{"id":1988,"date":"2017-01-26T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2017-01-26T07:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dariusforoux.com\/?p=1988"},"modified":"2021-02-04T11:21:21","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T10:21:21","slug":"quit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dariusforoux.com\/quit\/","title":{"rendered":"If There\u2019s No Light At The End Of The Tunnel:\u00a0QUIT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Don\u2019t you think life is weird sometimes? Take quitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us believe that it\u2019s wrong to quit. That it\u2019s for losers. And that quitting equals failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018never quit\u2019 attitude is a good thing. Especially when we pursue hard things. I don\u2019t think you should ever quit just because you can\u2019t handle something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, quitting is also a smart strategy. Sometimes quitting is even the better option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Seth Godin wrote a book about quitting. It\u2019s called The Dip<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>And it\u2019s very good. He says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPersistent people are able to visualize the idea of light at the end of the tunnel when others can\u2019t see it. At the same time, the smartest people are realistic about not imagining light when there isn\u2019t any.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes you\u2019re in a tunnel where there is no light to be found at all. So no matter how hard you work and persistent you are, you will never achieve anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dead-end jobs, businesses, projects, relationships, behavior. We\u2019ve all been there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quitting is not easy.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Be honest, how many times did you have the guts to quit? Because I\u2019ll tell you this, quitting is one of the most difficult things I\u2019ve ever done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I got a corporate job a few years ago, I was fed up with owning a business. I was burnt out, didn\u2019t see the results I wanted, and felt overwhelmed. So I decided to quit my business and get a corporate job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I just couldn\u2019t fully quit entrepreneurship. So I was stuck in the middle of a corporate job and not letting go of my business. I worked the corporate job during the days, and in the evenings and weekends, I worked for myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That made my life even more stressful. And after a year I had the same feeling as before I got the job. I was on a dead end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t have the desire to climb the corporate ladder. And I also didn\u2019t have the energy to grow my business. I realized that the path I was on lead to nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew what I had to do. I struggled with it daily in my mind. And it took months to get my act together and hand in my resignation. I did that with tears in my eyes. Quitting is not in my DNA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can\u2019t climb the ladder you\u2019re on: Quit and pick a different ladder.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say you work at a corporation and you want to climb that ladder. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a bad thing at all. You just need commitment. But I get why a lot of people don\u2019t like it because there\u2019s a lot of politics involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look, I\u2019m also not good at that stuff, but that doesn\u2019t mean corporations are evil. They are only a reflection of society. And not everyone can become a CEO or board member. It\u2019s simply a game of numbers. It\u2019s not personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark McCormack, author of What They Don\u2019t Teach You at Harvard Business School<\/em><\/a>, said it best:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDarwinism influences almost any pyramid-shaped structure, and the corporation is not only not an exception, it is probably the best example. There are simply not as many presidents as vice-presidents, there aren\u2019t as many vice-presidents as there are managers, and so on.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

That book is from 1984. And yet, a lot of people don\u2019t get the concept. The corporate food chain looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"corporate<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Many things are like that. If you don\u2019t want to play that game, just get out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Dip<\/a><\/em>, Seth Godin argues that you should only strive for becoming the top dog. Everything else is not worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words: Only try to climb the corporate ladder if you\u2019re in it to win. Otherwise, it\u2019s better to quit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You make a bigger impact when you\u2019re #1.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Seth Godin says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe reward the product or the song or the organization or the employee that is number one. The rewards are heavily skewed, so much so that it\u2019s typical for #1 to get ten times the benefit of #10, and a hundred times the benefit of #100.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I must say, I don\u2019t like the way Seth puts this. You can easily interpret that it\u2019s all about the rewards. In other words: Ca$h money, fame, status, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t care about that shit. If I would, I would be doing a lot of other things instead of writing a bunch of free blog posts. I agree with Seth\u2019s message, but for a different reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To me, being #1 is good for only one reason: You get to make a bigger impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LeBron James. Richard Branson. Oprah Winfrey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are #1s in their fields. They also make the biggest impact. They help and inspire the most people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, they set the bar. They push the limits of what is possible. And others will either follow or move past them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t settle for mediocrity.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to quitting, there\u2019s only one question you want to ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs there light at the end of the tunnel I\u2019m in?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Are people responding to my blogs, videos, music?<\/li>
  • Is there mutual respect in my relationship?<\/li>
  • Are people buying my products?<\/li>
  • Can I climb the ladder in my organization without playing politics? (In case you think this is not possible, read What They Don\u2019t Teach You at Harvard Business School.)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    If your answer is no, it\u2019s time to quit. Find a different crowd. Move to a new company. Rediscover love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Whatever you do, find a different tunnel. And keep doing that until you find one where there is<\/em> light. And once you see one ray of light, cling to it and don\u2019t quit before you reach the end (or top).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For now, just quit already.<\/p>\n\n\n