Jon Acuff's Blog, page 42

650 reasons you should stop comparing yourself to other people.

Do you know who Gary Vee is?

His full name is Gary Vaynerchuk and he’s a brilliant proponent of all things social media. His fourth book, #AskGaryVee, just hit the New York Times Bestseller’s list.

Gary Vee is also who a lot of my friends compare themselves to right now. They say things like:

“That dude is everywhere!”

“He’s killing it on snapchat! I’ve gotta to get better at snapchat.”

“I’ve been studying his book launch and want to do the same things he did with my book.”

I love that. I think it’s critical to have someone ahead of you to study. Gary Vee just put on a Master’s clinic in how to launch a book and I personally took a lot of notes.

The danger is when we try to turn inspiration into duplication.

As we attempt to duplicate what someone else is doing we miss a lot of the behind the scenes details. We see the person, Gary Vee, but forgot about the process, the team, the struggle and the thousand other factors that went into the final product.

When we don’t get the same results as the people we’re comparing ourselves to we get frustrated and want to give up. If it worked for Gary, or Bill or Sheila, why didn’t it work for me too? Maybe there’s something wrong with me?

Or maybe you don’t have 650 employees like Gary Vee does.

Let me repeat that. In a recent Instagram post, Gary Vee mentioned he had 650 people at his agency VaynerMedia. The Internet is full of fake, motivational entrepreneur types. Gary isn’t one of them. He’s built a $100 million business.

You would never drive by a large corporation, see 650 people working hard in a big building and think, “Why am I not accomplishing as much as that building? I suck. Look at that company. I should be getting as much done as that company right now and I’m not. Ugh, I am the worst.”

That’s how weird comparison is on the Internet. We look at a CEO of a major company and compare our accomplishments against his.

Does that mean you should wait until you have 650 employees before you hustle? Of course not. Gary Vee was hustling long before he had a single employee. It just means you shouldn’t compare your results against his results.

Want a bonus reason you shouldn’t compare yourself to other people? Gary Vee is already the best Gary Vee. That spot is taken. The Pioneer Woman is already the best Pioneer Woman. Tim Ferriss is already the best Tim Ferriss.

You know who makes a terrible Tim Ferriss? You do.

You’re the worst Tim Ferriss, but fortunately you’re the best you.

The way to beat comparison is simple.

Hustle so hard on your goals you don’t have time to compare yourself to someone else’s.

Hustle so hard on your goals you don’t have time to compare yourself to someone else’s.
Click To Tweet

What’s the best way to hustle?

Sign up for the 30 Days of Hustle, a 30-day video course I’ve taken thousands of people from around the world through.

The next round starts in May, but you can get the best price by jumping on the wait list right now.

Comparison is a punk.

Be the best you instead.

Comparison is a punk. Be the best you instead.
Click To Tweet

The post 650 reasons you should stop comparing yourself to other people. appeared first on Jon Acuff.

7 legit reasons your spouse doesn’t support your dream.

1. If you spent more time on Netflix this month than working on your dream, don’t get mad that your spouse has a hard time supporting you.

If you Netflix more than you hustle on your dream, don’t get mad your spouse won’t support you.
Click To Tweet

2. If you’ve talked about what you’re going to do for a year, but haven’t done anything, don’t get mad that your spouse has a hard time supporting you.

3. If you’ve got a million plans but zero actions, don’t get mad that your spouse has a hard time supporting you.

4. If you’ve changed ideas a thousand times, don’t get mad that your spouse has a hard time supporting you.

5. If you’re ignoring your commitments in order to work on your dream, don’t get mad that your spouse has a hard time supporting you.

6. If you’ve told your spouse, “I’m serious this time,” more than 10 times, don’t get mad that your spouse has a hard time supporting you.

7. If you’ve already taken your family to the brink of destruction on other ill-planned dreams, don’t get mad that your spouse has a hard time supporting you.

I wish someone handed me this blog post on my wedding day. I would have given them a disposal camera in exchange since nobody could take photos with their phone because that technology didn’t exist yet.

Knowing those seven things might have saved me a lot of hollow talking and would have pushed me into real action. It also would have saved Jenny and I thousands and thousands of dollars in marriage counseling.

Want a bonus item? Here you go:

8. If your spouse forwarded you this blog post, you’re on this list somewhere. Don’t get mad that your spouse has a hard time supporting you.

Please tweet this:

7 legit reasons your spouse doesn’t support your dream.
Click To Tweet

p.s. To deal with all 8 of those reasons, do the exercises in Do Over.

The post 7 legit reasons your spouse doesn’t support your dream. appeared first on Jon Acuff.

The simple lesson about haters that it took me 10 years to learn.

We all have the same dream.

If we can figure out our thing perfectly, no one will criticize it.

Our photos will not be criticized.

Our business will not get a negative review.

Our book will skate through Amazon with nothing but 5-stars.

Maybe deep down you know that is impossible, but on some level, when you sit down to create, a small voice pipes up:

“Don’t share something publicly until it’s so good that no one can criticize it.”

That simple sentence has kept many a book stuck in a laptop, many a business stuck in a head and many a painting stuck in the studio.

But is it possible?

Can you create something that will go completely unscathed? Is criticism an indication you didn’t try hard enough? Is negative feedback a sign you made the wrong thing?

Nope.

How do I know?

Because of blog post #872.

The first 871 blog posts I wrote for a site of mine were satire.

For post 872 I invited a friend to write a funny piece about politics. It didn’t take sides. It didn’t argue for policy. It was lighthearted and silly.

The next day, someone on Twitter told me, “Remember when your site was funny and not all political?”

This really surprised me at the time because I was young and dumb and just acquiring my thick Internet skin. I didn’t understand the game. I thought that there was a way to create something that was untouchable by the talons of the world wide webs.

My blog posts were numbered at the time, so the person who was reading #872 could clearly see that 871 others had come before it. This was not a first time reader, this was a long time reader.

I’m not good at math, but I’m positive that 1 out of 873 posts doesn’t mean that my blog is “all political.”

It was in that moment that I realized the lesson that no matter what you do it will be criticized. Slave away for months. Dot every i and cross every t. It is impossible to create something that everyone will like.

Most people stop right there. They get depressed by that truth and decide to stop creating.

What’s the point? It’s just going to be attacked anyway. I might as well not share anything with anyone.

Quitting at that moment is a mistake because on the other side of this idea is an amazing freedom.

Let’s rewrite the sentence, “No matter what you do, it will be criticized.” The new second half of it should be, “so make sure it’s something you’re crazy about in the first place.”

This isn’t a new idea. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you’ll be criticized, anyway.” (My heart is a terrible, terrible liar at times so I don’t completely agree with using that as a compass, but the point she was making is very true.)

Some people are going to love what you do. Some are going to hate it.

Every time you make something, this is the reality.

Trying to make 100% of people like your work is not only a silly goal, it’s an impossible one.

When I told the person on Twitter that I disagreed that 1 political post out of 873 means my whole site is political, she apologized. (This was the second time in recorded history that a stranger on the Internet has apologized.)

She said she was having a bad day and took it out on my blog.

Her criticism had nothing to do with the contents of my blog. It wasn’t about me or the guest post.

In order to avoid her criticism, I would have needed to write something that fixed her bad day. Only I didn’t know she existed, which would have made fixing her bad day with the power of my words pretty difficult.

I wish there was a way to avoid criticism. If I knew the secret I could turn it into a course and a webinar and a bunch of digital resources that I sell for $997 today but if you act now I’ll throw in a free 4-page PDF that I’m calling an “e-book.”

If you create anything, you will get criticized. That’s the ticket price for awesome.

If you create anything, you will get criticized. That’s the ticket price for awesome.
Click To Tweet

Don’t quit.

Let ‘em hate, still create.

Let ‘em hate, still create.
Click To Tweet

P.S.

Life is too long to have a job you don’t love. Build one today with this.

The post The simple lesson about haters that it took me 10 years to learn. appeared first on Jon Acuff.

Do you have a terrified Cinderella rug I could buy?

Designer:

I’m making the designs for that new Cinderella rug. Are we doing the standard smile?

Client:

No, I’ve got a new idea. I don’t want a smile. I want a slightly concerned frown. Like one of those moments on the Bachelor when the guy says something really dumb and the contestants are trying to pretend he didn’t? I want Cinderella’s mouth to say, “What did I get myself into? I barely know this guy. I decided to marry him after one dance? Who does that? That’s how marriages start on the Jersey Shore. I only know two things about this guy: He’s good at dancing and he has my shoe. Is this really who I want raising my children?” Can you make the smile look like that?

Designer:

I think so. We call it the “old turkey” in the design industry. It’s the look you make when you smell old turkey in your fridge and you can’t remember when you bought it. You really want a turkey sandwich but you’re perched on the razor’s edge of food poisoning. Is the turkey still good? Does turkey always smell this gross and you’ve just never noticed? You’d call your wife and ask her but she’s super tired of you calling her in the middle of the day with turkey-related questions, so instead you just scrunch up your face and say “ehhhhh.”

Client:

Perfect. And for the eyes, I want her cutting them to the side trying to get the attention of a friend who can save her from a bad date. She met the guy on Tinder and he’s committed a significant amount of “Face Fraud.”

Designer:

What’s that?

Client:

Face Fraud is when you use a photo from 5 years or older as your profile pic. You find your best photo and post it regardless of if it looks like you anymore. Anyway, she’s on this date with this guy from Tinder and she regrets it. The guy didn’t mention how many ferrets he owns and he owns a lot. He won’t stop talking about them and keeps saying, “They really don’t smell once you get to know them.” But that’s a lie. And she knows it, Cinderella knows it. She just saw Belle walk into the bar and she’s hoping that if she can cut her eyes and express enough panic/terror in them, Belle will come over and help her escape the date. But Belle is busy talking to a cup and a plate so it’s a real challenge. She’s cutting those eyes, just hoping. Can you do that look?

Designer:

Definitely.

Client:

Great. This is going to be one amazing rug.

Tweet this please:

If you only read one blog about a terrified Cinderella rug today, make it this one.
Click To Tweet

The post Do you have a terrified Cinderella rug I could buy? appeared first on Jon Acuff.

10 thoughts on working for free in exchange for “exposure.”

A multi-billion dollar company wants my friend to do free work for them in exchange for exposure.

The company makes billions of dollars a year and wants to pay him zero dollars for the honor of working with them. This kind of thing often drives me crazy.

A lot of companies are doing that these days. “We won’t pay you for your designs, writing, photos, code, INSERT SKILL HERE, but it will be great exposure for you.”

The challenge is that sometimes it makes sense to do some free work. It’s not a black and white issue, there’s a whole lot of gray.

Here are 10 things you need to keep in mind.

1. If someone asks you to work for free because it will be great exposure, ask them to specify what that means. If they can’t, don’t.

Don’t let “great exposure” be code for “we won’t pay you anything.”
Click To Tweet

2. Exposure that can’t be detailed or explained is fake exposure. Here’s the difference: Real exposure = “We have a mailing list of 100,000 people and will send an email to everyone on March 9th with links to your site or social platforms.” Fake exposure = “Our people will love your work and will definitely check you out.” Get specific or don’t expect anything valuable.

3. It’s on you to make sure they deliver on the exposure. Don’t wait for the company to send out the email or post about your work. Do your best to be persistent without pestering.

4. Exposure comes in a lot of shapes and sizes. In addition to a new audience finding out about you, working with the right clients can legitimize you. If you need to build up your resume, the ability to say, “I worked with Apple” has real value.

5. If you’re going to be shy about using the street cred that exposure gives you, don’t bother doing the work for free. Exposure you don’t cash in on is useless.

6. Dear companies who take advantage of the free model, I just came up with a new idea. Here it is, “You get what you pay for.” When you demand someone work for free, don’t be surprised if the work isn’t amazing. If you wouldn’t work for free, why do you expect other people to?

7. Play the system. In some industries, to get your foot in the door you have to work a free internship. If that’s the case and you want the job bad enough, play the system. I would have loved to be paid for every speaking gig I did when I was starting out, but guess what? I wasn’t good enough to get paid. I had to earn that. That wasn’t failure, that’s how that process works.

8. Beware the free client. The most difficult and demanding clients I have ever worked with are the ones who wanted me to work for free or at a grossly reduced rate. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but I promise it’s true.

9. Volunteer for free when you want to. That’s ultimately what I dislike about this whole game, it removes your ability to be generous. Donate your time. Give your skills and talents to causes you’re passionate about. But don’t let someone force you to.

10. Joy is pretty amazing form of currency too. I still do some free work just because it’s fun. In the grind to build a business, don’t forget to smile.

Should you work for free? No. But also yes.

Do you deserve to be paid more for what you do?

Maybe, if you’re great at what you do.

To get great, read my New York Times Bestselling, worth $1,000 but on sale for only $15 book, Do Over.

Considering it took me 18 years of employment to write, that’s practically free.

But maybe I needed the exposure.

The post 10 thoughts on working for free in exchange for “exposure.” appeared first on Jon Acuff.

5 things to do when you lose your job.

I’ve lost my job before a few times and it’s not a fun experience. (That might be the most obvious sentence ever written on the Internets.)

If you’re out of work right now, check out this quick video I made with the team over at Rare. (You can see more than a dozen other videos I made right here too!)

The post 5 things to do when you lose your job. appeared first on Jon Acuff.

If your boss says this sentence, run.

“We don’t want our employees to get too good at their jobs, because then they might leave.”

It’s hard to believe a boss, manager or leader would ever say that sentence. It seems foolish that someone would have that attitude about the people who work for them.

And yet, I’ve heard it said.

More than that, I’ve seen leaders live out that sentence. I’ve seen them cut training, refuse job related conferences and shot block skill advancement for fear that an employee will get too good and leave the company.

That’s the equivalent of finding someone terrible to date so that they never cheat on you because no one else would be interested. If your significant other starts improving themselves, instead of joining along, you get nervous that she just might get healthy enough to realize she’s too good for you and leave.

What this guarantees in relationships and in companies is mediocrity.

Other people trying to steal your employees is a good sign. You want a team so sharp, talented and hard working that every vendor they work with tries to hire them away.

I’m thinking about this issue a lot lately because for the first time ever, companies like Microsoft are hiring me to teach their employees the principles in one of my books. Do Over shows you how to be amazing at your job, no matter what you do for a living. Know who likes that?

Leaders who know that it’s a lot easier to run a company full of people who are great at what they do.

If your boss doesn’t want you to get better, it’s time to get a better boss.

If your boss doesn’t want you to get better, it’s time to get a better boss.
Click To Tweet

But, if he or she offers opportunities for you to learn and grow, you better take them up on every single one.

Go to the conferences. Attend the training sessions. Read books that stretch you. Spend every educational dollar they offer if you’re at one of the rare companies that still offers support like that.

It’s not your boss’ job to make sure you have a great job. It’s your job.

Own it like it matters, because guess what? It does.

You’re going to spend 40-60 hours a week, for 40-60 years of your life at a job.

Make it count.

The post If your boss says this sentence, run. appeared first on Jon Acuff.

There’s no way Ralph Macchio should have been dumped by his girlfriend in Karate Kid II.

I’m writing a new book right now. It’s fan fiction for the Val Kilmer movie, “The Saint.” In it, super spy Simon Templar has to rescue a scientist (played by Elisabeth Shue) who has invented dinosaurs. A Russian politician has been sent from the future to kill her. It’s a Jurassic Park/Back to the Future/Terminator/Saint mashup.

At the end Kilmer will dump her because she broke Ralph Macchio’s heart at the beginning of Karate Kid II. How you going to leave a guy right after he’s just swept the All Valley Karate Championships? Ladies, back me up on this point. No way do you end the relationship at that moment. You’re dating the champ!

That’s actually how Jenny and I started dating. I was fresh off a huge Kung Fu victory. There was a lot of buzz around town about my dojo abilities and Jenny just kind of got swept up into it.

That’s not exactly what happened, but this next thing is very true and this transition is very thin.

A few months ago I had a conversation with my wife Jenny at our dinner table. Here’s how it went:

Me: I’m too afraid to write this book.

Jenny: No, you’re too lazy, but fear is fun to blame because then it’s not your fault.

Grenade.

If you’re hiding from your work, it’s easier to blame fear than it is to admit you’re lazy.

If you’re hiding from your work, it’s easier to blame fear than it is to admit you’re lazy.
Click To Tweet

Fear is a force outside of you. Some evil beast from the shadows hell bent on stopping you from a goal.

Laziness lives a lot closer to home. Laziness is inside us and to face it means you give up your victim status.

When you do that, you take responsibility for your actions. That’s scary at first because blaming others is easier than owning things yourself. But when you own problems, you get to fix them.

The longer you blame others for your problems the less time you have to work on your solution.
Click To Tweet

So instead of pretending I was afraid, I admitted I was lazy and got to work on my book.

I turned in a 30,000 word outline for it last week.

To put that in context, Do Over was a 70,000 word book. An outline is usually 2,000 words but when you deal with laziness it’s amazing what you can do.

Today, be honest with yourself.

Have you been blaming fear for your lack of hustle?

Has a little bit of laziness slipped into your week?

It’s fun to be the victim at first because it’s so easy.

All you have to do is point the finger.

But your hands were meant for a lot more than that.

The post There’s no way Ralph Macchio should have been dumped by his girlfriend in Karate Kid II. appeared first on Jon Acuff.

The world just got a little bit brighter because of that thing you did last month.

A few weeks ago, I asked for your help.

I told you about Thistle Farms, a two year residential program in Nashville that helps women escape trafficking, addiction and prostitution.

I told you they’ve been doing amazing work for 18 years and have sister organizations across the country.

I told you the candles they make are such high quality that Whole Foods sells them.

I told you there were 100 women on the waiting list and that wasn’t OK.

I told you that if we raised enough money, we could buy them a new candle making machine which would lead to more jobs and more people in the program.

I asked you to help Jenny and me light the way home for the women still on the street.

And wow, did you respond!

More than 100 of you showed up in Nashville to package the candles with my family.

Hundreds and hundreds of you bought candles.

Friends of mine like Michael and Lindsay Moreno started selling the candles at their events.

The campaign was a crazy success and the world got a bit brighter in the process.

The women at Thistle Farms put together a thank you video for you.

Here it is:



If you missed the campaign and still want to help Thistle Farms. Buy a candle today or volunteer to help.

The world will stay dark unless we’re brave enough to light the way home.

The world will stay dark unless we’re brave enough to light the way home.
Click To Tweet

Thank you lighting the way last month!

The post The world just got a little bit brighter because of that thing you did last month. appeared first on Jon Acuff.

3 lies kale eaters tell you.

I think kale is on it’s way out, now that “kalettes” are becoming a thing. What’s that? Oh, just a hybrid of kale and Brussels sprouts that is gaining popularity. (It’s like some evil scientist thought, “How could I make Brussels sprouts even worse? It’s impossible. No wait, what if I kale and Brussels sprouts had a love child?”)

Kale won’t be hot forever, ask arugula, which owned 1990, beets who dominated 1982, or Portobello mushrooms, everyone’s favorite in 1995. Veggies come and go faster than true love on the Bachelor.

But until then, watch out for these three lies that kale eaters tell you:

Lie #1 – It tastes good!

No it doesn’t. It tastes like sad grass or lettuce’s mopey cousin who was really into the Cure before anyone else was.

Lie #2 – You can’t even taste it!

If you don’t fall for lie #1 they switch tactics. They’ll tell you, “Don’t worry, you won’t even notice it. Just add it to stuff, you won’t even know it’s there.” Lies. So many lies. Spinach is a gentleman. Spinach will hide in the corner of a meal, not causing any trouble. Kale punches you in the mouth all day long.

Lie #3 – It’s an alternative to French fries.

Stop it. Just stop it. There is no way you can switch out French fries for kale and expect not to notice. No one in the history of eating has thought, “Was that kale or a delicious, golden, salty, heaven in potato form French fry? I can’t tell.” But I promise you there are restaurants right now saying, “Do you want French Fries, Tater Tots or a kale salad?”

I bring up kale right now because it’s the time of year that people stop eating it.

A cashier at the grocery store told me that the last week of January is also the last week of salad. People stop buying kale. Why?

Because most people don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, they make January resolutions.

Everyone starts out with this huge swagger January 1st, but by the end of January, the kale is done. The running is done. The book writing is done. The business starting is done.

But not this year.

I wasn’t going to offer a February round of 30 Days of Hustle, until the wait list hit 600 people and I realized there were lots of people who wanted to win all year, not just in January.

Sign up ends tonight at midnight.

If you haven’t seen the 679 tweets I’ve done about it, the 30 Days of Hustle includes the following:

1. 30 brand new videos

2. Access to a private Facebook community

3. The 30 Days of Hustle Workbook

4. Daily email reminders to keep you motivated for the 30 days

5. The 30 Days of Hustle Worksheet

Plus, I’ll refund your money, unlike that punk kale, if you don’t absolutely love it.

This is it.

Don’t set January Resolutions.

Hustle on New Year’s Resolutions.

Join the 30 Days of Hustle before midnight tonight!

Most people set January resolutions, not New Year’s resolutions. Don’t be most people.
Click To Tweet

The post 3 lies kale eaters tell you. appeared first on Jon Acuff.