Jon Acuff's Blog, page 49

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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Communities make the world (and ideas) go round.

I’ve written before about how chasing a dream is like being on an an island, and how eventually every island needs bridges, boats, and runways to be as awesome as it can be.

In other words, every dreamer needs the support of a community.

There’s no better example of that than the folks in the Dreamers & Builders and 30 Days of Hustle Facebook Groups. I’m continually blown away by how well they support each other’s dreams. They provide honest feedback on projects, they encourage each other through hard times, and they celebrate each others’ wins selflessly. It’s pretty cool to watch.

Oh, and sometimes they create fun things together! Like this trailer for Do Over. Kayla Erickson dreamed it up and a few of them made it on their own, just because they enjoy being awesome. Check it out:

Why do we need communities?

Communities make the world (and ideas) go round.
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If you’re chasing a dream on an island with no connections, it’s time to reach out and get some bridges, boats, and runways. Don’t isolate yourself and your dream, open it up to a community and see how much better it can be.

Want to read the book that this awesome community is talking about? Pick up a copy of Do Over at one of these locations:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Google Play

iBooks

IndieBound

Books-A-Million

Christianbook.com

Family Christian

Parable

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Win a free library! (We’re giving away 17 books in the Do Over Bookshelf Challenge)

Over the last month we’ve given away 5 books each week to the four winners of the Do Over Bookshelf Challenge.

This week? We’re giving away every book we featured in the challenger to one winner!

That’s right, 17 books to 1 winner. So, how do you win?

Post a photo of my new book, Do Over, and tag someone you want to read it with on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram. Make sure you use the hashtag #DoOverBook in your post as well. Your picture can be taken in a store, in your home, or anywhere else on earth where photos can be taken.

You have until midnight on Monday, April 20th to post your picture. We’ll announce the winner some time next week.

Books are the best! Win a new library with 17 free books including #DoOverBook!
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Here are all the books included in the prize package:

Do Over by yours truly
The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
the dip by Seth Godin
Die Empty by Todd Henry
Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky
Procrastinate on Purpose by Rory Vaden
The First 20 Hours by Josh Kaufman
Body of Work by Pamela Slim
Give and Take by Adam Grant
Getting Things Done by David Allen
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams
#GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso
Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod
Dream Year by Ben Arment
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
The Doodle Revolution by Sunni Brown

So let me know who you would like to read Do Over with by tagging them in your photo of the book, and don’t forget the hashtag #DoOverBook.

Go!

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Why I fell back in love with bookstores.

I was never out of love with bookstores.

There was never a moment where we walked away from each other. But I did get distracted. If I’m honest, I did have eyes for another. Who?

The Internet.

I love the Internet. Blogs and tweets and photos and endless streams of information. It didn’t just feel like a different way to experience life, it felt like the NEW way to experience life. And I dove in deep.

I’ve tweeted 38,000 times. I’ve blogged thousands of times. I’ve built platforms and conversations within the digital glow the Internet offers. The Internet in turn opened up a world of opportunities to me. I got my first book deal in large part because of my blog community. Comedian Jim Gaffigan endorsed my new book Do Over because we connected on Twitter. Some of my best opportunities and favorite relationships have started online.

But, in 15 years of non-stop online connection, I’ve learned something surprising.

The more time I spend online, the more I realize face-to-face interaction matters the most.

Skype is great.

Facetime is amazing.

YouTube is a window into worlds I might have otherwise missed.

But, when all is said and done, nothing beats 3D community.

Nothing beats being in the same space and breathing the same air. And I’m an introvert. I don’t write this casually or because I love to be around people all the time. I write this because it’s true.

So a few weeks ago, when I got ready to launch my new book, I thought, “I’ll go to bookstores! I’ll meet people. I’ll talk with people. I’ll hear their ideas and tell them a few of mine.” Only I discovered something when I tried to schedule some events at bookstores …there are fewer of them around.

This is not a surprise to you perhaps, but it is to me. There are fewer bookstores now than there were when I wrote my first book 5 years ago.

In the ease of the Internet, in the promise of instant, I looked away from bookstores for a minute and when I looked back some had disappeared. They were closed. They were gone.

We didn’t just lose a bookstore though, we lost a bit of magic. We lost a bit of wonder. We lost a safe haven where it’s still OK to dream big dreams. To walk down aisles and aisles of “what if?” Books are not collections of paper, they’re invitations to different worlds. And being in a bookstore is like getting a passport.

Best of all, it’s a curated experience. The person who is arranging the shelves at Powell’s Books in Portland loves books like you do. They’re surfacing amazing titles from an ocean of options. This happens at small stores and big stores around the country. I visited every Barnes & Noble in Manhattan this week and at each one, I met an employee who loved books. The best bookstore employees know they’re not just working a job, they’re part of a mission. They’re on the frontline of new ideas and new conversations.

I’ve been thinking a lot about bookstores because this week I released a new book. If you haven’t seen the bright yellow tidal wave I’ve unleashed upon the Internet, it’s called Do Over. It’s available in stores.

To everyone who bought a copy online, I thank you. I love the Internet. I don’t consider it an either/or conversation between bookstores and the Internet.

If you haven’t purchased one online I implore you to visit your local bookstore and buy a copy of Do Over today.

Buy a different book while you’re there, too. Get a magazine while you’re at it.

Bookstores matter to authors, but more than that, I think they matter to humans.

They offer something no Internet site can deliver, they offer space.

A room where 40 people or 4 people can get together and discuss an idea.

Long live the local bookstore.

Long live the local bookstore.
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Question:

What’s the local bookstore you go to most often?

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How to be a better writer, part 1.

I spent four years in college studying journalism.

I then spent 17 years as a full time, professional writer.

I’ve written and published five books, but it wasn’t until this last one that I learned 3 important lessons about writing. (I was going to say, “lessons that could change the way I write forever,” but sometimes the over the top dramatic style you have to write blogs with these days is exhausting.)

It’s almost embarrassing how obvious these lessons are, but I promise I missed them most of my writing career. Learning them is why my book Do Over is:

1. The hardest book I’ve ever written.

2. The best book I’ve ever written.

I’ve said that first sentence about other books I’ve written, but I’ve never said that second sentence before. Why am I starting now? Because I learned 3 ways to become a better writer. Here’s the first lesson, I’ll share the second two in the weeks to come:

Don’t let your ego be your editor.

I didn’t let Jenny read my last book Start until it came out. I was too scared to hear what she thought. What if she didn’t like some section? What if she encouraged me to rewrite something and I was all out of words? (That’s how writers feel when they finish something, “all out of words.”) I didn’t show her the book until it was too late for her to give me her thoughts. That was a mistake on my part. She read Do Over seven full times and gave me incredible feedback.

Throughout each round she would circle sections and say, “You wrote this story because you want to look like a victim. This is an ego play. This section is you trying to look like a hero. You’re writing this book to help people have great careers, not just to make them think you’re great.”

I would then go pout in our small home office, try to tell her she was wrong but then eventually I’d come around. She was right. My ego tends to write the first draft. And it makes some pretty selfish decisions. It would much rather give you pages of pages of “Look how amazing Jon is” than do the hard work like meeting hundreds of people around the country to see what is really working in their careers, creating something that could help and refining it until it sings. (The photo on this post shows the amount of writing/editing I had to go through to create the book.)

Writing tip #1: Don’t let your ego be your editor.
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Is ego a bad thing? No, you need confidence to write in the first place. But don’t let ego be your editor. The challenge is that it’s impossible for us to recognize our own egos. We can talk ourselves into anything. Give your manuscript to someone who will call you out.

In a blog post like this it’s really easy to act like the advice you’ve given is easy to live out.

It’s not. The writing lessons I learned during Do Over were really hard for me and every day I still have to fight for them. My ego gets loud when I sit down at a keyboard and is always trying to be an editor.

It’s going to be challenging for you too, but that’s OK. I don’t want you to just be a writer. I want you to be the best writer you can be.

My new book Do Over came out this week. You can pick up a copy anywhere books or sold or at any of these online options. I’m excited for you to see the final result of the writing process Jenny helped me with:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Google Play

iBooks

IndieBound

Books-A-Million

Christianbook.com

Family Christian

Parable

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The wait is over! Do Over is available today!

Today, you can walk into hundreds of stores around the country and buy a copy of my new book Do Over!

It’s the best book I’ve ever written.

I wrote this book because I had to navigate my own Do Over 18 months ago. Then I spent the next year traveling the country to see if other people were going through Do Over moments too in their careers.

If you feel stuck and want to hone the kind of skills that get you moving again, read Do Over.

If you’ve had an amazing career jump and want to develop the kind of character that will help you navigate what comes next, read Do Over.

If you’ve hit a bump and want to build the kind of relationships that can help you get back on your feet, read Do Over.

If you’ve had an unexpected opportunity and you want to employ the kind of hustle that will make the most of it, read Do Over.

And if you know anyone who fits one of these scenarios, give them a copy.

The book is available anywhere books are sold, but today is the first day you can walk into a store and pick up a copy.

Thanks for going on this adventure with me, I can’t wait to visit your town and hear about what you’re working on next!

Buy Do Over from any of these awesome retailers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Google Play

iBooks

IndieBound

Books-A-Million

Christianbook.com

Family Christian

Parable

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I’m coming to a city near you soon!

The Do Over Book tour is here!

Here’s how it’s going to work:

For some cities, I’ll be doing signings at local bookstores. You can register for those events at the links below. For other cities, I’ll be doing meetups with the help of people like you! (And we might even add some cities!)

The first wave of cities is listed below. If you’d like to help me put together a meetup in one of cities with “TBD” listed beside it, please email Lauren from Shelton Interactive. (All it takes is a space we can get 100 people in like a coffee shop, church, college, etc. It’s really casual. If you can help, shoot us an email and we’ll email you back after the holiday weekend.)

Current Book Tour Cities:

Toronto, Canada: April 15th TBD – Email Lauren to help.

New Orleans, LA: April 19 TBD – Email Lauren to help.

Lynchburg, VA: April 21 – Click here to sign up.

Dayton, OH: April 24 – Email Lauren to help.

Atlanta, GA: April 28 – Click here to sign up

Tulsa, OK: May 4 – Click here to sign up

Dallas, TX: May 5 – Click here to sign up

Tampa, FL: May 7 – Click here to sign up

Salt Lake City, UT: May 29 TBD – Email Lauren to help.

p.s. Have you ordered a copy of Do Over yet? You’ve only got 4 days left to get all the pre-order perks! Order a copy today!

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