Be the best…or quit!

Several weeks ago I had the awesome fortune of meeting Seth Godin, one of the most brilliant business thinkers in the world. He was speaking about his new book, the Dip.

The Dip is any rough patch you have to get through before achieving your big goal…if in fact you’re chasing the right goal.

Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point that’s really hard and not much fun at all.

And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Most people, don’t think the goal is worth it, causing there to be a major superstar shortage.

Unless you have a chance to become the best in the world at your particular craft you need to regroup and focus your efforts elsewhere.

Anyone who is going to hire you, buy from you, recommend you, vote for you, or do what you want them to do is going to wonder if you’re the best choice.

Best as in: best for them, right now, based on what they believe and know. And in the world: as in their world, the world they have access to.

For example, if you live in Syosset and want the best pizza in the world you might choose La Piazza. Or you might choose Mario’s. But, Mario’s or La Piazza doesn’t get to decide if they are the best in the world…we, the consumer do.

If you can get through the Dip to become the best in the ‘world’ and can keep going when the system is expecting you to stop, you will achieve extraordinary results and become a superstar.

But most people won’t push through the dip.

Every time Men’s Health or Cosmopolitan puts a picture of a guy or girl with an insane body, newsstand sales go up. Why?

Well, if everyone had an insane body, it’s unlikely that guys or girls would buy a magazine that teaches them how to get that physique.

The very scarcity of this attribute makes it attractive. Scarcity is what creates value.

95% of the people in this world quit when the going gets tough. But superstars shine when the going gets tough. They lean into the dip.

They realize that if there is no pain…there is no gain.

Maybe you’re in a Dip – a temporary setback that you will overcome if you keep pushing. But maybe it’s really a dead end, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try.

Microsoft’s Zune is a dead end. They have spent over $200 million dollars promoting that thing.

Does anyone have one?

You need to choose the right Dip to get through. What can you become the best in the world at?

Unless they reinvent the game like making a complete new MP3 player that does crazy things that the iPod is not remotely capable of doing they have no chance of gaining ANY market share.

Microsoft word and excel will be around forever. Who does Google think they are trying to compete with Microsoft?

Losers, on the other hand, fall into two basic traps. Either they fail to stick out the Dip – they get to the moment of truth and then give up – or they never even find the right Dip to conquer.

Google is Google because they aren’t competing with Microsoft.

They are reinventing the game. MS word and excel are PC based. Google’s version of word and excel are web based.
They changed the platform. They know they could never compete with Microsoft if they sold software.

MyBodyTutor has no shot of competing with Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers or any of the other big online or offline companies. My belief is that we all need that extra push…on a daily basis.

FYI: Nine percent of all USA Today bestsellers are diet books. Yet today the New England Journal of Medicine reports that one year after going on a diet, on average, people weigh more than when they started because they don’t have a trusted support system.

Anyone can give you a diet.

It’s what you do with it that counts. It’s the ability to get through the Dips that make you a successful dieter.
MBT makes it almost impossible for you to do the things you don’t want to do and very easy (and fun) to do the things you really want to do.

MBT is reinventing the game. No company on Earth offers as much daily and personal accountability as we do. MBT helps people get through their Dips on a daily basis by providing the accountability, knowledge, inspiration and the personal, trusted support system we all need without embarrassing and annoying weekly meetings.

I truly believe my company has a chance to become the #1 health and fitness company in the entire world. In fact, I won’t stop until it is because I know I have the best program in the entire world (But, that’s not for me to decide…that’s for the consumer to decide.).

So, I’m going to leave you with this:

What can you become the best in the world at?

Are you stuck in a dead end job that you hate?

Are you running a company that’s just another me-too company?

Are you bored as hell at work?

Don’t you think it’s time to quit and go after something that you truly love doing. Something you have a chance to excel in?

Average is so boring. Average is for losers.