This week's book: "Start" by Jon Acuff.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
Wayne Gretzky
It's Saturday, so let's pull the week together.
This week was about a very small, but sometimes very hard word: start. Acuff's argument is that the gap between the life you have and the one you want usually comes down to a single decision to begin, before you feel ready, before you have a map, before fear gets you.
Here's the week in a few lines. We began with the honest truth that no matter where you are today, you don't have to stay there, and that beginning means taking an honest assessment of where you are, deciding where you want to go, and expecting the hard parts so they don't surprise you into quitting. Then we looked at the two voices that can stop us before we start: entitlement, which says we deserve the reward before doing the work, and fear, which says don't risk it. I told you fear wins its share with me, and that I've learned to read it as a necessary sign to keep going rather than a stop sign. And we ended up with mastering, the reminder that starting isn't enough. You have to stick with it long enough to be exceptional.
Here's one more idea from the book worth carrying with you. Acuff has a concept he calls critic's math. It goes like this: one insult plus a thousand compliments equals one insult. That's how most of our brains do the arithmetic. A single piece of criticism drowns out a roomful (or a whole stadium full in one of his examples) of encouragement, if we let it. He tells it funny, but the point is serious: the critics, including the loudest one who lives inside your own head, will always be there. Don't let their math become yours.
My honest take on the book: it's encouraging without being empty, and Acuff is genuinely funny, which makes it an easy read. The audiobook is also awesome and he is the narrator. It's light on deep research and some of it is common sense dressed up well, but sometimes common sense delivered at the right moment is exactly what gets you off the couch. If you've got something you've been meaning to begin, this one is a great read, or listen and might be the push you need.
If you take one thing from the whole week, make it this: you will miss every shot you never take. The work of starting is hard, the fear is real, and the critics are loud. Take the shot anyway.
One challenge for the week ahead
Pick the one thing you've been putting off longest. Not the whole thing, just the very first step, the smallest action that counts as beginning. Do it this week. Take the shot.
What's the shot you've been afraid to take? Hit reply, I read every one.
I'll go first: mine was this newsletter. I planned it in my head for about 4 years (yep, that’s right) before I ever sent one. Every week I hit send is me taking the shot again and again.
Next week
We're reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki, one of the best-known personal finance books ever written, and one I've got real thoughts about, the good and the parts I'd be careful with. As a former trader and wealth advisor, this is squarely in my old world, so I'm looking forward to giving you an honest, been-there take. If you'd like to read along, this weekend's a good time to grab a copy, and the Kindle version is instant.
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I'll be back Monday,
Mike
Practical wisdom for the life you're building