Sears, once a dominant retailer representing 1% of US GNP, went bankrupt despite owning successful financial services companies like Allstate Insurance, Discover Card, and Coldwell Banker.
When their retail business faltered, they chose to double down on retail instead of focusing on their profitable financial services.
This decision stemmed from their identity as a retailer, ultimately leading to their downfall.
This illustrates how clinging to identity can prevent adapting to change, even when the incentives are clear.
Why "Never give up!" is objectively terrible advice (as even Muhammad Ali might grudgingly admit).
Life's too short to keep fighting a battle that's only losing ground when you could better devote the time you're spending to more worthwhile pursuits.
Why the worst time to make a decision is when you're already in the middle of it.
How the sunk cost fallacy keeps us spinning our wheels in fruitless attempts at progress long after we should have turned back.
How we can actually tell the difference between a worthy pursuit and a lost cause — and what we can do to resist our own stubborn impulse to persist beyond reasonable defeat.