You underestimate the value of quitting. Leave. Now.
One of the most terrible lies ever told is that “winners never quit”. Total bunk and claptrap. Winners quit the right things. If anything, they quit more often.
Have you ever overstayed in a bad relationship? Refused to throw away an outfit you’ll never wear? Squeezed a spot too long? A bad company is no different.
We all hold on to some ideas longer than we should. People have a built-in tendency to value what they have over what they could have instead. It’s easy to see – unless you’re personally involved, when it’s a bit like trying to assess the quality of your haircut by staring at your own shadow.
In the western world we enjoy the freedom to do almost anything – you could make a business out of designing fluffy dice – but this has come at a cost: the standard for greatness is much higher so you have to invest more of yourself to succeed. You need to play by these rules:
Take your company. Funny thing about companies nowadays – we have no shortage of them. Entrepreneurs are like musicians or bloggers; almost anyone has the means to become one. Lots of people are trying.
As a result only a teeny slither of companies, songs or blogs can be successful. The abundance has raised our standards.
This does not mean you should give up. It means you should give up if you’re not going to meet those standards, and try something else. If you’re willing to look, you’ll find no shortage of better alternatives.
Everyone knows it takes hard work to become successful, but that’s only half the story. It also takes courage and insight to pick the right things, and say no to everything else.
- Bill Gates gave up on Harvard.
- Steve Jobs gave up being a video game designer at Atari.
- Jeff Bezos gave up a well paid hedge fund job to found Amazon.
Not common choices. But yours is much easier.
The more ‘sensible’ path – keeping all your options open, and doing nothing – feels attractive only because it’s placating your fears. Your emotional attachment is holding you back from giving your all.
I gave up a successful business I’d built and run for 10 years. I literally dismantled it and turned it into a completely different company, now doing what I love. It’s possibly the best thing I’ve ever done; I’m infinitely happier and we trebled our earnings in a year. Doing things right is no substitute for doing the right things.
You say your company has gone three years without any customers. If that’s true, you don’t even have a business. Give it up, and put your heart into something else that matters.
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