Whether you’re a high school student contemplating college, a college student contemplating dropping out, or a college graduate thinking about leaving your current job, quitting is the beginning. When you take a running dive off a cliff that means a) you have confidence in yourself and b) you better find something before you go splat.
Confidence Breeds Success
From personal experience, every entrepreneur I’ve been around, and each person that I deem successful, has been faced with a decision to take a running leap into the unknown. But they’ve accomplished it a) by tuning out noise to develop confidence in themselves and b) by finding a means to be successful while hurtling to the ground. Being a successful dropout (or “quitter”) isn’t about having a unique idea or revolutionary product. It’s about having the confidence to throw yourself off a cliff.
Tune Out Noise
A couple days ago I blogged about tuning out noise (link above). Most of the post focused on creating a noise barrier to block out the news and other distractions. Confidence is another advantage of tuning out noise. When there aren’t outside actors influencing your thinking, decisions come from within. Having confidence in yourself, and the decisions you’re making, allows for the first step towards a sprint off a cliff.
Limited Time
There is nothing better than giving yourself a limited amount of time to figure something out. Why do deadlines always get put-off until the last day? Because they’re not pressing until we realize we have a finite window to get them done. When we’re faced with a rocky surface below we have to figure something out, in a limited time. Yes, it’s scary, but having the confidence in ourselves, and the short time period to figure it out, combine together into an opportunity to create success.
Quitting as a Step Forward
Quitting isn’t failure. Doing something you hate because society says you should is failure. Diving into the unknown is the most enriching experience. Do the thing, you’ll figure it out while plummeting to the earth.