Jon Acuff: Punch Fear, Escape Average & Do Work that Matters.

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Jon Acuff is the New York Times Bestselling author of four books including his most recent, Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average & Do Work that Matters.

For 15 years he’s helped some of the biggest brands in the world tell their story, including The Home Depot, Bose, Staples, and the Dave Ramsey Team. Most recently he’s spoken to hundreds of thousands of people at conferences, colleges, companies and churches. A media feature, Jon has been seen on CNN, Fox News, Good Day LA and several other key outlets.

In addition, he’s become a social media expert with a blog read by 4 million people and more than 200k twitter followers. In 2010 he used his influence with his tribe to build two kindergartens in Vietnam.

Success Quotes

“The best brands, the best people are the most generous”

“The more you give the more you receive.”

“I now judge a leaders quality of leadership by the amount of people around him that can tell him no.”

Key Points

1. Give More than You Think You Should

In every situation, you need to make a practice of being kinder and more generous than you think you should.

If you normally tip 15% start tipping 30%.

If you give 5% of your income to charity, start giving 10% to charity.

When you see a homeless person on the side of the streets, stop and buy them a meal and ask them about their story.

I know that it might sound crazy, but something wild happens when you make a habit of generosity and kindness, the world starts to reciprocate.

Whether it is a result of subconscious processes or a law of the universe, when the focus is shifted from yourself onto others, something takes over and says “Aha! He’s making the most of what he has to serve others, so he clearly deserves more!”

And while you should not start this practice with the express purpose of “gaming” the universe, you should realize that when you start to give from a place of genuine love and generosity, your whole life will start to change.

2. Consistency is the Key to Success

There is no shortcut to success.

The only path to success is the long road of consistently putting in the work and doing what is necessary.

If you are willing to show up each and every day and devote three hours of your spare time to a side hustle, after 4-5 years, you will have a blossoming six figure company that you can be proud of.

But if you jump in head first and put all of your free time into your new business for a month or two and then forget about it, you will only see marginal levels of success (if any at all).

Consistency is the key to mastery.

Commit to the long haul now and you will be amazed at where the years will take you.

3. Your Time is Finite so Start Now

You have no excuses to wait.

Your time is finite so you need to start now.

Whatever it is that you want to do, take the first step today.

If you want to start a business, go register your domain name, and pay for the LLC fees.

If you want to lose weight, then drop down right now and do 5 pushups.

If you want to meet the woman of your dreams, then finish this interview and go say hello to the cutie at the coffee shop.

Stop waiting for someone else to give you permission to live your life and take action now.

4. There Are Two Roads in Life

There are only two roads in life.

The road to awesome and the road to average.

The road to average is pretty easy.

You will be faced with a few trials and setbacks, you will have a couple of struggles, but by and large, you will get to coast by.

Your existence will consist of Netflix, Xbox, an uninspiring job, a nagging wife, and a mediocre body.

You get what you pay for and since you weren’t willing to pay for much, your life will reflect your choices.

The other option is the road to awesome.

And let’s just get this out of the way now, the first 100 or so miles on the road to awesome absolutely suck.

There are thorns, there are lions, and tigers, and bears (oh my!), there are cliffs and ravines, and ultimately, there are no easy paths through the first section.

It sucks.

Period.

But once you pass the first 100 miles or so, you will notice something amazing.

The thorns will start to clear, the wild animals will leave you alone, and you will be left with a jaw dropping view and the most pristine wilderness known to man kind.

This is the road of awesome.

It is hard, it is challenging, but it is worth it.

Which road will you choose?

5. Commit to Mastery

No matter what craft you are trying to hone, you must commit right now to mastery.

You must be willing to put in the long work and the hard hours to become someone who has truly mastered his craft and can stand proud as one of the world’s best.

For some of you, this means becoming a master at social media and marketing.

For others, it means writing.

For some of you, it means that you will have to spend years as a starving artist, playing your guitar for small crowds for the better part of a decade.

But when you commit to mastery, and follow through on that commitment consistently, you will unlock the keys to the kingdoms.

You will achieve levels of success and fulfillment most men only dream of because you were willing to master your craft and put in the time necessary to become truly world class.