Book Review: The Dip by Seth Godin
This series on the blog shares some of the helpful nuggets from business, marketing or psychology books in case they help your art practice as much as they help mine.
This time, it’s The Dip: The Extraordinary Benefits of knowing when to quit (and when to stick.)
This is a great quick read to remind you of which battles you should retreat from and which you should persevere.
Below are three quotes/extracts from this book that could help your art:
3 quotes for Creatives from The Dip by Seth Godin.
1. To the Creative who feels like it’s just too difficult, that’s precisely when you might want to consider doubling down:
In a free market, we reward the exceptional. In school, we tell kids that once something gets too hard, move on and focus on the next thing. The low-hanging fruit is there to be taken; no sense wasting time climbing the tree. From a test-taking book: “Skim through the questions and answer the easiest ones first, skipping ones you don’t know immediately.” Bad advice. Superstars can’t skip the ones they don’t know. In fact, the people who are the best in the world specialize at getting really good at the questions they don’t know. The people who skip the hard questions are in the majority, but they are not in demand.
2. To the Creative who thinks Quitting makes them a failure:
Strategic quitting is a conscious decision you make based on the choices that are available to you. If you realize you’re at a dead end compared with what you could be investing in, quitting is not only a reasonable choice, it’s a smart one. Failing, on the other hand, means that your dream is over. Failing happens when you give up, when there are no other options, or when you quit so often that you’ve used up all your time and resources. It’s easy to wring your hands about becoming a failure. Quitting smart, though, is a great way to avoid failing.
3. To the Creative who wants to quit because it feels too hard and uncomfortable, question if it’s for short term or long term:
“Never Quit” What a spectacularly bad piece of advice…. Never quit? Never quit wetting your bed? Wait a minute. Didn’t that coach say quitting was a bad idea? Actually, quitting as a short-term strategy is a bad idea. Quitting for the long term is an excellent idea. I think the advice-giver meant to say, “Never quit something with great long-term potential just because you can’t deal with the stress of the moment.” Now that’s good advice.
Is It Worth the Read?
Yes, it’s a super short read - could easily consume within 2 hours It’s nothing you don’t know already but it helps put a framework around what your gut is telling you.
It could have gone deeper into when it’s time to quit versus when you shouldn’t quit, but it gives you a solid nudge to continue working on things that are important to you whilst being more conscious and deliberate about quitting the things that don’t invest in your long-term strategy or wellbeing.
You can find out more about Seth Godin’s work and books on his infamous blog, Seth’s Blog.
Want to Make More art?
If you want to get on with Making More Art and avoid the traps that encourage you to quit at the wrong time, take the FREE 6 day Challenge: Overcome Obstacles and Make More Art, which helps you to get out of your own way and get down to making the art you want to.
It’s perfect for you if you are sitting wondering why you love making art, yet never seem to be 'in the mood.' You know you want to improve your practice but can't find the time and don't consistently commit to it.
Maybe it's because...
You're exhausted juggling the demands of work, family and life and have no time to breathe never mind create art.
Perhaps you've decided you're not 'good enough' so there's no point in 'wasting' your time trying?
You don’t know where to start, because it seems so overwhelming.
You don't have a dedicated space so you can't get in the zone.
You might tell yourself these things, but deep down, you know you have unrealised potential to explore and you're tired of leaving it to 'later.'
The truth is, you can make your art, even if you're busy earning and caring for your family, you just need to give yourself permission to commit to yourself.
This series will bring awareness to the most common obstacles that get in your way and give you the tools, strategies and inspiration to overcome them such as;
6 Methods to combat Inspiration Drought
How to Source Images so you're never Stuck for ideas again.
2 Deceptively Simple ways to Just Start
How to determine the Best time to Make Art
3 ways to overcome Imposter Syndrome
The Artist's Rollercoaster and How to Survive it.
The 3 Imperative things to uncover to make Art Consistently.
3 Art Myths you can demolish once and for all
The Most important 3-Letter word.
How to Beat a Rut
And Much More...
Take a Deep dive into the common problems that hold Artist's back, start to feel inspired again, less stressed and excited to make and share more of the Art you love.
Pop your name and email into the form below to get the First Lesson of this FREE Challenge - I’m beyond excited to see what you’ll end up creating:
Why you should Stop and Smell the Roses, and how it helps your art.
Plus, The Porcelain Roses Collection