Just finished this book by Seth Godin called The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick). Started it about an hour and a half ago – it’s a really short book! Here are my key takeaways:

– Be the best in the world at something

– Don’t quit because it’s hard. The difficulty is actually a good thing – it keeps your competition away.

– Do quit as soon as you know something is a dead end. I.e. you don’t have the passion to see it through – and you know you won’t become the best in the world.

– #1 is way better than #2 or #10. It’s an exponential curve.

– Work diligently to get past “the dip” – the lull that always comes when you face a challenge or difficulty.

– Be consistent. Overnight success is very unusual.

– Don’t be afraid to walk away and ignore sunk costs. Most people are afraid to walk away when they’ve invested time and energy, even when they know it’s not going to go anywhere.

– Decide ahead of time when to quit – not when you’re emotional.

Check out more of our “Happiness at Work” series.