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Start.: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average, and Do Work That Matters Hardcover – April 22, 2013

by Jon Acuff (Author)

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Wall Street Journal best-selling author Jon Acuff reveals the steps to getting unstuck and back onto the path of being awesome.

Over the last 100 years, the road to success for most everyone has been divided into five stages that mirror the decades of working life:

There are only two paths in life: average and awesome. The average path is easy because all you have to do is nothing. The awesome path is more challenging because things like fear only bother you when you do work that matters. The good news is Start gives readers practical, honest and actionable insights to be more awesome, more often.

It's time to punch fear in the face, escape average, and do work that matters.

It's time to Start.

Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ramsey Press
Publication date

April 22, 2013
Dimensions

6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

1937077594
ISBN-13

978-1937077594
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jon Acuff has authored three books, including the Wall Street Journal best-seller Quitter, which has helped thousands of people close the gap between their day jobs and their dream jobs. In 2010, Jon joined the Dave Ramsey team as a full-time author and speaker. Jon’s wildly popular blog, StuffChristiansLike.net, has more than 4 million readers worldwide and was the inspiration for his first book, Stuff Christians Like, published by Zondervan. Follow Jon on Twitter @jonacuff and online at jonacuff.com.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ramsey Press (April 22, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1937077594
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1937077594
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.16 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #150,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #949 in Motivational Management & Leadership
- #1,165 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement (Books)
- #2,677 in Success Self-Help

Customer Reviews:
1,322

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Jon Acuff

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JON ACUFF is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including his Wall Street Journal #1 bestseller, Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done. He’s an INC Magazine Top 100 Leadership speaker and has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people at conferences and companies around the world including: FedEx, Nissan, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Chick-fil-A, Nokia, and Comedy Central. His large and highly engaged social media following includes nearly 300,000 Twitter followers, more than 187,000 Facebook followers, more than 125,000 Instagram followers, and more than 90,000 email subscribers who look to him for his unique blend of humor, honesty, and hope. He lives outside of Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife and two teenage daughters. His latest book, Soundtracks, will be available nationwide April 6, 2021.

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4.6 out of 5

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Stan Stinson

See You at the START

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2013

Verified Purchase

There are many books and many authors you can choose from when selecting your next book. I urge you to consider taking a look at START: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters. START challenges you to start because, "The starting line is the only line you completely control. The start is the only moment you're the boss of."

Jon is a gifted communicator of ideas and uses humor to entertain and make you laugh out loud in the process of teaching or reminding you of principles that will benefit you in whatever line of work or stage of life you find yourself right now. And, yes, he helps you determine exactly where you are right now because, as he says in the book, "the best map in the world doesn't matter if you don't know where you are."

There is no way I could cover the entire book in a review such as this so I will not try. I do want to point out a few quotes or ideas that stood out to me that might sway you in your decision to make this book part of you library.

This book's genesis began with a question, or 2 if you're counting, asked by a lady in her 70's Jon met on a plane. Here are those questions. "What do you do when all the excuses you used to not chase your dream are gone? What do you do then?" Jon began here, not wanting to be asking those questions himself, when he was in his 70s or later. "I didn't want you or me to get to 80 or 90 years old and realize we mortgaged the best years of our lives doing something we weren't called to do. I didn't want to look back on life and wonder where it all went." He began his quest by dissecting the life of another successful person and mentor, Dave Ramsey. This not a book about Dave Ramsey. Jon takes the principles he saw in Dave Ramsey's success, which are also present in any other successful life, and unpacks those with his own research, ideas and humor that makes for an interesting, entertaining, and educational read.

If that question intrigues you then get this book and join Jon on his journey and learn what he did. It could change your life and the trajectory or your journey to whatever your awesome happens to be and will make you laugh out loud along the way.

Where else will you read about wiffleball CSI, Ferretopia, corncob pipe whittling, and being a presentist or a little throw-uppy? I am confident the only place you will find these mentioned is in START. Those words have no suggestions in my spell checker either.

The other principle I wanted to emphasize which compels me to give this book and its author my highest recommendation is, "You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." Wait, that was not Jon but Zig Ziglar. However, Jon does say, "If you want help for your dream, start by helping someone else with their dream. If you want support for your hope, start by giving support to someone else's hope. If you want encouragement as you work on your calling, start by encouraging other people. Giving support is often the best way to get it." That does sound very similar to what Zig said.

I am not saying, inferring, or implying that Jon is the next Zig Ziglar. In my opinion there will never be one of those, ever. What I am saying is Jon reminds me of Zig Ziglar in many ways with his writing style, sense of humor, character, and desire to help others which I believe does allow him to be mentioned as being in the same mold as Zig. That is the highest recommendation I can give for any author or book but have no trouble giving it here and the reason for the title of this review.

"The only thing you have to do on the average path is not die." Jon Acuff, START

Get START NOW. "Punch fear in the face" and get started on your own journey to awesome.

See You At the START!

Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters

4 people found this helpful

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Caroline

Humorous AND motivational

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2013

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Even if you've never read any of Jon's writings before, if you have--or ever had--a dream or purpose (and if you're reading this, you're alive and you have a purpose), you'll be interested in reading Start.

Start is a bit like a travel guide on the best adventure you've ever taken (you know, life) through the lands of learning, editing, mastering, harvesting, and guiding. Everyone travels through these lands, though each of our journeys looks different than the next person's. We also can be in multiple lands at once, and often (and should) travel between these lands. (Jon explains this better in the book, I promise.)

Every step along the way, fear and doubt threaten to scare us back to living an "average" life, but we can always fight back. No matter where we are in our journey toward awesome, as Jon says, action always beats intention. We keep moving, we keep dreaming, we keep working hard.

Somehow Jon manages to logically explain the road to awesome while also telling you that you might have to ignore instances of logic in favor of unrelenting hustle to pursue awesome. This book is sure to clarify that not everyone will work his or her "one dream job." In fact, we may have multiple dreams and our finish on each of those dreams might (will!) look differently than we could ever have imagined.

"The starting line is the only line you completely control. The start is the only moment you're the boss of. The finish? Don't kid yourself. That's months, if not years, away." - p. 28, Start

The section in Chapter 3 on ignoring those lying internal voices of fear and doubt really, well... spoke to me. If you're not looking for a dream job, these chapters will still inspire you in other areas of your life. Much of what Jon writes is motivational, but he also includes very practical, applicable tips to start using today.

Jon is not just a humorous writer, but a good one, too. (Any "Serious Wednesday" post on Stuff Christians Life can support that statement.) I seriously laughed out loud on page 1, and I uttered many an introspective "huh" throughout the chapters. He's open about his own failures, and he includes a variety of stories from others to help readers envision what their own awesome start might look like. Jon writes from a foundation of faith, and you can tell his intention and action stem from knowing God as Creator.

After reading about "doing the reps" and "action payments" in the "Harvesting" chapter, I see again how my parenting choices can be choices of "awesome" or "average," too.

-Awesome is doing the "reps" of reading the same book five times in a row because it shows my son how much I care and his value to me.
-Awesome is taking the harder, more time-consuming route of teaching my children specific skills (rather than me doing it myself) because it prepares my children to serve and bless others.
-Awesome is not just making great lesson plans for homeschool, but acting and completing them because it guides my children's development and supports my son's therapies.
-Awesome is getting as outwardly excited as my kids do (even when I'm exhausted) when my husband comes home because it's another way to show my husband he matters.

Simple actions, but with exponential results. Plus, there's so many ways to be awesome in being intentional in my faith, with my time, in my writing, and more. Reading Start reaffirms I'm on my road to awesome. I just need to keep walking and not just sidetracked by "ladders of entitlement" or lures of fear.

We can apply Start's advice to many areas of life. Want to gain fitness? You gotta start. Want to control overflowing dishes? Action always beats intention.

I love what's written in this book so much, I actually wrote in it. (I usually cringe at writing in books.) Check out Start, read it, and then... start.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Client d'Amazon

I have waste my Money and time

Reviewed in France on April 3, 2024

Verified Purchase

I had high expectations for this book after reading the reviews.
I happily bought it, because I procrastinate so much about everything. I was hoping for some encouragement to start a project, but the author's obsession with humor turns it into a dull read. No substance. He jumps from one story to another, from one illustration to another, without giving any concrete lessons.

Very disappointing. Don't waste your money.

Grygorii Kinzerskyi

Good condition!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

The book in a good condition. Very interesting, happy to have it in my library.

Vince Fowler

A perfect read for anyone who has yet to start, and those who already have...

Reviewed in Canada on March 4, 2015

Verified Purchase

I read a lot - I'm a business coach and I enjoy learning what others in sport and business have to say. I read mostly books about business. And by *read*, I mean I listen via audio book.

After listening to the first three chapters, I loved it so much I bought the hard cover. Jon Acuff's book "START" was refreshing. Yes, it's about starting to live life with passion and do work that brings you joy. That said, Jon doesn't just promote magical results without doing the work... the hard work... the work the matters most, often begins every day at 4am - a note, my day starts at 4:50am ;-).

Whether you - the potential future reader - are thinking about going into business or you've already been at it for a while, Jon's book is relevant. Jon breaks things down into a few simple steps - Learn, Edit, Master, Harvest and Guiding. I found it interesting that in some parts of my life (I'm 45) I'm living in the phase of guiding... where as other areas of my live, it's very evident that I'm still learning and editing... other ares, I'm in mastery. There was a lot of clarity that came from listening/reading to this book.

Secondly, truth. No where in the book does Jon BS you into thinking success will be easy or simple. "Focus on 10 parts mastery, and 1 part promotion... not the other way around. Better yet, focus on 100 parts mastery and 1 part promotion."

Jon calls out the reader by calling out himself, describing times in his life when he began living with an entitled attitude. I realized I had done the same. Very humbling to read.

Lastly, I have never listened to an audio book like the way Jon narrates it. If you've ever listen to Simon Sinek, Seth Godin, John Maxwell, Malcolm Gladwell... the don't really bring a large scale of emotion to their narrating... which really doesn't bother me, it's just my observation. Simon Sinek puts a little more life into his audiobook than most... but Jon Acuff... I had a lot of laughs throughout the book. It was as if he recorded the book in front of a live audience, as if I were in the audience. Very cool effect.

Is this a serious book about business and the journey of mastery? Yes, absolutely. However, because Jon doesn't take himself so seriously, he speaks with humility and genuine care for the reader, I fear others will pass on the book. It's not "Jack Welch" enough. It's not "Jim Collins" enough. What I appreciate about Jon is he clearly understands and remembers "Rule Number 6" - never heard rule number 6? Google it.

Remember rule number six: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-HG6X6fpBM

Reader... remember that in order to live a life of awesome, you have to purposely live and do work beyond average. Not everyone is prepared to do that... are you?

4 people found this helpful

Daniel Robert Wilkinson

Punch fear's face!

Reviewed in Canada on June 13, 2015

Verified Purchase

Start is a book about beginning a new chapter in your life. it's got a great kick in the pants vibe and a hilarious writing style. Although I haven't read quitter yet I've used Start to start something in my life. It gave me the courage to step out and try something new. I've just started Do Over his next book and the both are comparable while Start feels more hopeful for the future, Do Over is written with a more seasoned hand. I love them both but would start with Start as it has the motivation to push the entrepreneurial spirit.

One person found this helpful

Michael

Not great.

Reviewed in Canada on November 17, 2014

Verified Purchase

Sorry Jon,

This book really did not do it for me. Just a bunch of rambling and personal stories. It awoke a little awesome, but there are much better choices out there then this book. I kind of feel ripped off by Dave Ramsey. The only reason I got this book was because I always heard him talking about it on his pod cast.

This book will not help you Start, but you can read all about Jon's life....

Yawn.....

5 people found this helpful

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