Tag Archives: Jon Acuff

Interview with Jim Woods

By Ordinary Servant | Published October 31, 2018

In 2012, I had the pleasure of connecting with Jim Woods on Twitter and then meeting him in person at Jon Acuff‘s Quitter Conference held in Nashville. Jim was so kind, encouraging and gracious toward me. I’ve witnessed his growth as a writer and I am honored to be interviewing him.

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1) When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I think it was when I wrote a report in the fourth grade. I was really into nature and I wrote about snakes. I realized how much fun it could be to do research and then telling a story about my findings.

2) How did you develop the confidence to find your voice as a writer?

I think it was more through practice and trial and error. That being said, writing how you talk is always a great place to start.

3) Were there any books you read that helped shape and mold you as a writer?

Absolutely! I love Steven Pressfield‘s Do The Work and War of Art. Also, I have a lot of fiction influences: Edgar Allen Poe, Elmore Leonard and J.D. Salinger.

3) What did you do before you transitioned into being a full-time writer?

I was an accountant for over 15 years. That’s hard to believe now!

4) How long did the process take? What steps did you take in making your dream a reality?

About three years. It was a long long three years. Writing as much as possible, networking, going to conferences, meeting as many people for coffee as possible.

5) Now that you have succeeded, what is it like being on the other side of the rainbow? Has it been anything like you had imagined?

It’s like a good struggle, like when you’re tired after working really hard. You’re exhausted, but at the same time very satisfied.

To answer your other question, it’s harder than I thought it would be. It can be hard to unplug from the work.

6) What does your writing process look like?

I like to watch my work as much as possible. I am a momentum-based emotional writer so I like to find some easy wins and then go from there.

7) What is the hardest thing about being a full-time writer?

It’s pretty lonely and rejection comes with the territory.

8) How do you encourage yourself to keep going?

I talk to other writers and learn from them. Whatever the circumstance, it is very likely that someone else can relate.

9) Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

I just want to work with good people and keep telling good stories.

10) Are you working on any new projects?

About a month ago I created an event called the Finish Your Book Summit where I interviewed 16 authors who have written over 100 books. It’s still live, so you can access the interviews by going to finishyourbooksummit.com.

11) What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Don’t be afraid to start out slowly. Build a good writing habit—even if it is just for 5 minutes a day. Over time you’ll build momentum and see serious results!

Thank you for a wonderful interview, Jim.

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Jim Woods is a freelance writer, author, author assistant, and writing coach that loves to help others tell better stories. You can connect with him at jimwoodswrites.com.

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Start by Jon Acuff

By Ordinary Servant | Published August 21, 2013

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 23, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937077594
ISBN-13: 978-1937077594
Price: $22.99
Purchase: Amazon | BN

 

 

 

 

 

 

Description

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 predictable stages. But three things have changed the path to success: Boomers are realizing that a lot of the things they were promised aren’t going to materialize, and they have started second and third careers. Technology has given access to an unprecedented number of people who are building online empires and changing their lives and changing their lives that would have been impossible years ago. The days of “success first, significance later,” have ended. While none of the stages can be skipped, they can be shortened and accelerated. 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, actionable insights to be more awesome, more often.

Review

I read Quitter, I went to the Quitter Conference and now I’ve had the sincere pleasure of reading Start.

I enjoy Jon Acuff’s voice. He has an impeccable sense of humor. This man makes me laugh harder than anyone. He also makes me cry. He is wise, compassionate and brilliant.

I wish I can carry a miniature Jon Acuff on my shoulder every day. He is the greatest encourager and motivator out there.

He doesn’t share what he hasn’t gone through. He is transparent with his struggles and the mistakes he’s made. He writes what has helped him go from Point A to Point B. He is generous with advice and doesn’t hold anything back.

His passion is helping others reach their dreams without destroying their lives. How can you not love this guy?

Start is the kind of book you will want to keep reading and not put down. It is full of wisdom, humor, inspiration, encouragement and motivation.

Why settle for ordinary, when you can be awesome. Jon Acuff tells you how to do it in, Start.

I loved Quitter and Start even more.  I believe  you will too.

Jon Acuff used to be a Serial Quitter. He had eight jobs in eight years, constantly hoping the next one would be different. From writing advertising for The Home Depot to branding for companies like Bose and Staples, he’s no stranger to the cubicle.

In 2010, Jon closed the gap between his day job and his dream job when he joined the Dave Ramsey team to become a full-time author. He has contributed to CNN.com, speaks nationally on a variety of subjects, and is the author of three books: Quitter; Gazelles, Baby Steps And 37 Other Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Debt; and Stuff Christians Like.

He lives in Nashville, TN, with his wife and two daughters.

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When You’ve Lost Your Groove

By Ordinary Servant | Published August 8, 2013

I swore up and down, I would blog more often when  I committed to Jon Acuff’s Start Experiment. I took on the challenge and then lost my groove.

Courtesy of Creative Commons

Ugh! I hate when that happens, don’t you? You tell yourself you are going to do this or that, and then your enthusiasm dwindles down to nothing.

I can tell you what happened to me.

It’s called the perils of self-editing by thinking too much of you.

Yes, let me explain.

I would start by writing a blog post and then tell myself, oh no, my audience isn’t going to like this at all. Scratch that.

The next day, the same thing happens.

I convinced myself that the content wasn’t any good. What kind of person would I be if I allowed you to read something painstakingly awful?

I’m sorry, I couldn’t do that to you.

So… one day turned into two days, a week into two weeks and you get the picture.

No writing. No nada. Zilch.

Today I’m writing because like Stella, I want to get my groove back. Except in this case, it’s my writing groove.

So if this is awful, I’m sorry, but like Jeff Goins says, I have to practice [and fail] in front of an audience.

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This concept reminds me of when I was in professional acting school.

We had to practice and rehearse our scenes in front of a live audience.

It was torture.

Every day we would get up in front of everyone and practice whatever assignment was given by the instructor.

I remember one acting teacher in particular who would stare at me with her big, laser beam eyes. As if her eyes were piercing into my soul. I felt exposed and naked. It made me nervous.

She scared me. But as painful as the process was, I learned the most from this teacher.

I learned that by risking and getting critiqued, I was growing in my craft. I despised the process, but my art wound up better for it.

The same applies to writing. We have to take the risk and put ourselves out there. This is the only way we’ll learn and grow as writers. There is no other way.

Have you lost your groove? If so, what do you do to get your groove back?

 

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Does Anyone Else Want To Overcome Fear?

By Ordinary Servant | Published July 25, 2013

I don’t know what I was thinking when I accepted Jon Acuff’s Start challenge a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps I was delusional.

He invited over 2,000 people to participate and over 200 accepted. I was one of them.

Each morning I get an inspirational email from Jon Acuff. I start my day off on the right foot, only to wind up with fear… in my face.

Courtesy of PATRICK BOEHNER – Creative Commons

Fear is relentless.

It tells me I’m no good. It tells me I am not a writer. It tells me to give up.

Jon Acuff tells me to punch fear in the face.

So, fear and I start going at it first thing in the morning. I wind up losing time and time again.

Fear harasses me when I wake up then bullies me all day long.

Forget about when I want to write… fear hurls its ugly insults at me.

Fear is a bully.

Friends, I can’t seem to beat fear. I keep trying to confront this bully, but fear keeps winning every time.

I’m inflated one moment then deflated the next.

I honestly wish I can overcome fear and win for once, instead of allowing it to overpower my life.

Ironically, the minute I committed to the Start challenge, my whole world turned upside down.

I don’t want to bore you with the details, but when I tell you this year has been full of changes, it’s an understatement.

They say change is good, but too many changes at one time is not. At least, not for me.

Fear is a torment, it stops my dreams and prevents me from doing anything worthwhile in my life.

Does anyone else want to overcome fear besides me?

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Guest Post: Did You Miss The Boat?

By Ordinary Servant | Published October 8, 2012

I wrote a guest post today for my friend Tammy Helfrich, who is enjoying a much deserved vacation right now. I met Tammy on line and then in person at the Quitter Conference a couple of weeks ago. We developed a quick friendship, she is one of the nicest people I know. I’m so blessed to have connected with her and become her friend.

I had the pleasure of attending my first Quitter Conference last week. I admit, I didn’t have high expectations. I actually went to meet all of my new Quitter friends.

I had become a cynic with regards to dreams.

I remember years ago when I first met my husband, he started telling me about his dreams. I would scoff at him. I would tell him things like, “Oh come on, give me a break, dreams are for kids,” or “Dreams are not for grown ups.”

Through the years, as I “matured”, my dreams began taking the back seat. I would hear someone talking about their dreams and I would think to myself, “Oh boy, here’s another ‘rainbow in the sky’ person.” I would politely smile as I listened to their banter on ‘dreams’.

Then I met these Quitter dreamers on line.  I started to watch and observe them interact with each other. I loved how they were supportive of each other’s dreams. I liked them because they were all positive and encouraging people.

To read the rest, please click here.

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Reborn Dreamer

By Ordinary Servant | Published September 26, 2012

This is Jon Acuff. He was kind enough to pray for me while I was dying of laughter. I was laughing so hard they were going to have to carry me out on a stretcher. I kid you not.

Anyone who can make me laugh and cry in one sentence is seriously gifted. I tried to hold back (as I was sitting in the front row) but to no avail. I couldn’t help myself. I do not remember laughing and crying so much in a long time. My stomach still hurts days later from attending the Quitter Conference.

I believe the Lord wanted me at this conference. I had all the excuses in the book not to go, but yet and still, I felt the nudge of God telling me to go. The week leading up to the conference all hell broke loose. I can see why now, I was blessed beyond measure.

I have to be honest and admit that initially I did not have high expectations. I was even wondering if I was wasting my time and money by going. Also, leaving my family behind was definitely not my comfort zone. My boys were not feeling my leaving them.

As as matter of fact, my eldest son told me to never to do that again. He said next time I have to take him with me so he can make sure I am ok. I guess next time we’ll have to make it a family vacation.

Initially, I thought the Quitter Conference was just a lot of hype. But I was so wrong. This conference was unlike any other conference I have been to in my entire life. I am not exaggerating.

I can see why everyone makes a big deal about Jon Acuff. He is such an authentic, down to earth and great guy. I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with him a couple of times at the conference.

Let’s just say this conference made me believe in my dreams again. Hello world, my name is Pilar and I am a reborn dreamer.

Besides hearing Jon Acuff, I also got to hear wonderful speakers such as Al Andrews, Matt Chambers, Jeff Goins and Alli Worthington. What an amazing line up.

Last but not least, the absolute treat of this conference was listening to Jon Acuff’s favorite band, Seryn. They are now my favorite band. I want everyone to know about Seryn because I had a spiritual experience listening to them. I have never felt so much joy listening to a band in my life.

I have been a lover of music my entire life. I am also a singer, so I have been exposed and my ear trained to know good music. This band is simply amazing. You must see them live to get the full effect. Each band member knows how to play several instruments extremely well. They are virtuosos.

Seryn’s lead singer Trenton Wheeler (isn’t that a cool name), absolutely poured himself out. He is an exceptionally talented artist. His voice is unique, his sense of rhythm impeccable and his gift of playing several instruments is out of this world.

I guarantee you if you see them play live, you will be mesmerized and left in a trance. Since hearing them, all I’ve been doing is talking about them. I am hoping they will come play in New York City.

Thanks to my dear Quitter friends, Jon Acuff and the Quitter Conference, I am a reborn dreamer. I have renewed hope to pursue my passions and dreams. I was able to reconnect with my deep love of music and singing by going to this conference. I am not too old and I haven’t missed the boat either. I am right where God wants me. So I am no longer dreading turning 46 in two weeks.

If there is one thing I took away from this conference is our dreams are not ours, but for others. I was deeply moved and inspired by this concept and it helped change my view of dreams.

In conclusion, I want to share a link of one of my favorite songs by Seryn. If you like their music, I encourage you to buy their latest CD on ITunes. You won’t be disappointed.

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