In this video, I discuss the famous quote “Winners Never Quit” whether it is true and if you should take it to heart and use it to overcome obstacles or if sometimes quitting is the best thing to do:
Origin of Winners Never Quit
Vince Lombardi once famously said:
“Winners never quit and quitters never win.”
Perhaps you had that thrown at you when you totally sucked at a sport or some other thing you were trying for the first time. But is it true? Are we just not as successful because we quit too early?
Here is another quote from one of my favorite authors.
“Winners quit all the time – they just quit the right things at the right time.” – Seth Godin, The Dip
So I did some digging into some successful people to find out if their success was solely because of their perseverance.
- Abraham Lincoln failed twice in business.
- Vera Wang was a professional figure skater who failed to make it to the Olympics. She quit figure skating and went on to become one of the most famous fashion designers.
- Elizabeth Arden dropped out of nursing school and also quit job as as a receptionist and bank teller before becoming a giant in the beauty industry.
- Jack Ma was an English teacher and tried several business ventures that failed before founding Alibaba – an e-commerce business that has given Jack Ma a net worth of about $45.9 billion.
- Sir Richard Branson has a long list of failed ventures, including Virgin Cola, Virgin Clothes, Virgin Vodka, Virgin Cosmetics and Virgin Cars.
In my personal case, I have had previous jobs in retail and banking as well as a couple of business failures before finally becoming “Captain Time” and enjoying my present success. All of these people had to “quit” things that weren’t working to create their eventual success.
How do I know if I am quitting too fast just because I hit an obstacle? So how do I know if it is the right time to quit or if I should persevere and push through to success on the other side? Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself.
- Is the potential great enough to warrant you pushing through the difficult portion?
- Does the project fit with a powerful life purpose you have committed to?
If the answers to these questions are yes, then perseverance is indicated rather than quitting.
If you do proceed, how do you get over the hump that you are struggling with? Here are a few ways to overcome obstacles on the way to your success.
- Hire someone to do the portions you aren’t good at.
- Set dedicated blocks of time to work on the obstacle.
- Take a course that will teach you how to get through the obstacle.
- Tap coaches and mentors.
All of these will help you break through your obstacles and succeed. But remember, sometimes quitting IS the best option!
Please share this post and video with those you feel can benefit.
“World-class performance requires world-class focus” – Garland Coulson “Captain Time”
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