“Awesome is available like never before”
Someone, somewhere in our lives told us we were not allowed to be awesome, whatever that looks like for you. It wasn’t okay to pursue our dream of being a dancer, writer or actor. Until now.
The book is not about quitting your job to go pursue a dream. It is about pursuing your dream at your job, with your family and friends in mind. Jon Acuff gives a very detailed analysis including some great action steps what you need to do to START being awesome now. So many books are generic when it comes to this, but Acuff gives you specific guideposts to implement.
“If you want to start a coffeehouse but have never worked at one in you entire life, you need to work at Starbucks first. Maybe you will come to hate coffee. Maybe you’ll get sick of retail hours. Maybe opening a store at 4:30 a.m. every morning will be a nightmare by month two. I’d rather you find that out in you part-time job than you full-time dream”
He is not casual about being awesome. It is a very serious business. As author
Twyla Tharp says, “Mozart was hardly some naïve prodigy who sat down at a keyboard and, with God whispering in his ears, let the music flow from his fingertips. It’s a nice image for selling tickets to movies, but whether or not God has kissed your brow, you still have to work. Without learning and preparation, you won’t know how to harness the power of that kiss.”
The biggest surprise of the book for me was how Jon talks about how we can all be more awesome human beings by listening to other people or engaging other people. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the day to day minutiae that we miss out on truly incredible experience it is to know about another human being. All it takes is a sincere question,
How are you, and a genuine desire to know, not just wait for our turn to talk.
So what does all this mean to you, dear reader?
You need to read this book. If you are 20 or 60, or anything in between, this book will teach you to punch fear in the face and go from average to awesome.
You just have to START!
Haston Helping Hands 
I too was, maybe not surprised, but impressed with Jon’s emphasis on “asking one question.” That is a lost or not often used skill in today’s fast paced world — listening. Yet it is required for communication and learning. Great review!
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I put the asking one more question into practice today with my students. I really feel like I made more deep connections with them!
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“The biggest surprise of the book for me was how Jon talks about how we can all be more awesome human beings by listening to other people or engaging other people.”
Very powerful and immediately applicable insight, Jennifer. Thank you for sharing.
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