Sorry that I can't be in class today (Kenzie woke up sick, so I had to stay home).
I was so fired up about The Dip last night that I typed these up while I was at UND last night.
Here are some thoughts to discuss in class Wednesday -
*When do people quit running the Boston marathon? Ask me about this. I have a great Mr. Geiser story for you. I'll share this in the comments section below.
* Godin faced the mother of all dips when he began publishing. (And this reminds me of Riley's comment about knowing whether to quit or suffer through it). He published his first book the first time he contacted a publisher. However, the next 900 tries at publishing 9 different novels failed. Then on his 901st attempt, he sold his second novel. That is one bada(* dip!
* Ask about Godin's take on why there is no such thing as writer's block. I'll share this in the comments section below.
* Godin said something really interesting on the podcast, "be willing to be bad at something before you'll be really good as something." How does this relate to the dip? Do you have any examples to share? (this runs counter to what gets celebrated in our culture, though. For we always celebrate the "overnight" success. But when you talk to most "overnight" successes, you realize they have been toiling away in obscurity for 10 years before they became an "overnight"success. That's one reason shows like America's Got Talent and The Voice are so popular.)
* Here is a bit of advice on how to smash a dip. This comes from Dave Ramsey, and it's advice he gives to all of his new hires: "find out what a year's worth of work looks like. Then do it in 90 days. When you work that insanely hard, something good is definitely going to happen." That is an almost guaranteed way to survive the dip.
* Godin said, "If you don't know what the Dip is, it looks a lot like failure." Ask about this in class. What do you think he means about that? How are quitting and failure related? How are they different?
* Finally, he offered this great nugget - think of someone you greatly admire and look up to, someone you wouldn't mind being like in 15 years. Then think of yourself now. Then compare yourself again to that person and all they have accomplished. The difference between where you are now and where they are is the dip (well, it's probably a whole lot of dips). Let's go through this exercise in class.
* What other take aways or observations or applications to real life do you have from The Dip so
far?
Please respond to two of these in comments section below. THEN leave feedback to two responses from me or your classmates.
Thanks. Have a great break. Text or email me any questions.
Remember to do the Turkey Break Assignment for Monday and to finish The Dip as well.
When do most people quit running the in the Boston marathon? Godin notes that the majority of the people who quit the Boston marathon don't quit at mile two, when everyone is still cheering; they quit at mile 22, when it gets hard. The point is that is the exact time you need to "lean" into the dip because if you can just make it a little farther, you will get all the accolades and benefits of finishing.
ReplyDeleteIn Geiser's case, he was in the crowd when his wife was actually running in the Boston marathon several years ago. He noticed that with only a couple miles left, she was faltering. What did Mr. Geiser do?
He hopped into the race - in street clothes - and ran with her so she would have the inspiration to finish.
Now that's "leaning" into the dip! No one says you have to go through the dip alone, without inspiration, or without asking for help.
That's really courageous of Gieser to step in and help his wife out. It's a good point the "leaning" into the dip. Sometimes we can't make it through the dip ourselves so we need the inspiration and help of others to push through it.
DeleteI think this story is really inspiring. At school we are told a lot of work is to be done individually, but in reality how much of our work is done on our own? So many jobs require teamwork and collaboration. From time to time we all need inspiration and the help of a team member. Not to mention, most of the steeper dips are easier to conquer when you are part of a team.
DeleteGodin doesn't believe in writer's blog. He should know. He has published 18 books (his newest one is coming out soon) and close to 4,000 blog posts (he publishes one every single day).
ReplyDeleteHis take on writer's block is simple: it's an excuse. It's an excuse not to work. No one ever gets talker's block because no one ever has an excuse not to talk.
But when it comes to actually doing work, like writing? Well, people come up with all kinds of excuses not to get it done. Or worse, they procrastinate.
Here is the main point: we all know how to work. If you've ever played a sport, been in an activity, or accomplished something important to you, then you've worked. And you've probably even worked hard.
So why can't you take that work ethic and apply it to other areas of your life?
Because no one of us will ever play sports after high school again (except for less than one percent of us). None of us will ever perform in a choir concert again (unless you count singing in church). None of us will ever be in a club like National Honor Society or Key Club or Investment Club again (unless we do so in college). So what's the point of being in those things if you don't master skills that can transfer to other areas (like learning how to study to excel in college or learning how to be a life long learner so you can't always stay relevant in your field)?
So no more excuses. The only way to make it out of a dip is to work.
Now isn't that simple?
As far as considering where I am now and then thinking of someone I greatly admire and examining the difference:
ReplyDeleteMe (MA in English, 17 years teaching English at LHS)
Dr. Holen (Professor of Education at UND).
What is the difference? Dr. Holen, whom I greatly admire and look up to, has earned her PhD. If I choose to take on that dip, there is a whole lot I better get ready to quit first: like teaching full time at LHS, seeing my family as much as I currently do, having weekends (mostly) free, and probably around 20,000 dollars in tuition.
Then that would just be one dip. For if you become a professor at a university, the only way to keep your job is to do research and publish several articles (in scholarly journals) per year or to publish books. That is another dip entirely.
So what separates us? Dips. And a whole lot of work.
So if you want to become like the person you most admire and respect, get ready to work because I'm willing to bet the person you admire and respect didn't get to where they are now by offering excuses and procrastinating. They got there through a whole lot of work and a lot of sacrifice (and quitting a bunch of stuff along the way).
The Dip looks a lot like failure.
ReplyDeleteGodin means that when you are failing you are in the dip. This is the point where everything is telling you to quit, but you keep going and keep failing. When you fail, this will lead you to quitting. You can’t take the pain of failing any longer. This is the dip. Failure and quitting is different because failure is what leads you to quitting
Godin’s publishing problems.
I think it’s a great story when someone doesn’t give up after hundreds of times. It’s even better when they are super close to quitting and that last try they make it. This kind of confuses me though. How long are we supposed to keep pushing through. Sometimes you have to quit in the beginning so you don’t waste time. But some people try and try and finally reach their goal.
Cassidy,
DeleteI agree that it does seem confusing on when to quit. Remember Godin's main point, though, - Quit early, if you're going to quit. Otherwise, make the commitment to stick it out.
In his case, if he wasn't committed to writing and publishing a book (a whole ton of people write books, very, very few ever publish them though), he should have quit early and moved on to something else in the world of business. However, he stayed true to his commitment and decided to stick through it all.
So the moral is this - if you are set on mastering a skill, commit to it and go all in. If you're heart isn't in something (whether it's a major or a job or a sport), quit early when it won't be so costly (in terms of time and money) and - here is the key part - find something else to try. Sooner or later you'll find something that you are passionate about and willing to pour your heart into. Once you find that, then commit and go all in - as Godin did when he was trying to get his second book published and it took him over 800 attempts (actually he wrote 8 books and had each rejected by 10 publishers).
At least that's how I try to differentiate about knowing when to quit and when to stick.
I agree that the dip is the point where you are told to quit be keeping going, but yet you still keep failing. I aslo agree that when you fail it leads you to quitting.
DeleteI agree that failure is what leads you to quitting. It is not until you face failure will you have the idea of possibly quitting. If you stick it out and persevere you will succeed. Sometimes you do not succeed. You can't be good at everything, but you can be exceptional at one thing.
DeleteAlso keep in mind that failure is vital for it offers two things: a learning opportunity and inspiration. Remember, Michael Jordan was cut from his basketball team. Obviously, he had more work and improving to do. And that inspired him to become the greatest basketball player ever.
DeleteHe actually quit that and tried baseball, but he wasn't able to manage that dip. He recognized that and quit baseball and went back to the NBA where he won four (I think) more titles.
How to smash a DIP
ReplyDeleteWorking hard for a short amount of time can help you smash a dip. Dave Ramsey says: "Find out what a years worth of work is, and do it in 90 days". If you work insanely hard for a short amount of time you could make it through the dip without even knowing it.
Godin's Dip
Godin faced a huge dip in publishing. He got his first book published the first time he contacted a publisher. He failed the next 900 times. On his 901 try he succeeded. This reminds me of Colonel Sanders. If he would have gave up on his chicken recipe we wouldn't have KFC. But he made it through the dip and succeeded.
Jacob,
DeleteGreat connection with Sanders. He obviously was committed for the long haul, which the dip is all about. In order to stay committed though he had to quit other things in order to keep working through that dip.
Jacob,
DeleteI like the strategy of working insanely hard and finishing a year of work in 90 days. Doing that and getting ahead of the game and everybody else can be relieving and it will also be less stress when you are done.
I agree that if you force yourself to work harder and overcome a bigger dip. Any smaller dip after that will be nothing compared to that. Then the bigger dips won't be as bad either since you have already experienced one.
DeleteJacob,
DeleteI think if you work harder you can smash the dip. Once you have smashed the dip I think the next dip you come upon you will be able to smash it even easier.
You make a very, very good point about chicken. I don't know what I would do without KFC. I'm very thankful he did not give up.
DeleteGodin's quote: "be willing to be bad at something before you'll be really good as something," says a lot about success. In all situations, a person will face a point where their knowledge and ability is surpassed and is forced to grow. Being willing to be bad at something, being ready to embrace the challenge, can help a person to accomplish a lot more than someone who chooses to be discouraged and upset when they can't automatically be the best anymore. The mindset of "overnight" success can ruin someone's chances because it ruins their motivation. However, by preparing for the Dip, acknowledging one's own weaknesses and dealing with the inevitable failure, a person can be a success.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post in its entirety. A lot of overcoming a dip has to do with adaptability. Being bad at first, but willing to change and adapt to the situation to come out on top.
DeleteNaomi,
DeleteI love the phrase "inevitable failure." We stigmatize mistakes and failure (such as in lies like, failure is not an option) and that is one of the worst things we can do. We should embrace mistakes and, most importantly, teach/model how to learn from them and move on.
1: "Be willing to be bad at something before you'll be really good at something." How does this relate to the dip?
ReplyDeleteThis relates to the dip because in the dip, you fail and getting back up is the challenge. You learn the most from your mistakes, and making mistakes is how you fail. In my eyes, failure is good. It may not feel the best, but it is good because you learn and grow from it. In order to get really good at something, you fail. You have to learn and practice to be good at something. And in learning, comes failing.
2: The dip looks a lot like failure.
I think it means that when you fail, you realize you are in the dip. Being in the dip is a great challenge which includes failure. Without failure, you wouldn't be in the dip at all. You would still be a novice, a beginner. A lot of people, once they start to fail, quit. It is in their instincts. They don't want to deal with the grit and hard work that goes along with failure.
I completely agree with you on number one. Seth Godin failed to get his book published 900 times, but he kept going to different publishers, and it eventually got published, and the end result was worth it.
Delete1: "be willing to be bad at something before you'll be really good as something," this describes the beginning of the Dip. At the beginning we are all bad, or mediocre. It is isn’t until the dip hits us that the dedicated people push ahead. I will use my piano situation as an example again. Every student, no matter what age, learns what key is middle C, and the difference between sharps and flats. We are all choppy in our playing at first, but it is when the dedication kicks in that we see the “overnight success,” because they are willing to sit at the piano bench and escape through the music for hours on end.
ReplyDelete2: ”think of someone you greatly admire and look up to, someone you wouldn't mind being like in 15 years,” this is an example of a long term goal. I believe that long term goals are the goals that are most influential in your trek to overcome our dip. They give us an image that we can hold on to and invision whenever we are struggling, whether it is a job or a role model.
I agree with your second point. I believe that long term goals truly are the motivating factors in overcoming the Dip.
DeleteAlyce,
DeleteGood connection with the piano example. The kids who sit at there piano at home for hours after supper will look like they have a natural talent over the kids who sit and watch TV. Long term goals are great things to set. You can imagine a long term goal and the benefits to help you get through the dip.
I agree, long term goals are a big encouragement. I know that whenever I set long term goals, I don't set them as pipe dreams; they're things I know I can accomplish. Whenever I don't meet those goals, I'm pretty disappointed in myself because I know that I could've done more and been more. I think that another huge part of long term goals is having other people who know your goals and who can help you meet them with resources or encouragement. Even though I'm the only person who can choose to get through the Dip, I don't have to do it alone.
DeleteDip looks a lot like failure. I can agree with this because I think that what the dip is for. It’s to make all the non-committed people fail and therefore they will quit. And then the people who are really committed to what their doing will go through it without failure and make it. The people that look at the dip as a failure are the ones that probably wont make it through the dip.
ReplyDeleteWhen do people quit the marathon? Most people probably practice and prepare for a year in advance for the marathon. They dedicate a lot of time for it so they can be ready for it. However most people probably quit in the last few miles. Because those are obviously the hardest. The first half of the miles are probably easy but then the dip comes and you truly have to push yourself harder than ever to finish. Finishing a marathon is a huge accomplishment however.
I completely agree with your idea in your first paragraph. The dip looks a lot like failure because that is the dip's sole purpose. If you see the dip as being failure, maybe you shouldn't be in it because whatever is causing the dip, may it be an extracurricular activity, job, etc., it might not be what you want.
DeleteI agree with your point on failure looking a lot like the Dip. I agree that it is meant to ween out the people who are not determined or willing to work hard
DeleteI agree with your 1st paragraph. The dip is a test to weed out "Best in the World" from average. This reminds me of the organic chemistry class which weeds out doctors form others.
DeleteWhen Godin said to be willing to be bad at something before you are good at it, it reminded me of everyone in Tae Kwon Do. We all have to start at some point, and no one starts with the knowledge and skill of a black belt. They have to work for it. Although this is not an overnight success, it shows you cannot master something the first time you try it.
ReplyDeleteGodin showed how much hard work and determination can go. This story reminded me of Jefferson and the first light bulb. He failed 999 times before he succeeded. And where would we be if he gave up? If he didn't make it through the Dip?
When I that Godin failed 900 times before publishing a novel, I also thought of Jefferson. It's the perfect example to what happened to Godin. Both of these men buckled down and were ready to experience failure, yet again, but not let it stop them. Perseverance got them through the dip.
DeleteI really like your first paragraph. There's a lot of people that join into a new sport and on the first day they want to be the best. Then when they realize they are far from it they get disappointed and discouraged. We all have to start somewhere. I mean look at everyone in the Olympics, or in politic, they obviously weren't born that way. They worked their butts off for it and got there. So it's a very good point, you have to work hard for what you want.
DeleteI also thought about Jefferson and the light bulb. They are both great examples of how you should keep pushing through. I'm sure both of these people were positive to push through. They had some good faith.
DeleteDakota,
DeleteExcellent point about Tae kwon do and the light bulb.
"be willing to be bad at something before you'll be really good as something."
ReplyDeleteThis relates to the dip because you can’t just be good at something the day you start. There are going to be times when you struggle. This is when the dip comes into place. Starting out an activity seems fun, and then it starts to get tricky. You realize there is a lot more to it. It’s going to take a lot of time and effort to become good at it. Even with putting a lot of time and effort in, it might take a few years until the success really shows. The contestants on The Voice are a great example. Almost all of them have been playing in small bars all their life and now they final got their break. All those years of playing in small bars has paid off.
How to smash a dip.
This is how I would overcome a dip. I hate failing and when I’m in the dip I feel like I’m failing. I want to get out of the dip as quick as possible and get back onto the road of success. The way to do this is to push yourself to a point you didn’t think was possible. Like Dave Ramsey said, put a years work into 90 days, or do an hours workout into 45 minutes. Pushing yourself past your limits will make the dip a much shorter process.
I am the same way when it comes to overcoming the dip. I want to get out of the dip as soon as possible, no matter what it is. I will use my example with my violin. My dip was when I was moved from 2nd violin to 1st violin, from harmony to melody. I was challenged for a while, trying to keep up with the others player who were experienced. I work harder than I could have ever imagined and now, I am able to keep up and then some. I failed quite a few times before I was able to overcome the dip and it all worked out.
DeleteI agree with how you would overcome a dip. Failing never feels good but its a part of life. If your parents shelter you your whole life keeping you from failure you are going to have a big wake-up call when it come to failing your first time. Trial and error is a big part of making yourself better in order to overcome the dip.
DeleteAttempt a years worth of work in 90 days:
ReplyDeleteIf you attempt to do the work for a year in 90 days and succeed, any other dip that you may face will seam easy compared to that. You are forced to stay up late and wake up early in order to get everything done. When you face another dip, you can look back at that one and be thankful that you don't have to do that or something else you had to do in order to accomplish all of the work. If you did not try and attempt to do a years worth of work in 90 days then you will face more dips than if you had. If you had, the smaller dips will become nothing and the bigger ones won't seam as bad.
Be willing to be bad at something before you'll be really good at something:
If you are willing to go through failure, then you will appreciate your success more. Once you have failed at something you are going to try your best to not fail again. Whether it be at the same thing or something different. For instance, if you fail or do bad on a test in a class you will try even harder to do better the next time. Whether you pay attention more or study harder the next time. Willing to go through failure will help you know where you don't want to be again.
I think that by looking back and appreciating how far we've come is a great point. Our failures should be a motivator to get better, like failing a test. Often times, though, it seems that we're disappointed with the situation and give up because changing in order to be better is uncomfortable. I think that the first Dip we ever face is probably the hardest, because it could ultimately decide how we deal with all the others struggles we deal with in the future.
DeleteBeing able to do a year's worth of work in 90 days would take a great amount of persistence and effort. You will have to sacrifice sleep, leisure, and even social time with your friends to achieve a goal like. However, it is possible to do. If you overcome a Dip like that, then other Dips will seem easy.
DeleteDips vary in intimidation and endurance. Some Dips may be short and easily overcome, but others may take years to get through and require a lot more from you than you ever expected. Godin's Dip in publishing is a ridiculous example. In most cases, this perseverance would not only seem foolish, but pointless, but to Godin, the Dip was worth it. Godin succeeded because of his insane choice to keep trying, even though he failed nearly a thousand times. The task of getting through the Dip will be different for everyone. The price of each will change with time and circumstances, but what decides whether or not we get through the Dip, is our own encouragement. Godin couldn't have been 100% optimistic through his publishing lull, but he got through it. He probably visualized his books in bookstores and in the hands of people who needed to hear his message. Knowing that the view from the top will be worth the climb is what can help carry us through the Dark Nights of the Soul and help us reach our goals.
ReplyDeleteHow to smash a DIP
ReplyDeleteIf you work insanely hard at something, it will pay off says Dave Ramsey. I agree with what he said. If you work hard at something and have your mind set on a certain goal, you are more likely to succeed.
The dip is a lot like failure.
Godin says "If you don't know what the Dip is, it looks a lot like failure." I think what Godin means is that when you are in the dip its easy to fail. People telling you to quit, you don't have any motivation and its just easier to quit, and most people once they hit the dip do quit. Some people just keep riding the dip also. They just ride it and never get out which is almost the same thing as failing in my mind.
Working hard and having one goal in mind will make things a lot easier. You have one thing that you want. It's your job to go get it.
DeleteI agree that working hard will lead to success. If you sit around and wait for something good, you're going to be sitting there for a long time. You need to do something about it. Whether your choice is to quit or to work harder, you need to take action.
DeleteGodin's DIp
ReplyDeleteWhen Godin started publishing he made a break through easy. The second attempt tested him. It would have been easy for him to quit but he didn't. He pushed through the dip and look where it as gotten him today. What if we make a decision in life when we are almost through the dip and just quit. Our lives will be completely different.
"If you don't know what the Dip is, it looks a lot like failure."
Just because we are in a dip doesn't mean we have failed. Quitting and Failing are different. When you quit you are giving up on something. When you fail it means that you tried you hardest and didn't meet the goal. The great thing about life is most cases you get to take a second shot at what you failed before. You could just quit and call it good, but then you would just be average and not best in the world.
1: Godin said, "If you don't know what the Dip is, it looks a lot like failure."
ReplyDeleteIn some cases quitting and failure are the same things. In other instances they are the complete opposite things. If you invest a lot of time and effort into something, and it becomes too hard, so you quit, then everything that you invested was wasted. This is an example of when quitting would be considered failure. You quit right when things got hard, and that is the worst time to quit.
On the other hand, quitting early on when you realize you can't be the best in the world at something is a smart decision. This will allow you to focus everything on a different area in which you can overcome the Dip. This type of quitting will set you up for success if you have a plan in mind.
I agree that quitting and failure are sometimes the same and sometimes the opposite. Quitting in the middle of something when you have put a lot of time and effort in is a rest example of quitting and failure being similar!
DeleteI look up a lot to my dad. He has a job that allows him to have a nice house, give his family almost whatever they want, and still be able to buy some toys for us, such as a four wheeler, a dirt bike, a snow cat, and a nice boat. Academically, my dad didn't achieve much. He was a C student in high school who didn't give much effort. He never went to college, but right out of high school he began working. After a couple years of going to Nebraska and other midwest countries on the harvest run, he bought a semi and began driving for Hartz. After 10 or so years with Hartz, he contracted to another company in Clearwater. My dad is gone for about half of the year, but he has to be in order to provide for our family, which he does a very nice job of. He works very hard at what he does in order to make his trips as quick as possible and get back home. He has had a lot of nights getting only 4 or 5 hours of sleep because he is working hard, trying to get home as quick as possible. Comparing myself to my dad when he was my age, I have the better grades going for me, and I have every intention to go to college and get a bachelors degree. Seeing what kind of father and husband he has been has given me a great example as to what I want to be when I am his age and get married and have kids.
ReplyDelete2: how to smash the Dip:
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that you need to have to get through the Dip is determination. You can't just coast through the Dip and wait for things to happen. This will cause you to get stuck in a cul-de-sac and live a mediocre life. You will never be the best in the world if you just settle or coast. To smash through the Dip you need to go all in. Push yourself to work harder and harder everyday until you overcome your challenges. As Seth Godin says, "Don't just ride the Dip out and wait to get through it. Lean into it."
How to smash a dip-
ReplyDeleteDoing a years worth of work in 90 days sounds somewhat insane. Who would want to do all that work? Like Godin says, It is a great way to destroy a dip. It will prove to yourself and others that you can work insanely hard and do good work in a short amount of time. You will prove to yourself that you can get out of any dip that you face in your life, no matter how big or small. Getting through the dips in your life is what is going to make your life successful or not.
How to smash a Dip.
ReplyDeleteWorking hard will either get you to through the dip or you may end up in a cal de sac. If you work insanely hard at something, it will pay off says Dave Ramsey. Sometimes this is true and you may be able to fly through the dip and not even realize you were in one. But if you get stuck in a cal de sac and try to work harder you will get no where. This is the time to take action and quit.
"If you don't know what the Dip is, it looks a lot like failure."
Just because you are in a dip it does not mean you have failed. successfully quitting and failure is are two completely different things. Successfully quitting is having a strategy and a plan in the course of action you are taking. Failure is when you attempted something and did not put in enough work or time in achieving your goal, so then you quit.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHow to smash the dip
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the nike slogan. “just do it”. Doing a years worth of work in 90 days sounds like an awesome coffee induced journey into an insane asylum. But I agree that it will get you through the dip. However, after all that intense work, will you still be interested in what you’re doing? Whatever it may be, I feel like if you push yourself at something too much in a short period of time, you forget why you loved it in the first place. I wouldn’t know because I’ve never done that, but it’s just a theory…
"be willing to be bad at something before you'll be really good as something."
I think this basically says practice makes perfect. When I started designing on photoshop, I sucked haha. I didn't know about color theory or marketing. I had no idea about dpi. And if your dpi isn't right, your whole image is ruined. Anyways, I just kept doing it, because even though I sucked, there was still something I loved about it.I kept practicing, and I'm a lot better, but I'm still in the dip. I'm in the dip because there are so many design programs that graphic designers need to know, and I only know photoshop.Once I master InDesign, adobe illustrator, and bridge, I'll be out of the dip and on my way towards mastery.
How to smash a dip- If you work insanely hard at something, it will pay off says Dave Ramsey. I think this is true and you may be able to get through the dip and not even realize you were in one. But if you get stuck in a cal de sac and try to work harder you will get no where. This is when you should quit because you aren't getting anywhere.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't know what the dip looks like, it looks like failure- Just because you are in the dip does not mean you have failed. Quitting and failing are different. Quitting is when you give up. Failing something is when you give everything you have to get what you want and you don't get it. The good thing is, most times you get a second shot to try and reach your goal. You could just give up, but if you want to be the best in the world you would try again to reach your goal.