Jon Acuff's Blog, page 48

I got fired from a job because I didn’t listen to Louis CK

I got fired from my second grown up job.

I was 23 years old and working at a small startup tech company as a writer.

I lasted there about 4 months until they let me go. It was the right decision on their part. I was a terrible employee.

When they would give me feedback, I would ignore it and instead write what I wanted to. When they would correct me, I would inwardly roll my eyes, disappointed they were unable to fully recognize my genius. When they would ask me to work harder or redo something, I would huff and puff at the inconvenience they had just thrust upon my day.

One afternoon, they had experienced enough of the Jon Acuff show and fired me.

The problem wasn’t my age, I know lots of wonderful 23 year olds who are capable of amazing things. It was my attitude that blinded me to the simple fact that I was there to do the work they hired me to do, not the work I wanted to do. I was their employee. You would think that arrangement would be painfully obvious and yet, so many people, of varying ages, seem to forget that.

Have you ever hired a developer to build a website? Sometimes in the middle of the project, as you give feedback on changes you’d like made, they get frustrated. They revolt and act like they are client. As you write an apologetic email to them, expressing your regret that you see a few things they need to fix, it will hit you, “Wait, I am paying them money. I’m the client. I hired them to do work, not the other way around. Why do I feel guilty right now?” (Great developers, and there are many, know that if you want to absolutely dominate the marketplace, you should never make a client feel like this.)

Comedian Louis CK commented on this phenomenon recently on Late Night with Seth Myers. When he was in his mid 20s, writing for the Conan O’Brien show, he forgot how work worked.

“I was in my twenties, so I just thought that I wanted to get my stuff on the show. Now I know that I was working for people that I should have been helping because they were giving me money. If somebody hires you to do anything and they pay you money that you then go live your life with, you should really want to do anything that they need. At the time I didn’t believe that.”

I didn’t believe that either and I got fired.

You will too if you’re not careful.

Whether you’re 23 or 53, don’t show up to work like they’re doing you a favor. Show up like they are paying you to do something and then go do that something. Show up helpful. Show up grateful. Show up humble.

Want to win at work? Show up helpful. Show up grateful. Show up humble.
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Listen to Louis CK.

It just might save your job.

The post I got fired from a job because I didn’t listen to Louis CK appeared first on Jon Acuff.

I got fired because I didn’t listen to Louis CK

I got fired from my second grown up job.

I was 23 years old and working at a small startup tech company as a writer.

I lasted there about 4 months until they let me go. It was the right decision on their part. I was a terrible employee.

When they would give me feedback, I would ignore it and instead write what I wanted to. When they would correct me, I would inwardly roll my eyes, disappointed they were unable to fully recognize my genius. When they would ask me to work harder or redo something, I would huff and puff at the inconvenience they had just thrust upon my day.

One afternoon, they had experienced enough of the Jon Acuff show and fired me.

The problem wasn’t my age, I know lots of wonderful 23 year olds who are capable of amazing things. It was my attitude that blinded me to the simple fact that I was there to do the work they hired me to do, not the work I wanted to do. I was their employee. You would think that arrangement would be painfully obvious and yet, so many people, of varying ages, seem to forget that.

Have you ever hired a developer to build a website? Sometimes in the middle of the project, as you give feedback on changes you’d like made, they get frustrated. They revolt and act like they are client. As you write an apologetic email to them, expressing your regret that you see a few things they need to fix, it will hit you, “Wait, I am paying them money. I’m the client. I hired them to do work, not the other way around. Why do I feel guilty right now?” (Great developers, and there are many, know that if you want to absolutely dominate the marketplace, you should never make a client feel like this.)

Comedian Louis CK commented on this phenomenon recently on Late Night with Seth Myers. When he was in his mid 20s, writing for the Conan O’Brien show, he forgot how work worked.

“I was in my twenties, so I just thought that I wanted to get my stuff on the show. Now I know that I was working for people that I should have been helping because they were giving me money. If somebody hires you to do anything and they pay you money that you then go live your life with, you should really want to do anything that they need. At the time I didn’t believe that.”

I didn’t believe that either and I got fired.

You will too if you’re not careful.

Whether you’re 23 or 53, don’t show up to work like they’re doing you a favor. Show up like they are paying you to do something and then go do that something. Show up helpful. Show up grateful. Show up humble.

Listen to Louis CK.

It just might save your job.

The post I got fired because I didn’t listen to Louis CK appeared first on Jon Acuff.

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 new 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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Not this summer though.

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. (I’m picking writing for mine because I didn’t write for a solid month and could feel that skill getting rusty.)

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 from Do Over.

You’ll get 60 seconds of I dare you to be awesome content for the next 12 weeks.

4. Share your results each Monday morning online with #DOSummer2015

I’ve been blown away by how motivating a little visibility is when I use my Fitbit step tracker with friends from the Internet. You’ll be surprised how encouraging having other people cheer you on is. As part of DO Summer, you’ll also get invited to the exclusive, private 30 Days of Hustle Facebook group for wildly fun accountability.

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 8th and will run until September 8th. (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.

Email

Name



First




Last

You ready to DO Summer?

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

I am.

The post Are you ready to DO Summer? appeared first on Jon Acuff.

49 words about the economy.

The economy will never be perfect enough for you to be brave.

If you were waiting for that to happen, go ahead and cross that off the list of “Reasons you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do.”

Hopefully that list is getting shorter, because your days certainly are.

The economy will never be perfect enough for you to be brave.
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P.S. I’m doing a free event in Salt Lake City this weekend! Don’t miss it. Sign up here!

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5 Things Veterans Should Know About Their Career Do Overs.

(Last Tuesday, I spoke to someone in the military who purchased 100 copies of Do Over. He gives them out to people leaving the armed forces as a way to help the transition to civilian life. This is going to sound stupid, but I honestly never realized what a huge Do Over moment that was. I’ve never served in the military, so I had a hard time grasping the nuances of what it means to start the next chapter of your life that way. I asked my friend Dave Burlin to write a post about that, as it is something he’s personally experienced. More than that, his mission is to help veterans go from “Discharge to In Charge,” and he gave a TedX talk on that very subject. Here’s Dave on what it’s like for veterans to change careers.)  

5 Things Veterans Should Know About Their Career Do Overs. – By Dave Burlin

As a Marine Corps Veteran I have launched many career do overs, from the leap out of the Marines, to the world of digging ditches in the oil fields of Northeast Oklahoma, to working with “at-risk” high school dropouts in a residential “boot-camp for life” program.

After 10 years of wearing one uniform or another, I jumped into the wedding industry as a wedding DJ with the goal to change the world one dance floor at a time. Now, I am currently preparing to launch my greatest career do over into the world of entrepreneurship, and Jon Acuff’s book, Do Over, has become a compass for this challenging feat.

Along the way I have found several Veterans on their own paths to success, and I’ve learned that there are 5 things all Veterans should know about their career do over:

1. This could be the most challenging thing you have done.

So many Veterans define bravery as an emotion or action on the battlefield. The bravery it takes to come back into a world that may not understand everything about us will take the same kind of grit that it took for us to sign a blank check in the first place. After all, we all committed to the greatest do over of all when we made the choice to leave our lives and join the service.

2. You are not alone.

Plans change. Life happens. There will be days in transition from service to civilian life where you have no control. Adversity happens and your “jump” will quickly turn into what feels like a “bump.” Know that there are Veterans that have been out longer than you have been alive. Some have been out for months, some have been out for decades, but they have the “cheat codes” to help you along the way. As one of the most fraternal tribes on the planet, where you find one Veteran, you will always find five more. Invest in these relationships, they will be there when you need them the most.

3.You have more skills than you think.

The military forced productive habits into what you do everyday. Showing up on time (or even early) is a skill. Ironing your uniform and being prepared for an inspection is a skill. Providing candid feedback after a training exercise is a skill. Communicating orders to your team from a higher authority is a skill. Never stop learning. Much like the military is ever-changing, you have to know the world around us will continue to change. Embrace the change and continue to learn new skills and invest in your education.

4. Just as plans change, dreams do too.

I remember telling everyone at one point or another, “I am a lifer.” I could see 20+ years in the Marines, retiring as a salty Sergeant Major, and all the life stories that go with it. That dream changed. Your dream may change with the seasons of your do over. Boot camp was a season. Your first duty station was a season. The first deployment? You guessed it, season! You will go through many seasons in your transition, and although it is a bit cliché, “Knowing is half the battle.” Don’t get stuck by thinking a season is forever. It’s not, it’s just a season.

5. Be ready for unexpected opportunities.

The most difficult concept for me to accept in civilian life is that there are people out there that genuinely want to help you. Civilians, veterans, it doesn’t matter. People want to give you money to support an idea before you even have a website. They want to help you advance in your career. They want to connect you to people that will help our dreams come true because you have character. It will be uncomfortable to accept help if you don’t have a true understanding of “why” they want to help. But therein lies the miracle of an opportunity.

In the next few years, more than a million Veterans will be returning home to join over 8 million who have served. I believe that we are the key to building a stronger America. It has been an honor to serve this country, and I am excited to see where we go from here. With no formal education, but a passion for helping people and the willingness to hustle; I would have never imagined I could own my own business and help Veterans’ across the country believe they can do the same.

Jon wrote three words at the end of his book that have stuck with me. The words are “Apparently, I can.” I believe those words about me and I believe them about you.

Today’s guest post was written by Dave Burlin. For more from Dave, follow him on Twitter.  

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Excuses are like rabbits.

The only things that reproduce faster than rabbits are excuses when you’ve got important work to do.

Everyday when I sit down to work, here are the excuses I make:

1. It’s too early too write.

2. It’s too late.

3. Do I have the right music to write to?

4. Didn’t I just shazam a song last night that I wanted to write to? I should look that song up on spotify and then explore that musician’s entire catalog.

5. I need to return some emails.

6. My inbox is a mess, I won’t be able to focus until I reach inbox zero and it’s tidied up.

7. Have I tweeted enough today?

8. Have I been tweeting about queso too much lately? It’s enough already. I probably need to find something else to tweet about. A new dip? Salsa? Is that going to be my new go to tweet dip? Do I need to go completely off the ranch and tweet about something like Grape Nuts cereal?

9. I should go see what my kids are up to. A better dad would be spending every waking moment with his children. Telling them stories, whittling them things out of fallen branches that have exited the tree but entered our lives.

10. That’s an interesting line, “exited the tree but entered our lives,” maybe I should write a poem.

11. Is that the mailman I hear? I bet walking to the mailbox would inspire me.

12. I’m thirsty.

13. I’m hungry.

14. It’s easier to start something at the top of the hour. Who sits down at 8:43 and does anything worthwhile? I’ll wait until 9:00. That’s a legit starting line.

15. Should I periscope right now?

16. Have I checked Facebook Messenger lately? It’s my least favorite inbox but I should still keep an eye on it.

17. Has anyone texted me today?

18. Let’s take a quick look at the Internet. Just for a second. Five minutes tops. I’ll just once one video and look at 7 funny photos. Get the creative juices flowing!

19. I should get a juicer. People do that lot these days. I should be one of those people.

20. What’s on Instagram today?

21. Am I talking about Do Over too much or not enough? Maybe some people are exhausted hearing me talk about it. Nah, screw that, that’s fear talking. I write one book every two years and this one came out a scant 6 weeks ago. It’s also my job! If someone says, “You tweet about Do Over too much!” I’ll respond, “Do you go to work Monday through Friday?”

22. That’s too passive aggressive to tweet. I wish I wasn’t so passive aggressive. What’s the alternative? Aggressive aggressive? Or just being honest? That’s probably a better approach.

23. “Aggressive Aggressive” would be a good band name, not as good as “Furious George,” but close.

24. I should clean my office. I’m pretty sure Ben Franklin or Abraham Lincoln or Solomon said something about a clean desk mattering. I can’t do any work of significance until this entire surface is clean.

25. Which is the best thing for me to work on right this second? Maybe if I spent a few minutes prioritizing, sharpening the saw as Covey would say, I could work smarter not harder.

26. Is that the UPS truck I hear? Oh, sweet music to my ears. Have I ordered anything from Amazon lately?

27. I should go running. It might rain later. Can I sneak in a run? I don’t want to have a dadbod.

28. Maybe I should stare out the window for a few minutes. I think that’s something writers do, it’s a moody thing. Grab a cup of coffee, maybe put a small exotic bird I own on my shoulder and just soak in the day as it unfolds over the horizon.

29. That actually might be a pirate I’m thinking of. They sure got big these last ten years! You know who has had it rough lately? Mullets. Man, of man, did they dominate the early days of the Internet. My kids will never understand the cultural power mullets and the discussion of mullets used to have.

30. What time is it?

31. I should make tea. Tea would help me get something done.

32. I’m a terrible friend. I should call some people just to encourage them.

33. “This track is fire!” Why is that thought in my head? I’m going to work that into a sentence. Maybe that will be my new catchphrase. When queso shows up at the table at a restaurant, I’ll shout “This track is fire!” and everyone will be pleasantly intrigued at these new things I’ve started to say.

34. That’s stupid. Who blurts out “This track is fire?”

35. I need to shower. If I was clean then I could probably get so much done!

36. I should eat something. Something paleo, I’m not sure what that means but it was fun to say. What if we lived the rest of our lives like cavemen? I’d probably throw a lot more spears during the average workweek and be mystified by fire.

37. Does anyone have a wooly mammoth throw rug? How rich would you have to be to rock that? Regular billionaires would come over and say, “Is that bear skin?” And you’d chuckle quietly and say, “No, that’s wooly mammoth. You’ve probably seen it painted inside cave walls by people who were on the paleo diet.”

38. I swear I really do hear the mailman this time.

That’s only a snapshot of my day. There’s more where that came from and there always will be.

The closer you get to work that matters, the more excuses you will encounter. Life has a tendency of offering us hiding places at every turn. That’s all an excuse is, a hiding place that promises to keep you safe from doing something difficult or scary.

Excuses are hiding places that promise to keep you safe from difficult things. Ignore them.
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Don’t hide.

Expect excuses. Make fun of them. Laugh at them. Share them with friends. And then do your work anyway.

Life is too short for hiding.

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5 things every college graduate needs.

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 5 things every college graduate needs.

1. 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 who wears a jaunty bandana. They won’t. Those things take time. (Except for the bandana, you can get those anywhere.) Don’t put undue pressure on an already pressure-filled moment. Give college graduates time.

2. 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 17 years ago and am super old.) Share your network of connections. It might sound cliché to say “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” but 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.

3. 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, now that I’m 39 I can say confidently that the 20s 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 I tell a college graduate that, I give them a sneak peek into the future. Step out of the Dr. Who Tardis that is adulthood for a minute 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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4. 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 will actually use the gift card for something they need.

5. A copy of Do Over.

Most graduate 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). 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.” (You can get one at Amazon or a even a signed edition at Barnes & Noble.)

Graduating from college can feel like an overwhelming experience, but it doesn’t have to be.

Give graduates a fighting chance in a world where it’s increasingly hard to find a job.

Give them these five things and then make them pay for Starbucks with a gift card next time you go out for coffee.

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Be weird until the rest of the world catches up.

Seven years ago, when I talked to publishers about turning my blog into a book, they thought I was weird.

I wasn’t a pioneer. By 2008, other people had parlayed a blog into a book, but it wasn’t common yet. The idea that a blogger could be an author was still a little untested. Even when I convinced a publisher to give me my first book deal, radio stations acted surprised when I told them my writing career started with a blog.

It was weird.

A lot has changed in seven years. We no longer say “cyber café” for instance. We collectively decided to stop ever using that phrase. Our computers became phones became tablets became watches.

Turning a blog into a book is no longer unusual either. There’s even an entire section of Barnes & Noble dedicated to books that are, “From Web to Page.”

What does that mean? It means it took the world a little while to catch up to the weird.

That’s always the case with something new, different or unusual.

Maybe what you’re working on is weird. Nobody has done it quite like you. It would be easier to conform to how it’s always been done. Ordinary seems simpler sometimes.

Weird can be exhausting when so many people doubt you.

But we’re full up on ordinary. We’ve got supplies of common to last a lifetime. The storehouses of boring are shelved to the ceiling.

Weird?

That’s in short supply.

We need more weird.

So keep being weird.

Approach whatever it is you’re working on with your sense of style, your sense of adventure, your sense of weird.

It might take seven years for the world to recognize it, but that’s OK.

Be weird until the rest of the world catches up.

Be weird until the rest of the world catches up.
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p.s. My new book Do Over will help you be weird in the best possible way.

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A simple truth about writing a book.

Authors write books.

Readers make them bestsellers.

That’s one of the scary things about writing.

You spend a year of your life saying no to other things. Things that might be guaranteed to work. Things that might have been easier. Things that might have made more sense to people on the outside.

Why?

Because you have an idea you believe in. So you take this very limited thing you have, time, and you give it to the idea.

Statistically speaking, I’ll get 73 years on this planet, barring a run in with a bear. To give one of those 73 years to an unproven idea was intimidating.

Will people read it?

Will people identify with it?

Will people will encouraged by it, challenged by it, emboldened by it?

These are the questions that keep you up at night as an author.

I wrote Do Over  because I needed it. I went through the largest career transition I’ve ever experienced and I needed it. But that’s certainly no guarantee that other people will too.

There’s no guarantee that college seniors will recognize graduation as the Do Over it is.

There’s no guarantee that Parent’s Magazine will name it their “Mom Must Read.”

There’s no guarantee that Bloomberg BusinessWeek will feature it as part of their

“Master’s Class.”

Although all of these things happened in the last few weeks, when you start writing, nothing is guaranteed.

But the thing you never try, always fails.

The thing you never try, always fails.
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So you try.

You write.

You paint.

You apply to new jobs.

You open a business.

You go back to school even though everyone else seems so young.

You sacrifice that rarest of gifts, time, for something you believe in.

And then you hope. Because writers don’t make books successful, readers do. Business owners don’t make businesses successful, customers do. Musicians don’t make albums successful, listeners do.

Do Over is a success because you made it so.

You bought it for yourself. You bought it for a friend. You bought it for a son or daughter who bumped into the 20s and didn’t know what to do next.

You put it on all these bestseller lists.

Thank you!

And if you haven’t bought Do Over yet, I dare you to take a look at it.

I dare you to crack open the first few pages and see what thousands and thousands of other people have already discovered.

I dare you to launch your next dream, from the pages of a book I wrote for you and book I wrote for me.

Here’s where you can buy a copy. Here’s to dreaming. Here’s to trying. Here’s to your Do Over.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Google Play

iBooks

IndieBound

Books-A-Million

Christianbook.com

Family Christian

Parable

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The best account on Instagram and the lie we tell each day.

Yesterday, I handed my passport and ticket to a TSA agent at the airport.

I asked her how she was doing and with a chipper voice she said, “I’m wonderful, how are you?”

“I’m great!” I replied, “Look at us, you’re wonderful, I’m great, we must be having a good day.”

She looked at me out of the corner of her eyes and said, “I’m actually not wonderful. I’m lying, what about you?”

I didn’t know how to answer her.

In that moment, a stranger who I’d have a sliver of a conversation with took down the performance curtain and showed me what was really going on backstage at the play of her life and I couldn’t return the favor.

I stumbled through a handful of now forgotten words. Chances are I said something sarcastic as that’s the kind of wall I raise when put into a conversational corner.

“I’m lying, what about you?”

Dang TSA, you’re just supposed to make sure I don’t have too much peanut butter in my bag or a sword hidden in a cane.

That apparently happens a lot. If you’re not following the TSA on Instagram (@TSA) you are missing the best account on the planet. It’s a combination of the most humorous items they find in carry on bags and the least humorous captions you’ve ever read.

Here’s one of my favorites.

Who knew that:

1. People purchased batarangs/brass knuckles.

2. People tried to fly with batarangs/brass knuckles.

I bet that guy’s girlfriend was so mad at the airport. I’m kidding, there’s no way you have a batarang and a girlfriend.

Do you see how fast I can take the serious into the silly if I get uncomfortable?

It’s an escape hatch for me, one of many. I bet you’ve got some escape hatches too, but they don’t protect you from real awkwardness, they just prevent you from real connection.

“I’m lying, what about you?”

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