Episode 52 – To quit or not

• Every journey is hard
• Especially when you are taking a big and risky step
• Whether you are in college, or at the start of your career, or you are 20 years into your career making a 360 degree turn into something completely new, maybe starting your own business, moving to another country, or just a small but time-consuming side project or a personal goal, such as fitness and health
• So you started
• You had a set of ideas and assumptions of what this journey would be like
• And then, inevitable, there comes a point in your journey when you run into challenges, and maybe very tough challenges, when you feel down,
• They make you want to call it quits
• Throw the towel
• How do you if you are on the right track?
• Are the roadblocks a sign that you have come to a dead end?
• Or are they just a daunting obstacle that you need to work through, just like many others you have had along the way?
• How do you know if to give up or not?
• Sometimes we are truly in a hole.
• We are trying to make something work that is just not meant to work
• Here are a few signs of a possible dead end:
  • Nothing is flowing naturally – you have to force every single step
  • You are seeing everything in an overly bright light, you are overvaluing everything
  • You are hanging on for dear life for the wrong reasons – you are not motivated and excited anymore, instead you are concerned about the investment you have made already and are afraid to give up
    • Basically fear of failure, too much pride, fear to recognize the hard truth

Keep this in mind-

• By hanging on to something for longer than necessary, you are forgoing other, possibly better opportunities
• Once you know it’s a dead end, quit
• Don’t hang on any longer,
• Instead, use what you have learned and apply it to a new venture
• Everyone fails at some point
• Everyone quits many things in life
• Its normal, move on

• The end has also neared if you have already given up
  • The diet that is so restrictive – and you already started cheating anyway
  • The side project you started but now have stopped and even though your promised yourself to get back at it next week, you haven’t been able to
• And maybe you are able to pick back up with some encouragement from friends or an sudden internal ambition,
• But if this stop and go pattern repeats itself more than a few times, then you are wasting your time
• It doesn’t make sense to start over and over again – there is no flow, no continuous forward motion
• It’s a struggle – you may as well stop and reconsider your intentions
• And lastly – if you are not seeing results
• Your effort needs to pay off somehow
• Maybe not right away, in the beginning
• But you cant go on for years without results, especially after you have modified your approach many times
• Now lets talk about when to keep going
• signs that your perceived dead end is just a mountain you have to climb
• the first thing I always do is research
• thanks to the amazing world of the internet, I have information at my fingertips
• so I always check first – has someone else encountered the issues and obstacles I am faced with?
• And if so, what did they do?
• Other peoples’ experiences may give me renewed hope, maybe there are options I have not previously considered
  • For example, if you are struggling with loneliness in a new city or country, there are tons of resources available
  • Maybe you need to learn proper networking skills
  • Maybe you need to get out of your comfort zone and meet people

• next – check your conviction
• are you still with the goal, the vision, the plan?
• Are you still excited and do you still believe in its potential?
• Not blindly so, but honestly?
• How much do you really want this? How much do you still care?
• If you do, then maybe its time to become resourceful
  • Consider new options
  • Ask for advice
  • Alter your approach
  • Perfect your methodology
  • Revise your plan
• Always ask yourself – what other ways are there that I haven’t tried yet
• Then go ahead and do them

• A sign that things aren’t lost is when there is still some forward motion
• I recently listened to a podcast where a famous YouTuber was interviewed
• For 6 months he posted videos on YouTube – and never had more than a thousand views
• But the views never declined, they just remained steady, maybe a slight increase
• Until he had a few ideas on how to promote his channel and things took off – he suddenly was in the millions
• Things will take a while to get going
• Give it some time
• There is a difference between hanging on for dear life and seeing slow progress
• Even if slow, progress counts

• And lastly
• Be in tune with what is happening
• You may be on the right track, but things may point you in a slightly different direction
• Be flexible
• Its great to feel strongly about your idea but don’t be blind to inflection
• Maybe you thought you would be great at being a speaker, when, in fact, your strengths lies in teaching others to speak
• Be ready to pivot
• When one direction is not working out, keep your eyes open and see the other possibilities
• It could still lead to the fulfillment of your goal, it just may be through a different route

So I think we can all agree …

• Real work is hard
• And the thing you are passionate about is often harder than the boring and monotonous job you left it for
• Suddenly you wish for a day where you don’t have to think again, where you just punch in numbers or ring up customers or mop the floor
• But then you catch yourself and deep inside you know that there is something burning
• You will need to prepare for such a journey
• You need to plan on it being harder than you think
• You need to be committed for the long term
• Obstacles will come and they will help you build muscle
• Don’t give up on the first sign of failure
• But don’t carry the entire project on your shoulders
• There should be a balance between hard work and rewarding results
• Always check your convictions and your beliefs
• And as long as you have something meaningful to contribute, keep fighting for it
• Stay aligned with your vision,
• And:
• Keep trucking