This is one of the most important lessons—and the hardest to learn. We’re all taught to persevere and that quitting is for losers. But to win Design Contests, you need to know when to cut your losses.
Imagine participating in a contest that isn’t going well for you. You persist and eventually get a three or four star rating. There are other designers doing better than you, but now that you have good ratings you really don’t want to give up. You put all your time and energy into the contest only to be disappointed when a different designer wins the prize. That’s hours of time invested and no wins.
Now, imagine that you’re doing poorly in a contest and quit immediately to enter two new contests. One goes poorly, but the other one you win with limited effort. You’ve put in the same amount of time, but you now have a win under your belt.
See the difference? Don’t feel bad about quitting. In fact, you’ll be happy you did!