I could offer just one piece of inspiration, it’s this: The Dip is the reason you’re here.” Everything we’ve done and invested has brought us to this place we’re in now so that we could confront The Dip we’re in right now. And “it’s not enough to survive your way through this Dip. You get what you want when you embrace the Dip and treat it like the opportunity that it really is.” <Wow. I heart Seth Godin.>
• “The real success goes to those who obsess.” Have you read Barbara Sher’s book Refuse to Choose? It’s about Scanners and Divers. Scanners like to see possibilities and ideas. They like to do lots of different things. Divers like to go deep and really focus in on things. I’m a Diver and this quote is making my Diver Heart sing on the hills. Yay!
• “Simple: If you can’t make it through the Dip, don’t start.” Remember the peanut butter commercial? Choosey moms choose JIF. It’s good to be choosey about what projects and activities we start.

Okay. I’m on page 32. Good stopping place for lunch. As you look over my bullets and notes here, which are the things that stand out to you? What’s something you’re hearing in a new way that you can act on immediately? Or better yet, what’s something in your life that you need to QUIT because it’s not helping you be the best in the world?