Start Summary – Jon Acuff
5 min read ⌚
Punch Fear In the Face, Escape Average, Do Work That Matters
Do you think that just because you have not found your purpose yet, you cannot be exceptional?
That is fear talking from you.
Stop looking for your purpose, look at your fears straight in the eyes, and START doing whatever you enjoy doing.
Who Should Read “Start” and Why?
“Start” is a book about dreams and fears.
It is a book which every dreamer will enjoy, which all purpose-seekers will find enlightening, and which will motivate people who have not been doing a lot lately, to grab the wheel of life and turn it in the direction of their dreams.
We highly recommend it.
About Jon Acuff
Jon Acuff is a full-time bestselling author, who became what he is today: a man who helps people face their fears and achieve their dreams, after being a serial quitter, and was working eight different jobs in a time span of eight years.
“Start Summary”
Have you always wanted to be more than the average person?
Have you always wished to achieve your extraordinary dreams and become exceptional?
You probably have.
But, are you doing something about it?
If you are the average person, most probably your dreams stay just dreams.
Why is that?
Because to be exceptional, you need to reach the other side of fear. And that means that you have to both face your fears and punch them in the face!
Fears are what keeps you distant from all of your desires. They do this by convincing you that it is better not to start since your dreams are not possible in the first place.
That is not a productive way of thinking, isn’t it?
So, you already know the answer to an extraordinary life: battling and beating your fears.
But this requires work: you need to truly understand their sources and how they work.
When fears are zoomed out, and you look at them from a distance, they look truly scary.
However, when you zoom them in, you will see how silly most of them are.
For example, let’s say you fear that starting a new project will make you lose your job.
Write it down.
Now, go further. Imagine that this is actually true. Picture yourself on the street, hungry and thirsty, sleeping on benches and talking to stray dogs and cats.
Does it seem likely that this will be your future?
Probably not.
Write it down, nevertheless.
As you do, you will understand how silly and illogical this fear is, and you will free yourself from it.
Once you have the worst case scenario in your mind, and it does not seem all that likely, you will stop that fear from controlling you.
Another way you can get rid of your fears is by just doing whatever you are scared of.
The results of your actions are unknown to you, but you have to understand that they will remain unknown no matter how long you wait to start doing whatever you want to do.
So, instead of waiting around to gather information and courage to follow your passions, just stop thinking and do what you want to do NOW.
In order to get extraordinary, you need to get comfortable with fear and tension.
But, where do you start?
First, find out which aspects of your life seem ordinary and average. Is it the professional, the social or the intellectual part that you want to improve?
Write it down.
Once you do, decide to make the change.
This is when tension comes into play.
If you want to succeed, you cannot just dive into whatever you want to do mindlessly.
As important as dreaming big might be, being realistic is equally as important.
In fact, finding this balance can be the most challenging thing you will have to do.
In order to do this, you first have to write down your dreams, and then evaluate the circumstances, which will lead you to the list of steps that will get you to the place you desired.
Oh, and yes – please make yourself a favor and stop waiting around to find a purpose.
You can find your purpose only through acting.
Who cares if you make a mistake or two?
Just do something, NOW. See how it goes. See where it takes you.
Start.
Key Lessons from “Start”
1. Stop Waiting Around to Find Your Purpose
2. Find Out What You Like
3. Remove the Things that Do Not Please You from Your Life
Stop Waiting Around to Find Your Purpose
Some people never find their purpose!
But that is not something you should be scared of. On the contrary, that is something you should be happy about.
The pressure that comes with the thought of having to find a purpose can make you freeze and not live your life at all.
Instead of waiting for an epiphany, just start doing whatever you want to do. You do not have to find your purpose. You can create it.
Find Out What You Like
In order to find out what you like doing, start doing many things and learning them.
You do not have to do these things forever: just try them out. If you do not enjoy them, change them with something else. Experiment.
Remove the Things that Do Not Please You from Your Life
After trying out to do many things, you will realize that you like some more than others.
Stop caring about the time you invested in something – if you do not like an activity, remove it from your life.
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“Start Quotes”
You don't need to go back in time to be awesome; you just have to start right now. Click To Tweet Regretting that you didn't start earlier is a great distraction from moving on your dream today, and the reality is that today is earlier than tomorrow. Click To Tweet Regardless of what you want to do or who you are, fear will always see you as wholly unqualified for anything you ever dream or attempt. Click To Tweet People are mistaken when they think chasing your dream is a selfish thing to do. It's not. Click To Tweet Fear would have told the Wright brothers not to fly. Fear would have told Rosa Parks to change seats. Fear would have told Steve Jobs that people hate touchscreens. Click To Tweet
Our Critical Review
“Start” is, just like any other Acuff’s book, easy to read, practical, and motivational.
It will make you feel less burdened about what you have been doing in your past, and what you need to do in your future.
It will make you see life as what it really is: a series of trials and errors and finding out what you like, instead of waiting for your purpose to reveal itself to you.
