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Action always beats intention.

A dream you don’t have to fight for isn’t a dream—it’s a nap. One changes your afternoon. The other changes your world. Keep fighting.

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The terrifying reason you’re so busy.

Leadership October 31, 2011 • Comments

A few weeks ago, I had to get some vaccinations for a trip I’m taking. When I was at the “Shots, etc.” office I noticed two interesting signs. One was for B12 shots and the other was for an energy shot. The B12 shot promised more energy and, surprisingly enough, so did the energy shot, which you could apparently get every week for a boost.

I’m not scared of shots, but I hope that unless there’s something medically wrong with me, I’m never so tired and busy that I pay someone to give me a weekly energy shot.

But why are we so busy? Why are we really so tired?

There are a million reasons, but I found one that scared me more than the polio shot I got.

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The biggest lie that keeps you from dreaming.

Creativity/ Quitter October 28, 2011 • Comments

Chances are, you and I have never met. Maybe for a second at a tweetup or in the lobby of the Dave Ramsey building, but we haven’t had coffee. Or taken a long walk to talk about what we’re working on in our lives. Or built a tree house together.

But, despite that, I promise I know the biggest lie that keeps you from dreaming. I know which lie gets loud when you get quiet and the idea of chasing a dream pops into your head.

Want to know what it is?

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What Lil’ Wayne and Mumford & Sons have in common.

Leadership/ Quitter October 21, 2011 • Comments

When you see someone successful–in music, business, family, relationships or any other facet of life–it’s easy to assume they’ve got a secret to their success. Some complicated, detailed formula that got them where they are.

But, the truth is, the secret of success is rarely a secret, and it’s usually really simple.

Or at least it was for Lil’ Wayne and Mumford & Sons.

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Let’s have breakfast together.

Quitter October 19, 2011 • Comments

I love the vast communication tools that the Internet has made possible. Blogging, twitter, Facebook, Skype, I want to slow dance with all of them to Bobby Brown’s “Tender Roni.” I’m a fan, but there’s something to be said about the joy of sitting across the table from someone and just having breakfast. Face to face, real time, conversation.

And that’s what I want to do.

I’d love to grab breakfast with you in the Nashville area. I have a new idea I want to run by you. I’d also love to hear your ideas about the things you’re working on right now to see if there’s anyway me or any of the other people who come to breakfast can help you with.

So here is what I’m suggesting:

Email me with “breakfast” as the subject line and tell me your Quitter story in less than 150 words. (e.g. “I’m a customer call center rep, but want to start my own business. Here are a few of the obstacles I feel like I’m up against _______.” You can read the first chapter of my book Quitter for free right here for further background.)

I’ll pick a handful of folks to grab breakfast and then we’ll go do it. I’ll add you to the jonacuff.com email list and send you the details of the time and location. It will probably be from 6:45-7:45AM some weekday morning.

We’ll limit it to a small group so that we can actually talk and interact during the hour. We’ll just hang out, encourage each other, and share some things we’ve learned along the way.

I remember feeling kind of isolated when I was working on trying to chase my dream. It was hard for me to find other folks who were doing the same sort of hustle. (They were definitely there, but how do you find a group of 10 or 12 people who are living the “I’m a _________, but want to be a _________” kind of dream? You can’t just google it.)

That’s it. I have one idea I want to ask you about and one challenge that I want both of us to think about doing. Super simple. Super easy. Hopefully, super fun.

If you’re up for grabbing breakfast with me, email me with “breakfast” in the subject line. And this isn’t some 50 breakfast commitment I’m asking you to make. I’m talking about one breakfast.

Unfortunately, due to the realities of time, I won’t be able to have breakfast with everyone. I’m a terrible over promiser, which isn’t even a word, but I honestly think grabbing breakfast with a group of folks and encouraging them is completely possible/awesome.

Thanks

Jon

Why you should never punch a shuttle bus.

Leadership October 19, 2011 • Comments

Anger makes you blind and sometimes it even makes your hand hurt. I learned that lesson a few nights ago.

When I fly out of Nashville, I leave my car at a place called “Parking Spot.” It’s fast, easy and surprisingly inexpensive. You leave your car in their garage, and they take you to the airport in a shuttle bus. But they also have some town cars and even a few limos, so occasionally you get to roll up to the airport like you’re Diddy.

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Every dream needs a soundtrack.

Quitter/ Resources October 17, 2011 • Comments

Last year, every morning before I went into my day job, I would sit in the dark in the parking lot listening to a few songs.

Why?

Because every dream needs a soundtrack.

Every dream needs some musical encouragement along the way. We all need a theme song that, like Rocky, keeps us secretly believing we do indeed have the eye of the tiger.

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