Jon Acuff's Blog, page 16

Why do some people seem to effortlessly thrive at their work while some of us feel like we’re constantly just trying to make it through the week? Patrick Lencioni would tell you that it’s because some of us are excelling in our area of genius, while others of us are trying to tap into strengths we don’t have or don’t enjoy. Patrick is one of the founders of The Table Group and is the pioneer of the organizational health movement. He is the author of 12 books, which have sold over 7 million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages. As President of the Table Group, Patrick spends his time speaking and writing about leadership, teamwork, and organizational health and consulting with executives and their teams. He joins me for a conversation about the six different areas of genius and how you can tap into yours so that your work becomes easier and more enjoyable.

The post Unlock Your Genius: How to love and excel at your work with Patrick Lencioni appeared first on Jon Acuff.

Is it really possible to change the future or do our pasts dictate who we are destined to become? Nona Jones would tell you that the future is yours to shape, no matter the circumstances you come from. She had the sort of childhood no one expects good things to come from, so she flipped the script on the world. Nona is now an international speaker, preacher, author, and the head of global faith-based partnerships at Facebook. She is a graduate of the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program and was named one of Essence Magazine’s “Under 40 Women to Watch.” She most recently served as Secretary of the Florida Juvenile Justice Association Board of Directors and on the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force. Presently she leads a church with her husband in Gainesville, Florida. Nona joined me for an incredible conversation about rejection, redemption, and becoming who you were meant to be despite what you have to overcome.

The post The Unexpected Gift of Rejection – My wildly hopeful conversation with Nona Jones. appeared first on Jon Acuff.

Right now, I’m at the beginning of a three-year writing process for my next book that’s all about bravery. Why bravery? Because after nearly 50 years I discovered that every win, every triumph, and every victory in my life happened in the moments I chose to weather the storms caused by my fears. Every goal you want to achieve is on the other side of a brave decision. That’s why this week we’re talking about a fear that keeps a lot of people from ever starting their dreams: imposter syndrome. We’ll cover why it’s such an insidious force and what you can do to overcome it in the episode.

The post 3 Signs of Imposter Syndrome appeared first on Jon Acuff.

Tik Toks and Instagram reels go viral when they have the right soundtrack. Your thoughts are the same way. The loudest, catchiest, most played thoughts are the ones that shape the way we view ourselves, the actions we take, and the results that come from those actions. But what if the thoughts we listen to the most are broken soundtracks? What if the loudest thoughts we have about ourselves aren’t even true? As adults, we’ve all picked up bad soundtracks along the way, but the students in our lives are still curating their playlists for the first time. They’re still writing the soundtracks they’re going to listen to for the rest of their lives. That’s why I wrote my new book, Your New Playlist with my teenage daughters, L.E. and McRae. They join me in a very special episode of All it Takes is a Goal to talk about why mindset is so powerful, how to ditch broken soundtracks, and how to build new ones that will help you overcome challenges and achieve your goals.

The post Curate and Crank Up Your New Playlist with my two favorite authors (my daughters!) appeared first on Jon Acuff.

Have you ever felt like you’ve hit a wall in your life? Like you don’t know exactly what you want to do, but you know what you’re doing isn’t it? Eric Thomas grew up in a world that was against him from the start in a lot of ways. At a young age, he found himself homeless and living with no real direction until he realized he had to make a change. Today, he’s known as ET “The Hip Hop Preacher,” and is a world-renowned speaker, educator, pastor, and audible.com Audie Awards Finalist. He’s taken the world by storm with his creative, common-sense approach to living a successful, satisfying professional and personal life. He joined me for an incredible conversation that will have you ready to run through your walls and break the glass ceilings in your life.

The post Life is an emergency; live accordingly – my awe-inspiring conversation with Eric “ET” Thomas appeared first on Jon Acuff.

Why is following a dream so hard sometimes? You know what you want, and you know what you need to do to achieve it, so why hasn’t it happened yet? I’m thrilled to have my long-time mentor, Steven Pressfield, join me for an episode all about doing the thing we all want – to live out our dreams. Steven is the bestselling author of countless screenplays, novels, and nonfiction books, including Gates of Fire, Turning Pro, and one of my all-time favorites, The War of Art. In this episode, we talk about taking consistent steps toward your dream, quieting distractions, Obi-Wan Kenobi moments, King Kong, and so much more!

The post Overcome Resistance and Embrace Restraint: The secret formula to achieving your dreams with THE Steven Pressfield appeared first on Jon Acuff.

There are endless distractions that are constantly taking us away from the things we try to accomplish. Some are innocent, like when your kids need help with a school project. Others are more frustrating, like a job that constantly cuts into your personal time. Regardless of what the distraction is, it makes moving forward with your goals harder. That’s why in this episode, I’m teaching you how to overcome four of the most common things that get in the way of progress: interruptions, overwhelming tasks, long goals, and day jobs. By the end of this episode, you’ll have the tools to keep moving toward the finish line of your goal even when everything is trying to get in the way.

The post Interruptions, overwhelming tasks, long goals, and day jobs: How to win 4 situations everyone faces. appeared first on Jon Acuff.

The number one thing a mentor can give you is cheat codes. That phrase may sound too good to be true, but it isn’t. Great mentors have great cheat codes, and cheat codes make accomplishing your goal a lot easier. In Part 2 of this special micro-series, we’re wrapping up our conversation on establishing and maintaining a thriving mentor relationship. I’ll share the questions to ask your mentors, what to do if you’re having a hard time finding a mentor where you live, and most importantly, how to accelerate the goals you’re working toward with your mentor.

The post How to get the cheat codes from people smarter than you, AKA find a mentor. (Part 2) appeared first on Jon Acuff.

Mentors are like time machines. They’ve been to the future you want, and if you ask them, they’ll tell you how to get there too. In this special two-part micro-series, we’re talking about how to find a mentor, how to maximize the relationship, and how to marry your goals with their expertise. Tune in to learn about the qualities every mentor needs, your responsibilities in the relationship, how to ask a potential mentor to partner with you, and so much more. By the end of this episode, you’ll join the league of time travelers that are shaving entire years off their biggest goals.

The post How to build your own time machine, AKA find a mentor. (Part 1) appeared first on Jon Acuff.

Welcome to our final week of Summer School! This week, we’re talking about what I think is the best job in the world, public speaking. I know some of you shuddered just thinking about getting on a stage to talk to people, but before you freak out, hear me out. You may not have any aspiration to be a professional public speaker (but if you do, you’re going to LOVE this episode), but there will be times in life when you have to communicate your ideas to a group of people. That could be in a team meeting at work, on a Zoom call with a client, or with your family and friends. No matter if you’re speaking to 5 people or 500, I want you to feel confident and maybe even excited, so this week, I’m going to share 4 mistakes to avoid so you can crush your communication every time.

The post The 4 Mistakes Public Speakers Make & How You Can Avoid Them appeared first on Jon Acuff.