Do you want to cross the dip?

First, intention; then enlightenment; then practice; then teaching–G. Norek, MD.

When the going gets tough, and it becomes evident that you might never succeed, you’ve hit “the dip.” The Dip, also the title of Seth Godin’s newest book, is that point which defines winners from losers and separates the best from everyone else. As an event, the dip happens when the going gets tough and it becomes very difficult to tell if success is even a possibility. What Seth argues is that you should learn how to discern a dip (which means success is available and you should amp up your effort) from a dead end (which indicates that no amount of effort will create success). (If you need help recognizing your dead end, try this simple test. If you have stopped making progress and find yourself hitting up against the same obstacle over and over, that’s a hint that you’re at a dead end.)

During the interview with Seth I sat in on yesterday, he argued that to cross the dip that you shouldn’t aim to be well-rounded. Instead, you should be rigorously singular. In other words, you should find your hedgehog concept and run with it. (The hedgehog concept was made famous by Jim Collins in Good to Great.) The mistake, or at least one of them, is to have too many goals, too many North Stars, too many ambitions. If you want to be a great neurosurgeon, Seth might argue, it doesn’t matter if you can also play good tennis or keep up with world affairs. The only thing that matters is that you have a relentless focus on becoming the best at your craft and nurturing it above all else.

Very few people cross the dip. A recent article about Tiger Woods in Sports Illustrated tells why. In the words of poet Kenji Miyazawa, “We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” Very few people are willing to embrace pain of any kind, much less leverage that pain to vault across the dip to access their best life, their true greatness. That is the reason why fierce animals like Tigers are rare.

Whereas Seth Godin is telling people when and how to quit, I want you to know that there are ways to cross the dip. Dip crossing is a skill. Skills are transferable knowledge; they can be learned. So here is dip-crossing skill number one: determine your single intention. The one thing you want that will allow you to be the very best, beyond all others in the world. (If you need some help, start reading 40-Days Forward.) If you know what your intention is and you know you can get there–even if you  don’t know how–I can teach you how to cross the dip. Tune in tomorrow for next dip crossing lesson.