Last Friday I mentioned Seth Godin’s book, The Dip. This short tome asks you in so many words, “What are you going to quit?” Repeatedly throughout the book, Godin points out that you can’t be the best in the world at something if you’re focusing on other things that eat up your time.

Don’t misunderstand, he’s all about having a balanced life—he’s talking about what you do for work. In other words, what’s your passion? Are you doing it or pursuing it, or are you chasing after the next big thing?

One example of people “chasing” became apparent while I was attending a Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours networking event a few months back. Seems like every third or forth person was a financial consultant. This wasn’t the case last year – or the year before that – or the year before that. No, this financial consultant trend had been building only a few months. But it was almost ridiculous. I finally had to ask someone:

“What’s up with all the financial consultants lately?”

The person responded:

“Most of us used to be Real Estate agents. But when the market died down we needed to get out. Financial consulting is like the next big thing. But I’m sure something will come along after this.”

It struck me that these people are chasing money, not careers. They’re looking to capitalize on “The Next Big Thing,” whatever it is. And when that next big thing becomes small, they’re off to the “next” big thing. (Heck, the person so much as told me so.)

Godin calls this kind of activity “a seduction that leads to addiction and a short attention span.”

I think he nailed it.

If people want to be successful in their market, they must remain focused and not quit. “Failing is when you give up. Quitting is smart,” Godin says. The key, according to Godin, is to quit the right things.

This is a great little book that I highly recommend.

Personally, I’m quitting every kind of management training I used to do except Train the Trainer. Every inquiry that comes in for other kinds of training will be referred out. My focus – my laser beam – is helping people learn how to train.

What are YOU quitting so you can be the best in the world at what you do?

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Filed in Work, Business, Motivation, Leadership, Workplace, Train the Trainer