Jumpstart Your Dream Life

When Is It Time to Quit?

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Quitting has a negative association. We describe it as giving up, being non-committal, or lacking perseverance. When someone quits, it’s easy to assume that the person simply didn’t give it their all.

To be sure, quitting prematurely happens too often. Whenever you try something, you’re going to have difficulties. You’re going to face obstacles. You’re going to battle doubts swimming in your head. Quitting may not be the best choice.

But other times, it doesn’t make sense to keep going. What if you attempt something, but never see any progress? What if you continue down a route, but just don’t feel passionate about where you’re headed?

How do you know when it’s time to buckle down, and when to let go?

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The Rustout Issue: Why We Tend to Stagnate

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We start off the same way.

In the beginning, we’re excited, eager, and energetic. We have dreams we want to pursue. A desire to make something of ourselves, coupled with an earnest intention to overcome any obstacles that come our way.

Somewhere along the way though, we hit a wall. We stop learning. We look around and see other people are content with where they are. So we sit and rest for a while in a safe haven, until we feel motivated enough to start working on our goals again. We wait.

That is, until awhile turns into months, then years. One day, you look back and realize that you’ve been stuck in the same spot for the past decade. What would your younger self think?

I recently read an interesting account of the rise and fall of ancient Egypt, which reminded me of the human tendency to fall into the same patterns.

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How to Succeed When You’re Behind

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At only 19 years old, S.E. Hinton’s first novel The Outsiders was an instant success.

She began writing the story in high school. Her story was based off two rival gangs at school: the Greasers and the Socs. Hinton’s book sought to understand “the other side” by portraying life from the Greasers’ working-class perspective.

Her novel was published in 1967. At the time, she was a freshman attending university in her hometown, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Before she left her teenage years, Hinton became a household name.

Since then, the book has sold tens of millions of copies. It has become required reading in many high schools. Of all the novels that Hinton has written, The Outsiders remains the most popular.

But today is not about S.E. Hinton.

Today is about the slow growth.

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Empty Your Cup: A Zen Proverb on Accepting Feedback

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There is a famous proverb about a teacup. Although there are multiple versions, here is my favorite one:

Once upon a time, there was a wise Zen master. People traveled from far away to seek his help. In return, he would teach them and show them the way to enlightenment.

On this particular day, a scholar came to visit the master for advice. “I have come to ask you to teach me about Zen,” the scholar said.

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Stop Thinking Big, Start Thinking Different

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From an early age, we’re taught to aim for the best – whether it involves the schools, companies, or people we associate with.

But what if “the best” isn’t what we need?

What if, by surrounding ourselves with “prestigious” people, places, and institutions, we’re actually sabotaging our growth?

Let me explain.

Painters in a Parisian Café

It was 1860s Paris. The city was taking the art world by storm. In a café, five artists met to talk.

The young painters – Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille – convened at the Café Guerbois. As usual, they discussed art, life, and philosophy under the guidance of the older Édouard Manet.

Right now though, they needed to talk business. Specifically, the business of getting into the Salon.

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4 Ways You Can Use Failure To Your Advantage

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It seems like we have two options in life: succeed or fail. Get what you worked for and you’re a success. Fall short of that, and you’re a failure. We think about these two outcomes as if they were binary.

But maybe it’s time we rethink failure. That is, how we can use failure to provide advantages that we might not gain otherwise.

Here are four of the most important ways.

1. Use the emotions from failure to become stronger

Failure seems to imply that nothing is gained. Hours of work and energy have been put into an endeavor, but the output is zero. At least, that’s what it looks like from the outside.

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J.R.R. Tolkien’s Writing Process On Creating Good Work

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One dreary day, a professor was sitting at his desk when a fateful event occurred. As he marked examination papers, he noticed that a student had left a page blank. For some inexplicable reason, he jotted down a sentence: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”

This line sparked J.R.R. Tolkien’s idea of The Hobbit, which was published in 1937. It was an immediate success. Stanley Unwin, the Chairman of the publishing firm, asked him if he had any other similar stories to meet public demand.

In response, Tolkien wrote a full account of tales and named it The Silmarillion. Some of the tales were sent off to Unwin, who decided that they weren’t commercially publishable. Instead, he asked Tolkien if he could write a sequel to The Hobbit.

Disappointed, Tolkien agreed to Unwin’s request and went back to work. The publishing firm did not expect a profit and decided to incur a probable loss of 1,000 pounds. But when they published the story during 1954 and 1955, what came next surprised them.

The trilogy immediately captured the public eye. It was adapted to radio the following year, and has since then gone on to sell over 150 million copies[1]. Later, The Lord of the Rings was turned into one of the highest-grossing and critically acclaimed film series of all time. The trilogy is considered one of the greatest book series of the twentieth century.

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When Positive Thinking Negatively Affects Your Success

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We’re always told by other people to think positive. The key to success is life is to believe, because once you do, you can achieve your goals. Anything is possible when you rely on the power of positive thinking.

At least, that’s what they say.

But experience shows that that’s not necessarily the case.

A few friends I knew wanted to partner up and start an advertising business. People supported their idea and doled out encouraging advice.

In usual fashion, the partners reveled in the high of embarking on a new venture. They talked excitedly about the possibilities their new business would bring. Together, they spent evenings discussing how to set up the business.

First, they set up a corporation and decided on a tax structure. Then, they looked up a few potential customers and brainstormed what kind of help they could offer. Business was going to be big.

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Use Failure As Feedback

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Most of us are afraid of failure.

The time and effort wasted, the humiliation, the headaches – it’s just too much.

Most of all, what if our failure confirms our worst fear: that we’re not good enough?

As we grow older, fear of failure becomes more and more real.

Eventually, not trying anything new seems like a better option because we’d rather not know the limit of our capabilities.

Failing in any area of life can be terrifying when you look at it that way.

But recently, I’ve been looking at failure from a different perspective. It’s one that a lot of entrepreneurs and innovative companies use to test out new ideas.

Here’s how it works.

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5 Types of Music That Will Increase Your Productivity, According to Science

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Music has a way of permeating through empty corners and filling up environments with substance. It can help you relax, make you well up in tears, or feel alive. But can it make you more productive?

We use music to set the tone of our environment and our mood, whether we’re unwinding after work or throwing a party. But in an age when many of us spend our time staring at a computer screen, music has also become a mode of escape from outside distractions or dull tasks.

So how useful is music when it comes to focusing on your work?

Let’s take a look at the science behind music and productivity.

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