Jon Acuff's Blog, page 34

Win the Queso and a Case-O Contest!

Starting today, through August 25th, anyone who orders two (or more) autographed copies of my new book Finish from our online store (Acuff.me/store) will automatically be eligible to win our Queso and a Case-O contest.

You’ve got questions, I’ve got answers.

WAIT, WHAT IS THIS CONTEST CALLED AGAIN?

Queso and a Case-O. (They rhyme because I’m clever like that.)

AND THE WINNER WINS, WHAT, EXACTLY?

We will pick one random winner from among the eligible entries to fly to Nashville in September and have dinner with me and my team (featuring queso of course). You’ll also get to be a part of my Nashville book signing, and you’ll win a “Case-O” Finish (12 copies of Finish, to be exact).

OKAY, SO HOW DO I ENTER?

To enter, you need to purchase two (or more) autographed copies of Finish through our online store on or before August 25th at midnight, PT.

IS THERE A FORM TO FILL OUT ONCE I BUY MY TWO COPIES?

No, your order of Finish through our online store per the contest guidelines automatically enters you into this contest.

WHAT IF I ALREADY PURCHASED A COPY ON AMAZON, DO I STILL HAVE TO BUY TWO MORE COPIES?

If you’ve already purchased one (or more copies) of the book through Amazon (or another retailer), and you have filled out the bonus pre-order form, then you only need to purchase one additional autographed copy of the book through our online store.

DO I HAVE TO PURCHASE THE BOOK TO ENTER THIS CONTEST?

There is no purchase necessary. You may also enter by sending in an entry with your name, address, email address, and daytime phone number on a postcard or index card to “Acuff Queso Contest” #178 2020 Fieldstone Pkwy. Suite 900, Franklin, TN, 37069. Your entry must be postmarked by 8/25/2017 to be eligible.

WILL THE ENTIRE DINNER CONSIST OF QUESO?

Only if you want it to.

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET TO NASHVILLE?

I’m going to fly you there, that’s part of the prize package!

AND WHERE AM I GOING TO STAY?

I’ll put you up someplace nice, that is also part of the prize package!

AND WHAT COLOR WILL THE PORSCHE 911 BE THAT THE WINNER RECEIVES?

Now you’re just making stuff up, that is NOT part of the prize package.

SORRY HAD TO TRY. SO WHY WOULD I BUY TWO COPIES OF FINISH?

More than any other book I’ve written, Finish has the most potential as a book you want to buy not just for yourself, but for your employees, your team, and your friends. It’s already happening, as teams have been ordering in bulk to go through it together.

WHEN WILL YOU ANNOUNCE A WINNER?

The contest closes on August 25th at midnight, PT. We will announce a winner to the contest some time the following week.

IS THAT IT?

That’s it! Order two autographed copies of Finish from our online store in the next week and you just might be joining me for Queso in Nashville next month! I’ll fly you there, I’ll put you up in a hotel, you’ll join me for queso, you’ll come to my Nashville book signing, and I’ll send you home with a case of my new book!

This is gonna be fun!

Jon

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Increase your success by 63% with this video.

If you do what’s in the video below, you will be 63% more successful at your goals.

Got a health goal? Great.

Trying to write a book? Perfect.

Looking to start a business? Outstanding.

A study of nearly 900 people over a six-month period revealed some crazy things about winning at your goals.

Watch the video below to see what we discovered.

Or, better yet, get the whole 12-part series for free.

How? There are two wicked easy steps:

1. Order my new book “Finish”

2. Fill out this form. (If you already ordered it, skip right to this step!)

That’s it. You’ll get the entire series for free.

Ready to finish your goals? Watch this video to get started.

The post Increase your success by 63% with this video. appeared first on Jon Acuff.

I fought the wrong ghost in 2013

I fought the wrong ghost in 2013.

That year, I published a book urging readers to start. I encouraged them to begin a diet or a write a book or pursue a million other goals they’d been dreaming about for years.

I thought the biggest problem for people was the phantom of fear that prevented them from beginning. If I could just nudge you across the starting line, everything would work out. Fear was the ghost holding you back and starting was the only way to beat it.

I was half right.

The start does matter. The beginning is significant. The first few steps are critical, but they aren’t the most important.

Do you know what matters more?

The finish.

Year after year, readers pulled me aside at events and said, “I’ve never had a problem starting. I’ve started a million things, but I never finish them. How do I finish?”

I didn’t have an answer, but I needed one in my own life, too.

I’ve finished a few things. I’ve run half marathons, written six books, and dressed myself pretty well today, but those are the exceptions in my half-done life.

I’ve only completed 10 percent of the books I own. It took me three years to finish six days of the P90X home exercise program. I have thirty-two half-started Moleskine notebooks in my office and nineteen tubes of nearly finished Chapstick in my bathroom.

At least I’m not alone in my “unfinishing” ways.

According to studies, 92 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail. Every January, people start with hope and hype, believing that this will be the New Year that does indeed deliver a New You.

I thought my problem was that I didn’t try hard enough. That’s what every shiny-toothed guru online says. “You must grind! Sleep when you’re dead!”

Maybe I was just lazy.

I started getting up earlier. I drank enough energy drinks to kill a horse. I hired a life coach and ate more superfoods.

Nothing worked, although I did develop a pretty nice eyelid tremor from all the caffeine. It was like my eye was waving at you, very, very quickly.

While I was busy putting elbow grease on the grindstone and reaching for the stars like Abe Lincoln, I created a 30-day challenge online. It was called the 30 Days of Hustle and it was a video course that helped thousands of people knock out their goals.

What happened next was at best an accident.

I honestly didn’t plan what I’m about to tell you. I was as surprised as you are going to be. If anything, I’m just excited it actually worked.

In the spring of 2016, a researcher from a local university approached me.

He wanted to study people who took my 30 Days of Hustle course to analyze what worked and what didn’t. He was finishing his PhD and wanted to write papers about what his study revealed. In the months that followed, he surveyed more than 850 participants to build a solid foundation of real data.

This was a new experience for me, because prior to that I was operating under the great “Make Up Whatever You Want to Say on the Internet with No Foundation in Fact” Ordinance of 2003.

What he learned changed my entire approach to finishing and in some ways, to my life.

The exercises that caused people to increase their progress dramatically were those that took the pressure off, those that did away with the crippling perfectionism that caused people to quit their goals. Whether they were trying to lose a pants size, write more content on a blog or get a raise, the results were the same.

The less that people aimed for perfect, the more productive they became.

It turns out that trying harder isn’t the answer.

Grinding more isn’t the solution.

Chronic starters can become consistent finishers.

We can finish.

Why does this matter?

Because starting is fun, but the future belongs to finishers.

Today is the beginning of pre-orders for my new book “Finish.”

If you pre-order the book, which comes out September 12th, I will send you a ton of free stuff. Here’s what you’ll get:

1. The Finish Video Course

2. The Finish Workbook

3. A dry erase Finish board

4. A Finish marker for tracking your goals

Those are all fun, but those last two are amazing. When is the last time you got real mail from an author? I can’t believe my publisher is willing to send out 100,000 dry erase boards. (That’s how many I’m going to pre-order, I’m speaking that into truth or destiny or whatever it is that people say.)

Want to learn how to finish? It’s easy:

1. Pre-order my new book from any of the following retailers (Amazon, B&N, Parnassus, Indiebound!)

2. Fill out this form. (If you’ve already ordered it weeks ago, just fill out the form.)

(Physical bonus products are for the U.S. only. Non-U.S. pre-orders will still receive Finish video course and digital workbook.)

That’s it.

The bonuses will disappear pretty quickly so if you want them, make sure you order today.

If you’ve ever started a million things but finished very few, this book is for you.

It’s time to finish.

The post I fought the wrong ghost in 2013 appeared first on Jon Acuff.

What age should your kid get a phone?

I had a lot of self-righteous ideas about when my oldest daughter would get a phone.

Because of my job, I even got to write about them and give speeches about them in front of audiences. When I put my foot in my mouth, I don’t like to do it in a small way. I go all in!

I honestly thought that we probably wouldn’t get her one until she was in the 9th grade. That seemed like the best age. I had a lot of reasons for this decision and felt fairly confident about the whole thing in general.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

My oldest daughter got a phone on her 12th birthday. That is much, much earlier than I anticipated.

Why did she get one there?

Well, I’ve shared this before, but one thing really changed the whole situation for me.

L.E., my oldest daughter, is in an awesome small group with our church. Over the years, she has really grown to love that group of girls. They have become some of her best friends.

One night, my wife said, “It’s too bad L.E. doesn’t get all those encouraging texts from her small group all week.” I didn’t know what she meant and asked her to clarify.

“Well, all week, every other girl in the group is connected to a group text. They send Bible verses and jokes and encouragement. Since L.E. doesn’t have a phone and she’s the only one without one, she misses that community.”

My main problem was that I was judging my daughter’s adolescence based on mine. I thought, “Her friends can just call our house phone!” What a stupid, stupid thought. Kids don’t use the phone that way. They don’t call each other. I’ve maybe seen my daughter have 5 phone calls in her life. It’s text or nothing.

Suddenly, the phone wasn’t a demonic distraction that would whisk my innocent daughter into a digital wasteland where teens get in trouble, it was a connection point.

Does that mean every kid should get a phone at 12? Nope. I don’t think every kid is the same. I think some are ready at 12 and some aren’t. Each kid matures differently. But, I implore you to think long and hard about the issue. As a dad, I’ve been thrilled at the connection it’s become for us.

L.E. sends me jokes and memes she sees. She texts me out of the blue. In addition to all the updates on where she is or if she made it to her friend’s house on her bike, I get to know her personality in some really fun ways.

If you’re a parent, the phone conversation is headed your way.

The age of 12 worked for us, maybe 14 will be better for you. Time will tell, but please know that it’s not nearly as bad as you think. Your kid’s first phone can be a wonderful experience if you’re deliberate about it.

Fear no phone.

 

The post What age should your kid get a phone? appeared first on Jon Acuff.

What age should your kid get a phone?

I had a lot of self-righteous ideas about when my oldest daughter would get a phone.

Because of my job, I even got to write about them and give speeches about them in front of audiences. When I put my foot in my mouth, I don’t like to do it in a small way. I go all in!

I honestly thought that we probably wouldn’t get her one until she was in the 9th grade. That seemed like the best age. I had a lot of reasons for this decision and felt fairly confident about the whole thing in general.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

My oldest daughter got a phone on her 12th birthday. That is much, much earlier than I anticipated.

Why did she get one there?

Well, I’ve shared this before, but one thing really changed the whole situation for me.

L.E., my oldest daughter, is in an awesome small group with our church. Over the years, she has really grown to love that group of girls. They have become some of her best friends.

One night, my wife said, “It’s too bad L.E. doesn’t get all those encouraging texts from her small group all week.” I didn’t know what she meant and asked her to clarify.

“Well, all week, every other girl in the group is connected to a group text. They send Bible verses and jokes and encouragement. Since L.E. doesn’t have a phone and she’s the only one without one, she misses that community.”

My main problem was that I was judging my daughter’s adolescence based on mine. I thought, “Her friends can just call our house phone!” What a stupid, stupid thought. Kids don’t use the phone that way. They don’t call each other. I’ve maybe seen my daughter have 5 phone calls in her life. It’s text or nothing.

Suddenly, the phone wasn’t a demonic distraction that would whisk my innocent daughter into a digital wasteland where teens get in trouble, it was a connection point.

Does that mean every kid should get a phone at 12? Nope. I don’t think every kid is the same. I think some are ready at 12 and some aren’t. Each kid matures differently. But, I implore you to think long and hard about the issue. As a dad, I’ve been thrilled at the connection it’s become for us.

L.E. sends me jokes and memes she sees. She texts me out of the blue. In addition to all the updates on where she is or if she made it to her friend’s house on her bike, I get to know her personality in some really fun ways.

If you’re a parent, the phone conversation is headed your way.

The age of 12 worked for us, maybe 14 will be better for you. Time will tell, but please know that it’s not nearly as bad as you think. Your kid’s first phone can be a wonderful experience if you’re deliberate about it.

Fear no phone.

P.S. I share parenting ideas just like this once a week. If you want them, sign up today.

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How to get someone to endorse your book.

Hooray, you’ve written a book! You actually did it and that’s awesome!

Now, how do you get someone to endorse it? How do you get someone else to lend their name to your project? Follow these steps:

1. Ask the most famous person you have a personal relationship with.

Someone in your circle of connections has at least a little bit of fame. Start there. It’s easier to get a second famous person once you can say, “So and so already endorsed it.”

2. Make a list of your dream endorsements.

Focus on people who would add value to your book. If you wrote about sports, get an athlete. If you wrote about finances, get a financial guru.

3. Create a short, kind email request with examples of what an endorsement could say.

For instance, if I was sending someone an endorsement request, I would say, “One of the things people have remarked about the book is that it’s brave. Your endorsement could say something like, ‘I was encouraged by the invitation to bravery that this book provided.’” Famous people are busy. Your job is to make this as easy as possible for them.

4. If they say no, immediately thank them for their time.

Sometimes, when I say no, people try to shame me into changing my mind. That’s a great way to burn a bridge.

5. If you can’t get a single endorsement, make another list called “My silver medal endorsements.”

It’s important to dream big, but there’s a good chance Michael Jordan isn’t going to endorse this book. Notice I said “this” one. It gets easier with each book you write.

Endorsements matter more than you think. There are lots of people who immediately flip a book over to see who has vetted it. Start small and work your way up.

Most importantly, don’t get discouraged when someone says no. I was told no twice for my book, “Do Over.” It’s just part of the process.

If you want more ideas about writing and selling books, make sure you sign up for my free once a week writer’s list.

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12 hours.

Remember that book you were going to write someday?

Or that weight you were going to lose someday?

Or that business you were going to start someday?

Well, this summer is someday.

I’m going to do everything I can to help you finish.

I’ve created a free, 8-week challenge to guide you toward the finish line.

You’ve got 12 more hours to sign up for it.

Thousands of people from around the world have declared this the “Summer of Finish.”

To get the special PDF chart I created, all the content and loads of encouragement, sign up here.

It closes tonight at midnight.

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I have a confession

My confession is silly, but it is true.

Ready?

I never finished the Harry Potter series.

I read every book and almost the entire last one, but then stopped before I read the last page.

Why?

Because I used to be terrible at finishing.

I’d make a million plans, start a million projects and launch a million hopes only to have them all limp to early deaths somewhere in the middle of the journey.

Maybe you’ve done that too.

Maybe you have half read books or half started business ideas or half started diets.

Want to know why that’s so destructive?

Because a goal is never just a goal. A goal is a promise. It’s a promise to yourself and every time you don’t finish it, you’ve broken a promise. You’ve lied to yourself about something small or something big. Those little lies build up over the years until you no longer trust yourself.

That’s why when you start a new diet, you can almost hear a voice inside say, “Oh sure, this is going to last for like a week until you quit.” That’s why when you sit down to write your book, that voice says, “Why even bother? You didn’t finish the last one or the one before that.” This is why when you decide to declutter your house, the voice remarks, “Oh, you read the magic book of tidying up again and got excited? Here we go for a week.”

I’m tired of that voice.

I’m tired of starting with enthusiasm but then giving up.

I’m ready for something new and it begins this summer.

I declare this the Summer of Finish! What’s that?

It’s simple, I’m challenging us to finish one thing we care about during an 8-week process.

That’s it.

You choose the thing.

It could be health-related. Hustle on your fitness this summer.

It could be book-related. Finally finish that novel that has haunted you for years.

It could be money-related. Use the summer to get your finances in shape.

It can be anything you want it to be.

What will I do?

I’ll give you a bunch of free resources. (This is 100% free.) Here’s what you’ll get:

• Access to a private Summer of Finish periscope account!

• 8-week email course, mailed weekly to you.

• A Summer of Finish checklist to chart progress.

• Surprises along the way.

That’s it.

If you’re in, just sign up here today.

It’s free.

It will be fun.

And most importantly, it will help you finish.

Let’s make 2017 the Summer of Finish!

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Have your kids ever put their hands in the oven?

Have your kids ever put their hands in the oven?

It’s a pretty simple question. Have your kids ever put their hand in the oven?

No? Just me? Fair enough. I guess you’re a perfect parent.

That happened when my daughter was 18 months old. We had the oven open for approximately 1.3 seconds but that was all it took. (Kids are like tiny raptors, constantly checking your perimeter for weaknesses.)

That’s what the first few years of raising a kid is like. It’s not parenting so much as it is protecting.

Protecting and trying to get your kids to eat something other than the chicken nuggets you used to judge other parents for feeding their kids. Do you know the kind I’m talking about? They’re sold in a bag that’s as big as a sleeping bag at Walmart?

Parenting is a weird, fun, difficult journey.

I’ve got two kids, one who is almost 14 and one who is almost 12. (They’re still in the almost age group. No adult says “I’m almost 52!”)

I’m by no means an expert. I’m learning to navigate things like social media with my kids and dreams and hopes and the future just like a lot of you.

Along the way, I’ve decided to share a few of the things I’ve discovered about parenting. Once a week, I’ll send you an idea that has helped my family.

The ideas will be honest, real and sometimes funny. To that last point, don’t sign up if you’re easily offended. Parenting is too hard to also add being offended. I don’t have time to be offended.

That’s it.

If you want the ideas, sign up here.

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Be careful about reading this.

I recently changed what I’m doing online.

Instead of blogging big general ideas, I decided to get laser-focused. I started writing ideas exclusively for writers, speakers, entrepreneurs and fitness fans.

In the middle of that, I got an email from a guy name Garth. Here’s what it said:

Garth rewrote his speech after reading one of the ideas I shared and it absolutely crushed.

That’s awesome, but I still must warn you.

If you start reading these ideas, you’ll need to change. You’ll need to finish that book you’ve always wanted to write. You’ll have to edit your speech. You’ll have to get off the couch and into the gym. You’ll have to learn how to promote your business.

If any of those things make you nervous, don’t sign up for anything I do. But, if you feel differently, here’s your invite:

To write better books and sell more of them, sign up here.

To give better speeches, sign up here.

To have more fun and make more money with your small business, sign up here.

To get in better shape and eat healthier, sign up here.

Each list is ultimately about change.

Our lives are constantly changing, that’s not the question. The question is “Will we be part of it or will we fight it?”

Fighting change doesn’t stop it from happening, it just stops you from enjoying it.
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Sign up for the list that works best for you. That’s all you have to do today. But soon, you’re going to send me an email like the one above.

I can’t wait to read it!

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