Thinking about Quitting?

When is the right time to walk away?

Imagine you had done something, passionately, for the last several years of your life. Every wake minute was invested into your project, always with the best intentions at the forefront of your brain. When it comes to your project, you are the undisputed guru, the king, chief chef, chief everything officer, the big Zampano. Even though you are no longer alone, you still hold the key to a special room with all the buttons in it. You have buttons to make people who play with what you have created appear, disappear, you can make them happy or angry, proud or ashamed. You also have an ultimate kill switch button, for emergencies or when your project is being attacked by shady characters.

If you are anything like me, you have struggled hard and worked even harder to be the best you can be at anything you do. Striving for excellence, reliability, honesty and a respectful environment is your number one priority. Integrity rules. This behavior pattern may manifest itself in your relationships with people, in your professional life, in your writing or anything else for that matter. Youngsters and teenagers may refer to you as “odd” or weird”, oldies and people who’ve been around the bush often, can see you as hard-nosed and tough, politically incorrect or view you as an eccentric.

At times, making your own tracks in the snow (something my parents and grandparents instilled in me) is a downright hassle. I quote my dad when I say: “Go where there is no path and leave a trail” and I quote my mom when I say: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life“. Then, I quote my grandfather, when I say: “You can lie to a million people and get away with it – but the one you cannot lie to is yourself“. All of these quotes are correct and can be applied to everyday life, in almost every aspect of it. But, each activity requires us to determine our goals.

Set a goal – Make a plan – Get to work – Stick to your guns – Reach your goal…

“Done. What’s next?” A perfectly viable question to ask, when you have completed something you had set your mind to. It could be weight-loss, breaking up with someone, saving money for a new car, or – as in my case, creating something from nothing, step by step, by the birth of http://www.seaplaneforum.com. It’s done! It’s there! People use it! People like it! People hate it! Whatever!

Sure, sometimes we have to adjust goals and grow them, but eventually, there comes a point when you have done everything humanly possible to make it all reality. The rest requires you to manage and observe, but you are no longer the “creator”. Whatever you have done suddenly starts progressing on its own terms, with its own conditions. Your “baby” may be a book you wanted to write and publish, a life advice blog, a new career, or, as in my case – the creation and growing of an international platform for seaplane pilots, who have been kept from open online interaction for decades. Your “baby” resembles you, for a long time it has defined you, but eventually it starts walking on its own. When do you let go of your brainchild? When do you let it roam free, in whichever direction it wants to go? How do you know of your book will sell? Fact is: You don’t. Your book needs to sell itself. Your live- advise blog must remain interesting enough for many people feeling the desire to read it. Your career will need constant work and dedication to remain alive, but it very much progresses on its own terms, entirely ignorant to your wants and needs.

The last four years of my life were dedicated to seaplane pilot communication. I was often struck by the incredible ignorance and corruption of aviation associations and their political kindergarten games. Yet, my baby survived the badmouthing, stonewalling and ignorance and seemingly grew into a well-balanced young discussion board with lots of good people in it. It’s these people who make it what it is…

So… the question of the day is: When do you quit and walk away to focus on something else?

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