The Dip

"You gotta know when to hold ‘em, and know when to fold ‘em." This poker analogy aligns perfectly with life's challenges, where knowing when to persist or let go can make all the difference.

1. The Dip: A Natural Struggle on the Path to Success

Struggles often come after an initial phase of enthusiasm and achievement. This is what Seth Godin refers to as "the Dip," a challenging period one must endure before reaching success. Whether it's learning a new skill, starting a business, or pursuing a long-term goal, the Dip is often marked by reduced progress and increasing frustration.

For example, learning to perform a quadruple jump in figure skating demands years of practice after initial easy skating basics. Similarly, launching a business involves mountains of paperwork and unforeseen challenges after the initial excitement of forming the idea. These struggles are inevitable, but they also distinguish those who persist from those who quit.

Interestingly, systems sometimes include intentional "Dips," designed to filter out the less committed. Organic Chemistry in medical school or tough hiring processes in competitive companies serve exactly this purpose.

Examples

• Figuring out how to perfect a quadruple jump in figure skating
• Overcoming administrative and operational challenges in a startup
• Organic Chemistry acting as a "weeding out" course in medical school

2. Being the Best Brings Greater Rewards

In most areas, being the best at what you do brings disproportionate rewards. Seth Godin highlights Zipf’s law, which shows that first place consistently garners vastly more attention and rewards than second place.

Take vanilla ice cream, exemplifying this phenomenon. Vanilla accounts for 30% of U.S. sales, far outpacing chocolate, which sits at 10%. Whether in consumer preferences or market dominance, being at the top yields exponential benefits. Similarly, the best restaurants attract valuable word-of-mouth marketing, ensuring they stay at the top.

Moreover, those at the top can charge significantly more because of their perceived uniqueness and scarcity. Premium actors, hotels, and luxury brands all leverage their top spots to demand higher prices.

Examples

• Vanilla versus chocolate in U.S. ice cream sales
• Fine dining restaurants attracting word-of-mouth endorsements
• Premium brands charging a premium due to rarity

3. Specialization is Key to Success

Generalists often fade into the background because people value specialists who can deliver exceptional expertise. This requires focusing on passion or skills where one excels, rather than staying average across many areas.

If you’re an accountant, clients don’t care about your golfing skills—they want you to be the best accountant they can hire. The concept also applies to everyday career decisions, guiding people toward deeper focus.

Additionally, learning when to quit is essential to achieving specialization. For instance, pursuing conflicting ambitions, like playing trumpet while developing a flying car, would dilute energy and attention. Letting go of distractions can help prioritize the path where excellence is possible.

Examples

• Customers expect accountants to prioritize accounting skills over unrelated hobbies
• Prioritizing developing passion projects like creating a flying car over other goals
• Staying focused on specific fields rather than diversifying efforts too thinly

4. Knowing the Dip Ahead Prepares You for the Journey

Understanding that every personal or business endeavor faces a Dip can help you stay prepared and stay calm during the challenge. Every industry has its own form of difficulty that tests newcomers.

For example, transitioning from a hobbyist garage engineer to a professional manufacturer requires funding, partnerships, and operational scaling. In sales, onboarding an effective team or creating operational structures feels tedious but necessary to move past the Dip. The same logic applies to personal development, like learning a language or navigating early relationship struggles.

Being aware of these obstacles keeps frustration at bay and helps develop the patience needed to endure.

Examples

• The learning curve when transitioning from a small garage operation to manufacturing
• Recruiting and scaling sales teams for a new company
• Mastering Chinese language fluency through prolonged effort

5. Challenges Strengthen You If You Embrace Them

Challenges aren’t impediments; they exist to spur growth. Think of activities like windsurfing—its toughest element, unpredictable wind, is also what makes it fulfilling. The same applies to careers or personal goals.

In retail, for example, anyone can ring up sales, but those who skillfully tackle customer needs become invaluable assets. Similarly, exercise shows that surpassing comfort zones is necessary for progress—pushing to exhaustion may be the difference between average fitness and a bodybuilder’s physique.

Approaching hurdles with the mindset of development, not defeat, leads to both survival and long-term success.

Examples

• Windsurfers embracing wind as the core element of their hobby
• Retail workers gaining recognition through customer problem-solving
• Bodybuilders pushing limits to achieve physical transformation

6. Competitors Push You While the Dip Filters Mediocrity

Competitors often aim to set barriers that elongate their rivals’ Dips. Microsoft’s dominance through widespread adoption of Word and Excel creates a nearly insurmountable gap for competitors. However, companies like Intuit persisted by offering unique alternatives in accounting software.

The Dip also helps separate mediocrity from excellence. While some may settle for complacent roles like cashier jobs, enduring struggle can bring out hidden potential. For creative projects, making the best of slow periods allows you to refine skills and outshine others later.

Examples

• Microsoft’s nearly impenetrable market dominance in software
• Intuit persevering despite Microsoft’s early control
• A struggling photography blog owner sharpening skills to stand out later

7. Success Requires Grit and Patience

Impatience often derails progress. As seen with sales professionals, many give up after a handful of attempts, unaware that most buyers need repeated persuasion before committing. Persistence and repeated effort are essential.

Iconic figures like Jimmy Choo embody patience through prolonged effort. Although making shoes from an early age, his big break didn’t come until well into his adult years. This grit propelled him to global recognition.

Patience amidst setbacks builds strength and resolves doubts that often lead to premature quitting.

Examples

• Over-eager salespeople abandoning after five pitches when seven attempts yield better results
• Jimmy Choo’s decades-long journey before international success
• Entrepreneurs enduring extended periods before customers begin adopting new innovations

8. Quitting is Okay—but Stay in Your Expertise

Sometimes projects fail, and quitting can be necessary. The key is quitting strategically without discarding the expertise built along the way. If your project fails, pivoting within your industry ensures maximized use of experiences gained.

For instance, shutting down a magazine doesn’t mean leaving publishing altogether—opportunities to edit, mentor, or create another outlet remain open. Preserving your place in familiar territory minimizes loss while opening alternative routes forward.

Examples

• Switching focus after halting an unsuccessful magazine venture
• Restarting an initiative that leverages previous failure’s learnings
• Pivoting professionally while holding onto built networks/skills

9. The Dip is an Opportunity, Not an Obstacle

Surprisingly, the Dip itself can prove to be a friend. Viewing struggles as opportunities for skill improvement or resilience-building changes how challenges are approached. Those who lean into discomfort often rise stronger on the other side.

Joe Biden’s early exit from the 1988 presidential race, due to a minor issue, prevented him from persevering through a potentially temporary setback. Skipping past adversity prematurely could render powerful opportunities underutilized.

To avoid such regrets, frame challenges as catalysts for growth rather than barriers.

Examples

• Joe Biden’s premature campaign withdrawal over a small gaffe in 1988
• Perseverance improving competitors’ ability to thrive under pressure
• Reframing obstacles as driving forces to personal or business development

Takeaways

1. Embrace struggle as part of the journey and lean into uncomfortable challenges—they often unlock growth.
2. Avoid abandoning projects impulsively; assess other creative ways to persist or strategically pivot first.
3. Develop grit by remaining patient even when progress is slow, knowing the Dip leads toward greater achievements.