Quitters
Valid Reasons to Quit
can be Winners
“Knowing your purpose gives
• You quit something you don’t do well to start
something you do well.
By Dr. John C. Maxwell you a starting point.”
Align Your Resources With Your Priorities
• You quit something you’re not passionate about
to do something that fills you with passion.
It’s cliché to say that every journey begins with a single step, yet it’s true. Successful people don’t wait for ev-
Invest In Your Future
erything to be perfect before they move. They don’t wait for all the problems or obstacles s to disappear. They
• You quit something that doesn’t make a
Author John Kotter says, “Most people don’t lead their
don’t wait until their fear subsides. Those at the front of the line take initiative. The secret of momentum is that
difference to do something that does.
lives, they accept their lives. Leaders are the exception.
once you take the first step and start moving forward, everything becomes clearer and easier. If momentum gets
In their mind’s eye, they have a vision of exactly where
strong enough, problems begin to take care of themselves and new opportunities arise. But the benefits of mo-
Action Items
they want to go. By keeping that vision in the forefront
mentum only come into play once you take initiative.
To acquire more influence, taking initiative is a prereq-
of their minds, they develop priorities, maintain focus
uisite. Align your efforts with your values and you will
Six Sources of Procrastination
and acquire a sense of urgency. The vision becomes the
start moving toward your vision. Knowing your purpose
Why are we sometimes timid or tentative when we should be taking action? In my experience, there are six root
driving force behind everything a leader does.”
gives you a starting point and a reason to act. By clear-
causes of our procrastination.
People with a vision are active rather than passive.
ing out the clutter in your agenda, you will harvest the
1
Not Fun
GPS systems, iPods, or PDAs, and, as a result, I Whereas most people follow the path of least resis-
power of quitting. Free from the handcuffs of over-com-
procrastinate adopting them into my life – even tance, visionaries refuse to settle for what’s comfort-
mitment, you can choose the dreams you chase rather
I don’t find pleasure in yardwork and there
though I know they could be helpful to me. able or easy. They shape their world rather than fitting
than drifting down the current of life’s circumstances.
are a million other things I’d rather be doing.
When I was first married, I would procrastinate
into its mold.
4
Too Messy
Author: John C. Maxwell is an internationally recog-
mowing the lawn until it grew into a small jun-
In addition to following a vision, leaders relentlessly
nized speaker and author who has sold over 12 million
A prime example is confrontation. It’s difficult
gle. I knew mowing would make my home look
schedule their lives around their core values. Lead-
inspirational books. This article is use by permission
to tell someone what they don’t want to hear
nice and would please my wife, but I abhorred
ers are attuned to what they feel is important in life,
from “Leadership Wired” available at
www.injoy.com.
and probably won’t respond well to being told.
giving it my time and attention.
Dreading the possible outcomes, we dawdle
and they align their activities to reflect those beliefs.
2
Not Skilled
and delay rather than initiating confrontation.
Values dictate what they will do, what they will avoid,
and where they will invest their most precious com-
I enjoy the arts and I am fascinated by highly
5 Not a Good ROI
modity – time.
creative persons. However, I’m not particularly
As leaders, we are hard wired into getting the
gifted in painting, drawing or designing. That’s
most bang for our buck. We want to invest it
The Power to Quit
why I avoid decorating. I enjoy a finely mani-
profitably. As such, I have always been hesitant
You may have heard the saying, “Quitters never win,
cured Christmas tree or an exquisitely decorat-
to put energy into relationships with high-
and winners never quit.” Nothing could be further
ed room, but I simply have no talent at making
maintenance donors or investors who aren’t
from the truth! Leaders are strategic quitters. They
things look good. As a consequence, I will put
substantial contributors to the organization.
ruthlessly avoid activities that don’t align with their
off decorating as long as possible.
vision or values. They know the power of “NO” when
Too Confusing
Not on the Agenda
3
6 faced with opportunities that threaten to drift them
Human nature tends to be set in its ways.
away from their purpose.
Hence the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog
When changing circumstances make our plans
new tricks.” My generation has had to come to I’ve quit a lot of things during my journey; counseling,
obsolete, we resist making adjustment. We
grips with fast-moving technologies, and it hasn’t administrating, controlling, people-pleasing and more.
stubbornly hold to our old curse of action and
been easy. I don’t understand many features of Quitting has been healthy for me because I’ve always
avoid altering our behavior.
42
www.coloradohomeownermag.com
quit for the right reasons.
www.coloradohomeownermag.com
45
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