02 May #OC16 – Monday’s Coming – Breakout with Jon Acuff

I love listening to Jon Acuff. He has this uncanny way of using humor to teach me, inspire me, and challenge me! I take every opportunity I can to learn from him, so of course I signed up for his breakout on Day 2 of OC 16. This particular breakout was about goal setting, but it encompassed way more than how to set goals. The focus of his message was how we can be deliberate about reaching the goals we set. Specifically, how not to quit on your goals and make them last past the 3rd week of January (can you say New Year’s Resolutions?).

Now That’s Quotable AND Tweetable!

Not only does Jon Acuff make me laugh, but he also packs a powerful punch with his words. So much of his teaching is done through these awesome one-liners that are memorable, quotable, and funny! The context of each statement below is explained in the second half of this post. However, there is a ton of wisdom in each of these statements in isolation, so I pulled them out of context and listed them below. Hopefully, you’ll read the entire post, but if not – let these serve as some quick inspiration!

  • You were meant to do more than float!
  • Dream big but goal small.
  • Stepping out in faith does not mean stepping out in stupidity.
  • Failure is neon. Progress is invisible.
  • Later goals turn into never goals.
  • You can learn from experience but it doesn’t always have to be yours. Borrow someone else’s diploma.
  • We’ve always had the issue of the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but now with the internet, we have access to 10,000 backyards.
  • Comparison leads to arrogance or shame but never happiness.
  • Make war with distractions. Make peace with commitments.
  • Our mouths tell hope, our calendars tell truth.
  • If you create anything, you will get criticized. That’s the ticket price for awesome.
  • Leaders who can’t be questioned – end up doing questionable things.
  • You don’t get better if you confuse feedback with hate.
  • Queso is like hot melted manna.

I don’t know how helpful that last one is, but I thought it was hysterical.

Crushing Your Goals

If you want to CRUSH all of the goals you set, you need to ask the following questions:

WHAT IS YOUR GOAL?

  • Pick the right goals.
  • Great question to ask here – could the goal be smaller?
  • Dream Big but Goal Small
  • Stepping out in faith does not mean stepping out in stupidity. God called us to live in faith and in wisdom… they are not mutually exclusive!
  • Stop trying to pick a perfect goal – just pick one and perfect it as you go

 

WHY ARE YOU DOING IT?

  • The enemy loves to make you feel like your gifts aren’t the right ones and you need new ones.
  • If you choose goals that are not within your gift set, they will not be authentic and you are setting yourself up for failure.
  • You have to choose goals that are true and authentic to who you are. Ask yourself, WHY are you doing this?

 

WHICH PARTS WILL YOU MEASURE?

  • If you don’t know the score, you’ll never get better.
  • Failure is neon, progress is invisible.
  • Progress you don’t measure doesn’t exist.

 

WHEN WILL YOU HUSTLE ON IT?

  • Later goals turn into never goals.
  • Create time and space to work on your goal.
  • Then get out the calendar and write down when you will work on it.

 

WHERE WILL YOU HUSTLE ON IT?

  • Don’t just write down when you’ll work on your goals.
  • Choose a place and be intentional about where you will complete the goal.

 

HOW WILL YOU HUSTLE ON IT?

  • What steps will you take to make it happen? List them out.
  • Make a plan. How will you do this?
  • Team up with the right people. Find people in the same trenches!
  • Learn from people who are ahead of you and behind you.
  • You can learn from experience but it doesn’t always have to be yours. Borrow someone else’s diploma.

 

IGNORE THE RIGHT THINGS

  • Ignore comparison – we’ve always had the issue of the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but now with the internet, we have access to 10,000 backyards. Comparison leads to arrogance or shame but never happiness.
  • Ignore perfection – Ministry is never perfect, it’s always messy. If you think it needs to be perfect – you’re in the wrong profession. We give up because of perfection.
  • Ignore distractions – Make war with distractions. Make peace with commitments. We confuse a commitment with a distraction. Look at your calendar and categorize what is a commitment and what was a distraction – Our mouths tell hope, our calendars tell truth.
  • Ignore (most) criticism – If you create anything, you will get criticized. That’s the ticket price for awesome. You can’t label all criticism as hate. You don’t get better if you confuse feedback with hate. Leaders who can’t be questioned – end up doing questionable things.