I just finished reading Jon Acuff’s newest book “Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work That Matters.” It was a recommendation on my Goodreads profile and I’m glad I decided to give it a go.

First, I have to mention the cover of this book is kind of embarrassing. It gets the point across, but the whole “punch fear in the face” statement is a bit weird to have strangers looking at when reading in public.

It was a quick read because of the author’s enthusiasm — it really jumps off the page! Acuff uses a blend of motivation, personal experience and research to encourage the reader to pursue their passion.

Acuff describes his personal experience of wanting to become a writer, and that information was valuable to me since writing is my passion as well. The information is applicable to anyone, no matter what career is your dream.

Some takeaways from Start:

• Our willpower is strongest in the morning, so if you start by crossing off a task it will create a snowball effect for the rest of the day.
• Start by claiming just 30 minutes in your day to REALLY pursue your dream. He recommends waking up at 5:30 to do this, or whenever you’re sure to not be interrupted.
• You have to be brutally realistic about your present circumstances and wildly unrealistic about your future circumstances.
• Admit that you can’t possibly get it all done, and some work beats no work.
• In order to really believe it’s not all about you, you have to believe that everyone is more interesting than you. Instead of spending time trying to be interesting, invest more time being interested.

Those points may seem like common sense, but it was inspiring for me to read and I realized I need to pour a significantly larger amount of energy into my passions to make them a reality.

One of my favorite quotes from this book:

“You will work harder at something you love than at something you like. You will work harder than you have ever worked when you start chasing a dream. You will hustle and grind and sweat and push and pull. You will get up earlier and go to bed later. But that’s okay.”

Next on my reading list is “Wild Mind” by Natalie Goldberg. I’ll post my final thoughts next week.

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!