Wise quitting

“Don’t give up.” has got to be my favourite overall life achievement hack when growing up. Not surprisingly, it’s always served me well in school and sports. It’s like 100% hit rate. So learning that it’s not true when my indie entrepreneurship journey was difficult.

But recently I realised it’s not a total collapse of that notion. But more about adding nuance to it. I can give up a battle, but still not lose the war.

I can give up a project, but not lose staying indie.

Perspective perspective.

Closing a project when the data shows, isn’t giving up. It’s reprioritizing.
Stopping the project when my motivation for it runs dry, isn’t giving up. It’s re-directing.
Putting a project on hold when platform risk is too high isn’t giving up. It’s re-calculating.

By giving up a failed project, I can then redirect my energy and focus on something else, with a potentially higher chance to win the bigger war. Because of what practical lessons and experience from the failed project. Because now I’m smarter for it. Because I know what didn’t work, I can avoid those factors and by reduction, I get closer to what works.

Now, that’s wise quitting.