Getting Over “The Dip”

Whether you’ve just made partner, you are starting your own firm, or you are jumping the traditional legal ship entirely, Seth Godin says you are going to encounter “The Dip” if you are indeed on the “right” path. I call this your “divinely inspired path”.

Persevering through “difficult” times, filled with learning curves and various challenges, is what separates highly successful people from … well, everyone else.

According to Seth, all ventures experience “the dip” and to be successful you must be able to distinguish a “dip” from a “cul-de-sac” (dead end) or “cliff” (failure disguised as success).

Cul-de-sacs never get better and represent the “dreams” that you need to abandon, most likely because you were never on “your” right path in the first place.

Seth advocates what most people do not … quitting! He also reminds us of the value of quitting when in a cul-de-sac (you’ll never get better) and doing this as frequently as necessary until you are headed in “your” right direction. I agree … if you are not on your divinely inspire path, stop spinning your wheels so that you can find what you are truly meant to be doing with your energy and your life.

Strive to be the best at what you do, and if you cannot, do something else! This could be a simple as changing your practice area, as complex as moving to a new firm, agency or company - or as drastic as leaving the legal professional altogether.

There are no huge, new insights in this short motivatioal book, but instead reminders of how to “quit” successfully. Seth explores the statistical benefits of being one of the best at what you do and how to push through “the dip” to the other side where success resides.

This is a really good book. I highly recommend that you check it out!

Today we’re a feature a new segment that you’ll see in most of our posts - UpwardAction® SuccessWork.

Because I am a business coach, in addition to being a corporate attorney, I want to make certain that you can use the information covered in this blog accelerate your professional success. One of the best ways to do this is through coaching. So, my gift to all of my LawMapping readers is a bit of free coaching. J So … get ready for self-discovery and professional growth via our (at least weekly) UpwardAction® SuccessWork segment.

Let’s get started!

UpwardAction® SuccessWork:

Spend no less than 15 minutes today considering if you are in a dip, cul-da-sac- or cliff in your career or business. Here are a few questions to get your started.

1. On your best day, what is most satisfying about your business or career?

2. On your worst day, is your answer to question 1 motivating and inspiring enough to give you comfort about the sacrifices that must be make to reach success?

3. To reach the highest levels of accomplishment in your current career or business, do you need to spend more time (i) getting better at your strengths or (ii) getting significantly better at your weak areas?

Let you answers to these three powerful questions help you determine whether the “challenges” you are (or will be) facing are simply a dip - or if you’re in a cul-da-sac or worse yet - on the cliff.

If you need help using your answers to make a determination, I invite you to sign up for an UpwardAction Introductory Coaching Session.

Expect the best!

Coach T.C.

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