Jon Acuff's Blog, page 35
May 5, 2017
9 Gift Ideas for College Graduates
I’ve written about this before, but this month, college graduates will have a hard time finding jobs because their parents refuse to move to Florida. It’s not the pythons, alligators, sharks, panthers or bears preventing the exodus to the Sunshine State, it’s the money.
Boomers can’t financially afford to retire like they used to. In a 2014 Gallup poll, half of the Boomers said they plan to work past the age of 65. They’re not leaving their jobs, which means they’re not vacating positions for Gen X employees.
My generation bumps into them and has a hard time climbing the career ladder, because the top positions are filled already.
Millennials then graduate and bump into Gen X employees who have not been able to move beyond entry level and middle management positions.
This reality creates a job traffic jam.
Maybe you’re a college senior about to enter the workforce. Maybe you’re a parent with a son or daughter who is on the verge of receiving a diploma. Maybe you’re a relative or friend who has been invited to a graduation party and doesn’t know how to help a college graduate.
Fear not, though the situation is challenging, it is by no means impossible.
There are 9 things every college graduate needs.
1. My book, Do Over.
Did you think I was going to wait until the last item on the list to talk about my book? That would be silly. (The paperback version is only $9.55 on Amazon right now, which is the lowest price I’ve ever seen it at.)
There’s a reason hundreds of parents have already given Do Over
to college graduates and Library Journal said it was “highly recommended for the college graduate just beginning a career.”
Graduating from college can feel like an overwhelming experience, but it doesn’t have to be. Do Over will show them how.
2. A 4-lb bag of Hi-Chew.
What if your college graduate already owns Do Over? Give them the next best thing, a 4-lb of bag of Hi-Chew, the candy that currently sits atop my Candy Power Poll Rankings. Nothing says, “Good luck in the real world, kid!” like 48 ounces of re-sealable deliciousness.
3. Connections.
One of the best ways you can help a college graduate is by opening your rolodex. (That reference just made it seem like I graduated 20 years ago and am super old.) Share your network of connections. Everyone has heard the cliche, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” because it’s true. One of the best gifts you can give a graduate is an introduction to someone you know who can help with a career opportunity.
4. A sneak peek into the future.
We adults aren’t just adults, we’re time machines. We’ve been to the future and can tell graduates what we’ve learned. For instance, despite being in my 40s, one thing I remember about the 20s is that they can be a lot lonelier than anyone tells you. It’s hard to make friends as an adult. You have to work hard to build community. When you share something like that with a college graduate, you’re giving them a sneak peek into the future. Don’t be afraid to fire up the Delorean and and tell a college graduate a little about where he or she is headed.
We’ve been to the future and need to tell generations behind us what we’ve learned.
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5. Encouragement.
You’ve got a choice. You can be the person in a graduate’s life who tells them how much working sucks, or how bad the job market is out there right now, or how everyone loves their job at first but eventually they hate it. Or you can be the person who gives encouragement. Tell them you’re proud of what they’ve done so far. Tell them they’re going to do great things. Remind them that they’ve got a support system behind them no matter what happens. Choose encouragement over discouragement every time.
6. Gift cards.
Money is awesome but it tends to disappear quickly. Give college graduates gift cards instead. Starbucks, The Home Depot, the grocery store, everyone has a gift card option and instead of the money getting swallowed up by life, they just might actually use the gift card for something they need.
7. A 1-liter bottle of Listerine Total Care.
To be paired with point number 2 above.
8. Time.
College graduates need some runway to put their lives together. We adults tend to think it will happen instantly. As if perhaps when they get their diploma they will also get a job, an apartment, a life purpose and a golden retriever named Disco who wears a red kerchief. They won’t. Those things take time. (Except for the kerchief, you can get those anywhere.) Don’t put undue pressure on an already pressure-filled moment. Give college graduates time.
9. A copy of Do Over.
Oh, you didn’t think I would double up on my own book in this list? Again, that would be silly.
Listen, most graduation gifts are boring and useless. A college grad doesn’t need a lacquered piece of wood with a motivational statement on it or a hamper for dirty laundry. (They can buy that with a gift card.) They need a guide to one of the biggest career Do Over moments they will ever face, graduation. They need a fun plan to build the four investments every great career requires (relationships, skills, character and hustle).
Give graduates a fighting chance in a world where it’s increasingly hard to find a job.
Give them Do Over and these other eight things and then make them pay for Starbucks with a gift card next time you go out for coffee.
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April 18, 2017
What the magician wanted me to tell you.
At first, I was going to ask him about our pizza.
We were waiting at a table in a small restaurant in our town. A man in a suit approached and I naturally assumed he was the manager.
Only he wasn’t, he was a magician.
His job was to entertain guests on busy nights when service was a little bit slower.
My kids absolutely loved it.
One night, my friend who is a musician came over for dinner. I told the kids he was coming. When he got there, they stood waiting, staring at him. Finally, one of them pulled me aside and said, “Is he going to do any tricks?” They thought I told them a magician was coming over and were very disappointed.
After a few tricks, the magician finished his show and then said, “I’m here doing magic full time because of the principles you teach in your books!”
We talked for a few minutes and then Tim moved on to another table.
I think Tim would want you to know something about your own life.
He’d want you to know it’s possible.
He’d want you to know your dream matters.
He’d want you to try.
Chasing a dream isn’t for other people. It’s for all people.
Chasing a dream isn’t for other people. It’s for all people.
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I wrote “Do Over” because of people like Tim and maybe, people like you.
It’s helped tens of thousands of readers around the world. I dare you to give it read today.
Who knows just how magical a little bit of hustle can really be?
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March 31, 2017
The simple secret to being a successful entrepreneur.
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to make money.
Not a lot of money.
Not a ton of money.
Not Porsche 718S in Miami Blue with Cognac Leather money.
Just enough to keep building the business.
And the way I think about it is simple.
I try to have 5-7 faucets of business turned on at any given time.
Here are the faucets I currently have going in my business:
1. Publishing deals
2. Speaking engagements
3. Book sales
4. Retainer clients
5. Online courses
6. Affiliate sales (mostly Amazon)
7. Calendar sales
8. Freelance work
Why do you need so many faucets? Because at any given time, one or two or maybe even five of them will dry up. Your main retainer client will not renew your contract. Your calendar sells well in January and then not so well in July. In that moment, you will be deeply glad that you have other faucets already going.
It took me six years in Atlanta to turn on the freelance writing faucet, but ten years later, it’s still going. Faucets always take longer than you want to turn on.
The best time to build a new business is when you don’t need it to support your family.
The best time to build a new business is when you don’t need it to support your family.
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If you want some help building your business or just turning on a side hustle faucet, sign up for my new Entrepreneur’s List. It’s a once a week, free idea share that I’ve started to help people like us make more money and have more fun.
Let’s turn on some faucets.
Make some money.
Have some fun.
And above all, avoid Atlanta traffic.
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March 3, 2017
Dear writers …
I used to write radio commercials for a laser hair removal company.
The key is to just constantly threaten that, “bathing suit season is right around the corner.”
I wrote ads for The Home Depot, Bose and Staples.
I wrote video scripts and instructional copy for online calculators.
I wrote poems and billboards.
I wrote blog posts and tweets and eventually books.
Along the way, I learned a few things.
It’s time to share them.
Not everyone who reads my blog is a writer. If you are or want to be though, check out “The Writer’s List.”
The concept is simple. Once a week, I’m going to share something to help you be a better writer. Some weeks that will mean a trick I learned about editing. Some weeks I will share a secret about selling your work.
The list will be numbered and today you can get the first idea, “Editing is everything.’
Writers, let’s talk.
Writing a book is easy. Except for the writing part.
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February 13, 2017
The winners of the 200 book giveaway
Last week we planned on giving away 100 copies of Do Over but we were so blown away by the number of entries, we decided to double the amount of books we gave away!
It’s really fun to give people who are excited about the book a chance to read it for free, and I can’t thank my publisher, Penguin, enough for helping me pull this off!
If you were one of the 200 winning entries that we chose, you already received an email from us earlier this morning. Congratulations!
If you didn’t receive an email, thanks so much for entering!
The good news is you can still get a copy of the paperback on Amazon for only $10.59! Order a copy for yourself or for someone you love and make 2017 the year of the Do Over!
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February 8, 2017
The old rules don’t apply to this new world.
Sit still.
Stay quiet.
Keep your head down.
Work your 40 hours for 40 years and get a gold watch and a one way ticket to Florida.
Dream about what might have been but wasn’t.
For years, maybe decades, those were the rules.
Dreams were frivolous, gossamer that the average person didn’t have access to.
But then, the Internet happened.
When my grandfather was my age, he couldn’t build an audience easily. What would he have done? Run for local government? Try to get a radio show? Write for the city paper? He couldn’t reach a million people with a tweet. He couldn’t live broadcast from his own house with his own phone. He couldn’t sell something on Amazon.
When my grandmother was my age, she was one of the first female vice-presidents at a national bank. It was an amazing opportunity for an amazing woman, but it also had to be an isolating experience. She couldn’t start a Facebook group for women around the world who were breaking glass ceilings. She couldn’t get encouragement from other women on Twitter. She couldn’t easily connect with anyone outside of the town she lived in.
She had to live by the old rules, the old limitations and the old opportunities. But I have some good news.
The old rules don’t apply to this new world. That’s what I wrote about in my book Do Over.
I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately because in a few weeks, I’m speaking on a cruise ship with Sandi Patty. That’s a crazy sentence.
For a week, I’ll get to hang out with hundreds of other people floating about the Caribbean. I’m also going to win the first annual Jon Acuff & Sandi Patty Table Tennis Tournament.
I don’t know who originally came up with this idea, but God bless them. (The cruise is already sold out but here’s the team I’m going with.)
How did it happen? In 2008, I started a blog.
I threw my hat in the ring.
I tried.
I did something weird.
I decided ordinary wasn’t fun anymore.
I don’t know what you’re going to do with your life, I really don’t. But know this, you have opportunities unlike any generation in the history of mankind.
You have chances no one has ever had before.
You have tools.
You have resources.
You have community.
Don’t waste your new life living by the old rules.
Don’t waste your new life living by the old rules.
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February 6, 2017
I’m giving away 100 copies of Do Over. Want one?
Every few days, someone who read Do Over will email me. The messages are always a little different, but they tend to say three things:
I used your book to find a new job.
Your book helped me get a raise at my current job.
I feel hopeful about my career for the first time in a long time.
I love hearing stuff like that. Now that the paperback is out and the book only costs $11 more people have access to it.
Even knowing that the price is so low, I realize there are lots of people who can’t afford to pick up a copy. Maybe you’re working the envelope system right now. Maybe you’re on the grind and saving every penny you can. Maybe you’d read Do Over ASAP if there was a way to get a free copy.
Well, now there is.
For the first time ever, I’m giving away 100 copies of my book. Why? Because there are 100 people who need it.
Is that you? Is that someone you know? Is there a family member or friend you’d love to give it to?
I have 100 copies. You pay absolutely nothing.
Want one?
Fill out this quick questionnaire before Friday, February 10th at midnight Pacific. On Monday, February 13th I’ll announce the winners.
Life is too long to stay stuck at a job you don’t love.
It’s time to rescue Monday.
Apply for your free copy of Do Over today!
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February 3, 2017
Two people who need you to do the impossible.
Everyone has an impossible goal.
Even if life and parents and teachers and bosses with bad breath beat it out of you, it’s still there.
It might be quiet and dim, but it is not dead.
Why should you do it?
Why should you start that business, write that book, lose that weight?
Why should you do the impossible?
Because of two people.
The first is yourself. Dreams you refuse to chase don’t disappear, they become ghosts that haunt you. In quiet moments at red lights or in the shower, when your phone can’t save you, they return like a phantom. Unfulfilled hope doesn’t dissipate, it disintegrates into bitterness.
Unfulfilled hope doesn’t dissipate, it disintegrates into bitterness.
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Unless, you try the impossible.
Patrick did.
He sent me this email this week:
Working for the NHL is impossible. There are only 30 teams, it’s smaller than the NFL and anyone who loves hockey would love to work there. Jobs are scarce, but that didn’t stop Patrick.
Instead, he did 3 things:
He went to a conference to learn.
He bought my book Do Over.
He worked in sales for a year in the minor leagues.
This wasn’t an overnight story. This wasn’t instant. This wasn’t easy.
You must chase your goals for yourself, but what about the second person who needs you to do it?
The second person is every person you’ll never meet that bumps into your dream.
Patrick for instance. When I sat down to write Do Over, I didn’t know him. When you start your business or change jobs or chase your dream, you won’t know who it’s really for. But they’re out there. They need that thing you’re going to do.
We need you to do the impossible.
Why do I promote Do Over? Because it works. It’s $11 and it helps you do the impossible. I can’t say it any simpler than that.
If you’re ready to do the impossible, buy a copy today.
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February 1, 2017
The surprising person who will get you a new job.
This morning, I tweeted that “If you are up this early, we needed to be connected on LinkedIN.” I’ve done that a few times lately and think that you and I should connect. Here’s my profile. Let’s do it!
Someone responded “I’m old enough to remember when you were supposed to actually know someone before you linked to them in LinkedIn.”
That’s a good point and maybe it was true a few years ago. The problem is that some people still believe that.
The reality, as discussed by many people notably Malcolm Gladwell, is that your next job is likely to come from someone you don’t know well.
We tend to think our closest friends will help us network. We tend to think our best friends and family members are the greatest sources of relational opportunities. They’re not though. Strangers are going to provide you a lot more connections to new jobs than your inner circle. Why?
Because your inner circle tends to travel in the same situations you do. They work similar jobs. They live in your town. They bump into roughly the same opportunities you do.
People on the edges though, people you might only know from the Internet, they tend to see things you don’t. They know companies you don’t. They have conversations and connections you don’t. The wide circle has more connections than the tight.
The reason I wrote 25% of my book Do Over about relationships is that they are the original job hack. You’ll get more jobs via a friendship than any other thing. (You can pick up a copy today for only $11. What are you waiting for?)
Relationships are the original job hack. Who you know still matters.
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I hope you’ll connect as often as you can with as many people as you can on LinkedIN. Again, here’s my info if you want to connect to me.
You just might be surprised by who helps you get your next job.
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January 30, 2017
How to get a raise at work.
I made $24,500 at my first real job and felt like the richest person in the world.
I was absolutely thrilled to be making that kind of bank. I was like a short, skinny Rick Ross. Woke up in a new Bugatti!
Over the years, I received a few raises and started to notice an interesting pattern. The more skills I acquired the more money I’d received. Or to quote P-Diddy, “Mo’ Skills, Mo’ Money.”
The better I got at identifying, acquiring and utilizing new skills, the higher my salary climbed. The challenge is we have a hard time knowing what our skills really are. When you ask someone, “What are your skills?” They often say, “Nothing.” or “People. I’m good with people. And dogs.”
You’ll never get a raise that way. Perhaps even more critical, if you don’t learn new skills, you could lose your job. I remember two designers that showed me that. I met one in Dallas. He told me, “Jon, I remember when I realized that if I didn’t learn how to design for the Internet I was going to become a dinosaur and lose my job.” So he learned new skills, new software and new approaches to being a graphic designer.
The other person was an industrial designer. His company told him that they loved his work but they needed him to learn AutoCAD. He refused, promising that he designed better by hand. For a minute he could keep up, but eventually, you lose the race to a computer. He got stuck and lost his job.
That’s what’s so amazing about new skills. It’s impossible to get stuck somewhere old if you keep learning something new.
It’s impossible to get stuck somewhere old if you keep learning something new.
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New skills make you stuck proof. The reason why 25% of my book “Do Over” is about skills is because they are critical. If you haven’t read it, I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy. It’s only $11.
How do you start identifying your skills? Well, it’s pretty simple. You just have to ask 5 questions. I even made an infographic for you. Ask these and check out Do Over to really supercharge the skill part of your career. Remember, Mo’ Skills, Mo’ Money.
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