We're told that winners never quit — but what if strategic quitting is the skill high performers are missing? In this episode, Brad sits down with Lindsay Crouse, author of The Case for Quitting and former New York Times editor and writer, to challenge the "never give up" mindset that quietly works against ambitious people.
Lindsay shares her own journey from Harvard to career heights at the Times — including elevating women Olympians' voices to win maternity protections for pregnant athletes and commissioning the Times' first Academy Award–winning film — and how her superpower of relentless perseverance eventually started to undermine her performance and happiness.
Together, Lindsay and Dr. Cooper unpack how perseverance and quitting are companion behaviors, not opposites. You'll learn why "Why am I continuing?" is a more useful question than "Should I quit?", how to tell the difference between healthy drive and fear-based grinding, and how to set "kill criteria" before you're too invested to think clearly. They dig into the spotlight effect and our overblown fear of judgment, why we regret inaction more than action, and the coach's wisdom to never quit on a bad day.
Lindsay closes with a practical framework for anyone standing at a crossroads: picture the morning after you walk away, get clear on what you're moving toward (not just what you're escaping), and build a financial parachute so the choice is deliberate rather than impulsive. A must-listen for high achievers — and the coaches who guide them.
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