Annie Duke on the Power of Our Decisions — and Why Quitting Needs a Reframe

Like so many, my heart is deeply heavy today for the victims of both the Washington D.C. plane and helicopter collision and now, as of Friday night, the tragic plane crash in Philadelphia. Both incidents — as well as so much else going on in my life right now — have led me to start reevaluating my life. What matters most? What should be prioritized? Today’s guest helps us, through her impressive body of work, learn how to make decisions, including learning when to quit and walk away from something, be it a relationship, a job, or a goal, for example. We’ve got Annie Duke here today to talk in particular about two of her many books: Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away, and How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices. Quit came out in 2022, and How to Decide in 2020. Annie is also the author of Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts, which came out in 2018; we briefly mention Thinking in Bets, but don’t delve deep into it in this episode, though I have read it and highly recommend it. To deeper understand Annie’s work, you must first understand Annie — she’s now a prolific self-improvement writer, but she is also a former poker player, and brings those decision making skills into her writing. Annie isn’t just some average poker player, mind you — she is one of the most successful poker players of all time, particularly among female poker players, and won the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions. In addition to her mainstream work, she’s also written a number of books for poker players specifically, and published her autobiography in 2005. Annie was educated at Columbia and Penn, an active philanthropist, a business consultant, public speaker, and is an expert in decision fitness, emotional control, productive decision groups, and embracing uncertainty, which is an area I feel like all of us are living in right now. Today on the show we talk about why quitting has an unfairly earned negative connotation; the dichotomy of grit versus quit; how quitting is a key decision making tool; how impactful decisions are on our lives; how her career in poker led her to the work she does today; and so much more. Let’s kick off February with this great conversation.

All by Annie Duke:

Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away

How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices

Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts