Never give up

When someone begins progressing towards their money goals a lot of things begin to discourage them. All of a sudden problems begin to bombard you. It may seem as if the universe is conspiring to stop you from succeeding. A child may get sick as you are trying to build your business. You may lose money. A competitor may steal your customers. Traffic police may detain your delivery van. Your workers may get sick. A machine will break down. You may run out of money. You will run out of stock. The landlord may be on your neck.

Things may seem bleak and you may consider quitting as the best option. However you are to hold steadfast until you achieve your goals. Most people who achieve their dreams never give up. They persist and carry on no matter what. Seth Godin refers to this situation as “the dip.” We are supposed to lean into the dip and push through to the other end. Across the dip you will find success and achievement. It is as if nature has set up the dip to test your resilience and to only reward those who are able to go through it.

In his book called “Atomic Habits” author James Clear refers to this situation as the “Valley of disappointment.” We usually expect things to progress in a straight line. However success is usually exponential and compounds slowly at first. Beyond a critical point in time you rapidly progress. That is why someone in business may appear not to be progressing for several years compared to their peers in employment. However within 10 – 20 years the people who persist in business end up way richer than their employed friends.

When you feel like giving up remember that it is the people who make it across “the dip” and the “valley of disappointment” that end up very rich.