Comments

  1. Hi, Keith,

    Thanks for this powerful post. It was well worth the wait!

    While reading this, I heard Adele’s song, ‘Rolling in the Deep’ playing in my head, it’s just how my brain is wired. Here’s the lyrics I kept hearing:

    ‘Don’t underestimate the things that I will do. There’s a fire, starting in my heart. Reaching a fever pitch and it’s bringing me out of the dark.’

    I can certainly relate to the dip. I refer to it as being in the forest. I know there are many ways out. I’m confident I can find my way. I just have no idea how long I’ll be in the forest, which is when my frustrations and anxieties set-in.

    So, I set my intentions, focusing on my dreams and goals all coming to fruition. Then I get busy putting one foot in front of the other, knowing ‘Where Attention Goes, Energy Flows.’, so there will eventually be a payoff for my efforts.

    Out of nowhere, I’ll receive an incredibly powerful email from a subscriber letting me know how my posts helped inspire them when they were facing a ‘Life Lesson’. Or, I’ll receive a facebook message with one line, ‘Thank you, Connie, for being there.’

    I feel the fire reaching a fever pitch inside and I’m more sure then ever what it is I’m meant to do. So I keep on writing, confident my tribe will find me.

    Thank you for linking to my blog and my Active Vision Board e-book. I am grateful for being mentioned.

    My Best to you and Jon and the Transformnation tribe!

    Connie

    • Connie,

      You remain The authoritative source for Active Vision Boarding, so any excuse I can get to link to your site, I’m happy to do it.

      I loved you relating the Dip to the forest, one of my favorite themes in literature. And you even manage to quote song lyrics, you know I have a weakness for lyrics!

      Onward and upward – I’m confident your tribe will continue growing.
      Keith

  2. I just quit something last week – and you got me thinking: it’s usually out of boredom for me. I get all excited about something new, and just get bored. And I’ll look around for the next shiny new thing and dive in. And writing that down, I just realized that sounds kinda’ psychotic… or at the very least very un-entrepreneur-like.
    Is there hope for a “serial quitter” like me?

    • Craig,
      Maybe you’re in the discovery stage? Sometimes there’s no other way to find out what’s worth pursuing until you jump in and pursue it. I think that sounds like a good thing.

      And, there’s a good chance you just haven’t found that “something” that really floats your boat.

      Keep trying stuff on, Craig. Curiosity is very helpful for entrepreneurs!
      Keith

      • Keith and Craig,

        If I may add my 2 cents…I’ll have to agree with Keith on this one. I agree with Keith, it sounds like you’re in the exploration stage of self-discovery.

        I used to use this dating analogy with my nieces and I think it applies here, too. It’s like trying on coats. Sure a lot of them fit, but which one makes you feel the best? Which one do you love so much you could wear it every day?

        You’re just trying on coats, Craig. You’re trying to find the best fit. You’re trying to find the one that brings out your best features and fits you like a glove.

        It’s all good! Not to worry…I trust you’ll know what you like, once you find it.

        Set your intention and keep walking your path of discovery. I’m sure you’ll find lots of other treasures along the way.

        Connie

        • Hi Connie,
          Heck, and I’m paying for a therapist for what? Hey everyone, there’s good advice for free over here on TN!
          BTW, I really enjoyed finding your site the other night. You’ve got some really smart stuff on there. And I downloaded your ebook, too. I’ve never been big on the whole vision board thing (OK, so sue me, but it’s always seemed so “girly”) (is that sexist?) – but your approach sounds appealing. I think I’ll try it.
          Craig

          • Craig,

            I agree, there’s always good counsel found for free @ Transformnation!

            Thanks for the kudos on my blog, http://ThePowerToLive.com I’m having so much fun writing and connecting with others, through it.

            I believe you’ll find my Active Vision Boarding e-book to be illuminating. I share the secret to what makes Active Vision Boards SO successful. It’s like finding the key to the kingdom. :~)

            I’m pleased that you dared to put your preconceived notions of vision boards being too ‘girly’ aside. (No, it doesn’t sound sexist for you to presume that, either.)

            I believe you’ll be very satisfied with the results of your Active Vision Board. You’ll have to write back in a few months to let me know your results.

            Thanks for connecting, Craig. I’ve enjoyed our exchange.

            Connie

      • O.K., I’ll go with it. You know I’m only *half* kidding here. I’ve always been this way, even when I was a little kid – but I don’t think I could be so free with the discovery if I didn’t have something solid anchoring me while I play.
        And I get what you’re saying about curiosity – I think it’s served me pretty well as an entrepreneur, if I don’t say so myself.
        Craig.

        • Craig,
          While it’s certainly true you have a fantastic web business anchoring you, as you say, I think what’s great about you is that you haven’t let that success narrow your options. I’ve seen more than a few people with entrepreneurial success come down with sudden tunnel vision and they just chase more of the same. Not Craig!
          I’m confident you’re going to stumble on your next great venture – and like I keep saying, one of these days you might just join the future of the web and start giving the world some personal Craig-generated content 🙂
          Keith

  3. Keith,

    Interesting discussion here: I pulled The Dip off the bookshelf and skimmed through it – you added some dimension to Seth’s stuff that I enjoyed.

    One “omission” that I’m curious about: You alluded to it in this article when you quoted Seth saying “What’s the point of sticking it out if you’re not going to get the benefits of being the best in the world?”

    That’s one of the primary points in The Dip: he goes so far to say that if you can’t be the best, quit, until you find something you can be best at.

    What do you think of this as a measure for sticking through the Dip?

    Thanks,
    Mark

    • Good eye, Mark.

      I like Seth’s point, and I felt it was so good, I wanted to talk about it in a separate piece about niching.

      Reading Seth, it can be easy to misunderstand what he means by “being best in the world.” A lot of people read that and think, “I don’t stand a chance in hell being best in the whole world!”

      I like the clarifier Seth offered on his blog: “If you’re doing your best, only your AYSO soccer coach cares. If you’re the best in the world, the market cares. The secret, if you have limited resources (don’t we all) is to make ‘world’ small enough that you can actually accomplish that.”

      That to me, is key to this discussion, and I did link to the niche piece I did a while back – but this is a topic we can always talk more about, so look for that in the future.

      Thanks for reading, and commenting, Mark, appreciate it.
      Keith

  4. I enjoyed this post. I’ve always maintained a policy of never getting desperate: I was in that place once, and I made decisions from a place of panic, not a good place for a business to be.
    I’ve spent time in the Dip – once I realized that was happening, I took that as a sign that the venture in question was a good one – if I entered a Dip and still wanted to “lean into” the Dip, then I knew I was onto something meaningful, for me anyway.

    Greg

    • Hi Greg,
      Agreed: panic is not a good place to be. So what are your secrets for “never getting desperate?” I think that’s a key component for a lot of entrepreneurs.
      Thanks for the comment
      Keith

      • Keith,
        It’s all about the cashflow, man! I’ve gone back to a full-time job on two occasions over the past few decades because my ideas weren’t panning out fast enough.

        When I realized that one can’t expect your business to pay all your bills for at least the first year, then it’s a lot easier to avoid the desperate places, where you make decisions for some of the worst reasons – you need the cash.

        In those situations, we ended up creating products in a hurry we never would have considered in regular times, and regretted it in the end.

        Now, we have a threshold we don’t fall below. We get even close, and we go into hyper positive work mode. It’s a different vibe, because in the back of my brain, I know we’re not really desperate, so I have room to try great stuff and see what works. Lately, it’s been working.

        Keep up the good coaching!
        Gregory

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *