Jon Acuff's Blog, page 40

The sign on the front door on the island in the sea.

Last week, I took this picture of a sign on a front door in Martha’s Vineyard.

“Gone sailing, back @ 4PM.” How magical is that?

How much whimsy is contained in such a small piece of paper?

How long did someone dream about saying that?

How many months or years did a small business owner work on a goal until it finally happened?

How long did they push and strive until, on a weekday where most people are unhappy at jobs, they’re out sailing?

We all have a sign like that in our lives.

Mine said “Gone writing,” but I didn’t hang it up for years.

Maybe your sign says, “Gone painting” or “Gone building a business” or “Gone getting in shape” or “Gone writing a book.”

That’s all a goal is, a simple sign we hope to hang on the front door of our life someday.

What’s yours?

Do you already know it? Is there one clear, bright idea you just can’t deny any longer? Or are there too many all at once, your goals tangled up on top of each other until it feels impossible to actually start one?

I ask because this year I met 3,500 people who wrote new signs. They decluttered houses and started businesses and wrote books and recorded albums and lost weight and did a thousand other things. Not overnight, but through a 30-day process I call “The 30 Days of Hustle.”

I don’t know what the sign on your front door will say, but I know you need to make one.

Goals we refuse to chase don’t disappear. They become ghosts that haunt our quiet moments.

Goals we refuse to chase don’t disappear. They become ghosts that haunt our quiet moments.
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If you’re ready, or even just a little bit curious, don’t miss the last 30 Days of Hustle of 2016. It starts in a few weeks.

We’re going to write some new signs for some new doors.

Sign up for the wait list right here.

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What this bar in Allentown, PA taught me (and maybe you).

There are two ways to experience momentum:

1. Create it.

2. Ride it.

In the first approach, you try to get a cold car cranked in the dead of winter. You start from scratch, banging together two rocks in hope that one will cause a spark. You find the heaviest stone and hurl it in the deepest pond to make the biggest wave.

This way is very difficult. It’s not impossible, by any means, but it takes a lot of time and effort. An example of this approach is when new authors tell me they want to blow up the marketing for their book. I have a number of ideas and eagerly ask when their book is coming out. They usually say, “In two weeks!” or even worse, “It came out last month.”

The worst time to start selling a book (or anything for that matter) is when you need someone to buy the book. The earlier you start the conversation the better because creating momentum takes time.

Why did my first book pre-sale 12,000 copies? Not because I’m handsome, though clearly that’s a factor (people get lost in these mahogany eyes). My book pre-sold because for two years I wrote a free blog in order to build momentum for a book that covered the same exact subject.

Creating momentum is hard.

You know what’s a lot easier? Riding momentum.

Which brings us back to that bar. On a street in Allentown, PA, I took a photo of this sign:

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

You can do all the work of trying to create momentum or you can recognize a tsunami that is already in motion and grab the biggest surfboard you can find.

Let’s breakdown how smart the bar was:

1. They have lures to attract all the characters people are collecting.

2. They offer drink specials for teams.

3. They have a special night for each of the three main teams. (People join teams in the game.)

4. You get a free appetizer if you catch Pikachu, Charizard or Gyrado. (How weird was that sentence?)

5. There are trainers available Sunday – Thursday.

We’re not talking about a game that’s been out for years or even months. This wave is fresh and this bar caught it perfectly.

If you have a hard time recognizing momentum shifts, I’ll give you a hint about a huge one that happens in three weeks.

It’s called September.

That month is often called, “The first New Year.”

Why?

Because the nationwide momentum of back to school gives people like you and I a chance to crush our goals.

I can’t understate how big this moment is. Every commercial, department store, and parent is pushing the same direction.

New beginning! New start! New opportunities!

Most people are going to miss it.

Most people don’t treat September like January.

Most people think resolutions are only for January.

Most people won’t kickstart their fall.

Being most people is boring though.

Most people think resolutions are only for January. Don’t be most people.
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If you’re ready to ride the wave of September, join me for the 30 Days of Hustle video challenge. It’s a step by step course that helps you knock out your goals. And this is the last one of the year. It starts in a few weeks and you can sign up for the wait list right here.

Momentum is simple.

You either create it or you ride it.

If you’re ready to grab a surfboard and catch this wave, sign up today.

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3 ways to boost your goals using the momentum of a new school year

It happens at the end of every summer.

Kids everywhere get a fresh start whether they like it or not (usually not) in the form of going back to school.

Remember that feeling? You were 95% sure you didn’t want summer vacation to end, but there was always a small part of you that was excited for the coming school year.

New clothes. New classes. New haircut. New teachers.

It was a reset button that you might not have wanted, but you knew you needed. A fresh start that marked another year of growth and an opportunity to be better.

If you’re headed back to school this month, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I hope you’re excited about it, and I hope you make the most of the challenges ahead of you.

But what about the rest of us? We have to wait for our chance at a fresh start when New Year’s Day rolls around, right?

Wrong.

That’s why I’m hosting a free webinar next week called Back To Cool: 3 Ways to Boost Your Goals Using the Momentum of a New School Year.

It’s happening live on Wednesday, August 10th at 7pm CT, and it’s free to attend when you register here.

I believe these last few months of 2016 can be your best months of 2016.

I believe your dreams are too important to sit on the shelf unrealized until the ball drops in Times Square.

I believe students shouldn’t be the only ones who get a fresh start after the summer, and if you join me next Wednesday night I’ll tell you how you can get a fresh start too.

(And if you can’t make the live webinar, I’ll be sending out a replay link to everyone who registered for the event so they can watch it later. Sign up here to watch live or to receive the replay link.)

Hope you join me next week!

P.S. – That thing you always wanted to do? It wants you to sign up for this webinar.

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If someone calls you a sellout, do this …

If someone ever calls you a sellout for making money from your dream, ask them how long they’ve been refusing a paycheck at work.

Ask them if every two weeks they march into HR and hand back their salary.

Ask them if they cancelled their direct deposit because being financially compensated cheapened their job somehow.

Ask them if they refused their raise last year.

Ask them if they shot blocked their bonus like an angry Mutombo.

Ask them if they turned a cold shoulder to an unexpected sales commission in the hope of keeping their craft pure.

Or just ignore them all together and go back to doing work you care about.

Your choice really.

Getting paid for your art means you get to keep making art. Sellout is a compliment.

Getting paid for your art means you get to keep making art. Sellout is a compliment.
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P.S. The last 30 Days of Hustle Challenge of 2016 kicks off in a few weeks. Want to start a business? Want to lose a few pounds? Want to write a book? Sign up for the early bird list to make sure you get the best price!

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Want to feel better about criticism? Change this word.

I’m embarrassed it took me this long to figure this out.

This is perhaps the simplest idea I’ve ever had about criticism.

When you read it, you will immediately think, “Duh, that’s so obvious. It’s a good thing your grey hair makes you look smart.”

I agree, this idea is going to be very simple. Here it is:

If you want to feel better about the criticism you receive, change the word “review” to “opinion.”

These two words have very different implications, but the waters have been muddied.

A few years ago, Amazon created “Customer reviews” for each product. I love this feature and use it every time I shop. The problem is that the word “review” has a lot of baggage.

Historically speaking, a review was made by someone educated. A movie critic wrote a review. A book critic wrote a review. A newspaper editor wrote a review. Normal folks, like you and I, wrote opinion pieces or letters to the editor.

The word “review” might not have been hallowed, but it did carry weight. On Amazon, when you see the “Editorial review” section, you know that Publisher’s Weekly thought long and hard about the review they gave a book. They spent decades building a reputation and by putting their name on a product have indicated that something significant has occurred.

Then you scroll down a few inches, see “Customer reviews,” and assume the same thing about those reviews as you did the editorial.

Imagine if the label was, “Customer opinions” instead? Would you read it differently? Would you make purchase decisions because of the opinions of strangers? Would an opinion sway you less than a review? I think it would.

Instead of thinking, “Oh no, someone has reviewed what I created and their words must be the final say,” you’d have an easier time saying, “That’s just one person’s opinion.”

Even if you don’t write a book, the belief in the authority of strangers has permeated every part of the Internet. People leaving comments on your blog, responses to your tweets or feedback on your Facebook wall carries more weight than it should.

When you pick a restaurant because a stranger you’ve never met gave you an opinion online, something interesting has happened. Maybe Bill134 hates sushi and gave that sushi restaurant a bad review because they refused to serve a grown man chicken fingers. (I hate going to dinner with Bill134.) That’s not Bill134’s review of the restaurant, that’s Bill134’s opinion.

Criticism is an opinion, not a review.

If you want to get better at handling criticism, call it what it is, an opinion.

If you want to get better at handling criticism, call it what it is, an opinion.
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Some will be bad. Some will be good. Either way, they’re just opinions.

P.S. Want to love what you do for a living? Read this.

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How long will your dream take? (100 words)

Your dream is taking too long.

It’s slow and tedious.

Prettier people online are having faster results, bigger wins and they always know the right place to look during a selfie.

Why is your goal taking so long?

Better yet, how long should it take to happen?

Well, I studied journalism in college for four years.

I spent fifteen years writing for corporate America.

All told, it took me 19 years to become a full time writer.

If your dream only takes 15 years to happen, you’re killing me by four.

Don’t sweat the pace.

Fast dreams are fake dreams.

Don’t sweat the pace of what you’re working on. Fast dreams are fake dreams.
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p.s. If you want a simple way to knock out your goals 15 minutes at a time, I dare you to Do Summer with me. The free challenge ends tonight, sign up today.

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Please stop saying you’re too busy.

Please don’t tell me you’re too busy to look for a new job and then show me your perfectly detailed fantasy football team.

Please don’t tell me you’re too busy to write your novel and then give me intricate plot details about the six shows you’re watching.

Please don’t tell me you’re too busy to update your resume and then update your social media accounts incessantly.

We are a busy people. Our clocks are thin and tired, our schedules full and bloated.

But somehow we find a way to give our time to a host of wonderful distractions.

There is a reason the average 21-year-old has played 10,000 hours of video games.

There is a reason the average American watches 35 hours of television a week according to Nielsen.

There is a reason American companies lose an estimated $6.5 billion during the 15-week fantasy football season.

Time is a squirrely thing. It only goes where you tell it to go. It has no mind of its own. It won’t naturally gravitate to things that matter or work you really care about. It always looks for the easy way out.

This summer, I dare you to rescue some time. Not all of it, just a little. I’m talking about 15 minutes. I don’t care how busy you are, you have 15 minutes hidden somewhere in your day.

I dare you to rescue that tiny amount each day and then watch what happens this summer. That first 15 minutes will grow into 30 and then 45 and then 60. By the end of the summer, you will have worked for 1,500 minutes. You will have 25, on purpose, goal-crushing hours under your belt.

I’m rescuing my time this summer because I love Netflix too much. If I open up the app, it’s all over. I can’t just watch one episode of a TV show. My hours will be swallowed up by show after show after show.

So instead, I’m going to DO Summer.

If you’re with me, sign up to get the free PDF I created to track time. Pick one skill you want to give your 15 minutes to and then get going. It’s not impossible to find time, sometimes all it takes is a piece of paper.

Time won’t find you. You have to find it.

Time won’t find you. You have to find it.
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Get started right here.

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Are you ready to DO Summer?

Next to relationships, skills are the most important thing you can have when it comes to chasing a dream. Whether you want to write a book, start a business, like your current job more, or turn a hobby into a job, you need skills. That’s why 25% of my latest book Do Over is dedicated to helping build your skills.

The challenge though is that skills get sharp slowly and dull quickly.

Skills get sharp slowly and dull quickly.
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Last summer I introduced the DO Summer Challenge as a way to keep our skills sharp, and over 9,000 of you joined in. This summer, we’re bringing it back. (Sign up here!)

We’re going to work on our skills together. We’re not just going to talk. We’re going to do. We’re not just going to dream. We’re going to do. We’re not just going to wish. We’re going to do.

DO Summer is simple.

1. Pick one skill you want to work on.

It can be a completely new skill or something you used to love that fell behind in the busyness of life. It can be career related like working on your resume or life related like jogging for better health.

2. Work on the skill for 1,500 minutes this summer in easy 15-minute segments.

I’ve created a free worksheet that helps you track time in 15-minute chunks. Each time you knock out 15 minutes, color in one of the boxes on the sheet.

3. Read the quick, weekly skill tip I email you each Monday.

You’ll get 60 seconds of “I dare you to be awesome” content for the next 7 weeks.

4. Share your results each Monday morning online with #DOSummer2016

You’ll be surprised how encouraging having other people cheer you on is. It was so fun to search the hashtag and see the skills everyone was sharpening, and I can’t wait to see what you’ll be working on this year.

That’s it. At the end of the summer, if you spend 1,500 minutes on your DO, you will have invested 25 hours in a skill. There’s no telling what positive habits, life changing opportunities and unexpected adventures you can stir up by doing something so simple.

The challenge starts Monday, June 20th and will run until August 5th. (Invite a friend to do it with you if you really want to increase your results!)

I dare you to DO Summer with me!
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To get the worksheet for free sign up below! You’ll get all of the encouraging emails I send about the challenge as well as my blog ideas.

Get your free #DOSummer2016 Worksheet

You ready to DO Summer?

You ready to make a small investment in your big dream?

I am.

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100 Words: The gift & danger of friends.

Image via Joe Tokay.

Whether you’re 14 or 44, the company you keep, determines the heights that you will peak.

We understood this as teens. Peer pressure was a thing, your mom didn’t want you to hang out with “that kid.” But your mom doesn’t know who you hang out at work with and the stakes are higher because now you’re an adult and the years are shorter.

The friends you give your calendar to are vitamins or poisons. The best bring out the best in you, the worst tell you that your worst is best.

Also, be careful around people who own ferrets.

Whether you’re 14 or 44, the company you keep, determines the heights that you will peak.
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The Tattoo Test: How to know if your idea is great.

The people I help have too many ideas.

They never come to me and say, “I don’t have a single goal or idea I want to pursue.”

Instead, the opposite is usually true.

In a world with so many opportunities, it’s difficult to know which one we should pursue.

How do you know the idea you’re working on is great?

There are a thousand ways to answer that question, but here’s a fast one. Ask this:

“Is my idea tattoo worthy?”

Harley-Davidson knows the answer to this question.

Their idea is so remarkable that people get it tattooed on their bodies.

In fact, the book “Building Strong Brands” by David A. Aaker reported that “the most popular tattoo in the United States is the Harley-Davidson symbol.”

Maybe that seems like an extreme way to measure the strength of your idea. I agree, Harley has spent decades becoming tattoo worthy, your idea might be in the early stages.

I know for instance that my 30 Days of Hustle Challenge is not tattoo worthy yet. We’re working with a researcher from the University of Memphis to ensure the content is backed up by scientific data. Thousands of people have used the program to accomplish their goals. The videos we made are a lot of fun, but no one is getting a “30DOH” tattoo yet. Yet.

So let’s scale the question back. Instead, ask this:

“Is my idea sticker worthy?”

That’s an easier question to answer. If you want a great example of someone who figured this out, look no further than Yeti coolers. Right now, thousands of people are buying stickers, t-shirts and hats to let you know which method of keeping ice cold they prefer.

Ten years ago, if a friend told you, “I’m going to put this Igloo sticker on my car to make sure people driving near me know what type of cooler I prefer,” you would have stared at your friend a little bit.

Now, because Yeti has done an amazing job building their idea, we don’t think twice about it. We’re more than happy to put stickers on our cars as symbols of which tribe we belong to. From Yeti to Apple to CrossFit, we like to self identify with brands that “get us.”

It’s easy to brush off the Harley-Davidson tattoo story because the company was founded in 1903. They’ve been consistently telling their story for 113 years. You’d have to be a vampire to compete with that longevity and if you’re eternally dead, tattoos are probably the least of your concerns. Focus on the sun, son!

It can be discouraging when you look at your new idea and think about how young it is. What about Yeti though? Have they spent 100 years building their story? 50 years perhaps? 20 years?

Nope, they were founded in 2006.

They’ve only been around for 10 years and I promise no one was putting stickers on cars the first few years. They’re by no means an overnight success but they’re also not an over century success either.

Want to know if your idea is good? Want to know if your story is compelling? Want to know if your business will draw an audience?

It’s easy.

If your idea is sticker worthy, it’s good. If it’s tattoo worthy, it’s great.

If your idea is sticker worthy, it’s good. If it’s tattoo worthy, it’s great.
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