This is a transcript from the twitter interview series #tenquestions with Jon Acuff from May 12, 2015. You can purchase Jon’s book Do Over on amazon by clicking here.
Adam: Hi, @jonacuff & welcome to #tenquestions. Please take a minute to introduce yourself for those who may not have read your work before.
- Jon Acuff: Hello everyone, Jon Acuff here! I write books for a living and have been friends with Adam for years!
Adam: 1. First question – Who are your heroes?
- Jon Acuff: Other than Jesus? As a Christian you are required by law to say that. My dad. Seth Godin. My FIL. Pressfield. I’d say Becca Stevens too, the founder of Thistle Farms. Al Andrews as well.
Adam: Godin is amazing. The endorsement from him was great on #DoOverBook.
- Jon Acuff: That was very kind of him!
Adam: 2. Which one of your heroes would you want to collaborate with in the future & why?
- Jon Acuff: Al Andrews. He’s brilliant and is one of my favorite people on the planet. Plus he’s hilarious.
Adam: 3. What advice would you give to other writers who are just starting out?
- Jon Acuff: I think you should: 1. Write a lot. 2. Read a lot. 3. Worry about writing not publishing. Also, hire a good editor. An editor is critical! Also, read Anne Lamott’s book, “Bird by Bird”.
Adam: 4. What is success to you?
- Jon Acuff: Something I’m more afraid of achieving than I wish I was. From a more practical standpoint success is writing books I believe in.
Adam: 5. That’s a great definition. Do you ever get to the point of writing a book and have to go back and edit out what you don’t believe in?
- Jon Acuff: Of course. I had to cut 30,000 words in Do Over that I didn’t believe in. That’s the hard part of writing.
Adam: 6. What is one topic that you feel needs to be discussed that isn’t being talked about?
- Jon Acuff: That we’re all learning that art doesn’t have value. We don’t want to pay for music anymore and that’s scary. That attitude will eventually threaten all forms of art.
Adam: 7. With so many people starting podcasts, etc., why do you choose to solely focus on writing & speaking?
- Jon Acuff: There are limits to what I can actually be good at. I feel called to be a writer. I have to rescue time as it is to actually write. If I do a podcast that would cost me very valuable time. Just because something is popular doesn’t mean I’m supposed to do it.
Adam: 8. Let’s talk about Do Over now. What is it about?
- Jon Acuff: It’s about the four things every great career and adventure requires us to invest in. The four things are simple: Relationships + Skills + Character x Hustle. That = a Career Savings Account. You need all four or it all falls apart. If you have relationships, skills & character but no hustle you become NFL draft busts who got by in college on natural talent. But when they make it to the NFL and everyone has that same talent, if they don’t hustle, it falls apart.
Adam: Such an important book for everyone to read. I found it wasn’t only a career book, but a live life well book.
- Jon Acuff: Thanks! That was the goal! I think those four investments are life investments not just career investments.
Adam: 9. What are you working on now?
- Jon Acuff: Making more time for things that matter and giving less time to things that don’t. That’s not a specific project but more my approach to how I’m trying to organize my days.
Adam: What falls into this category?
- Jon Acuff: Time with my family. Writing. Sleep. Exercise. Reading. Studying. Time with friends.
Adam: 10. Are there specific ways that you are trying to accomplish this?
- Jon Acuff: Yes. I am trying to take a look at my schedule 8 weeks in advance and plan the things that matter first. The book “Ordering your Private world” by Gordon MacDonald has been a great help!
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