Customer Reviews

Quitter

5 star:		(141)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I feel like a jerk telling you to read this book. I loved reading it but hated the implications. Jon Acuff cuts right through all the crappy excuses that we put between us and our dreams. This book haunts me a month after I finished it. I can't fritter away time on the internet anymore with a clear conscience. I wake up earlier so I can take time to write and focus my thoughts for the day. I find myself trying harder and doing more work at work. It sucks. I miss my life as a slacker.

Acuff writes from his own experiences not in a show off way but in a clever way that gives him credibility. I laughed and cried a little, but in a cool way, not an overly emotional wreck kind of way. Acuff is ridiculously likable which is probably best for him because if I didn't like him, I might try to kick him in the shins for suggesting that a work ethic in your current job will help you prepare for your future dream job.

If you're taking time to read this review, you obviously have time to read something more substantial like a book. Go ahead and buy Quitter. Read it yourself. Give it to your whiny friends who can't figure out why they're not living their dreams. Call your brother or sister and read it to them over the phone. Give it to your kid in the basement who thinks it's normal to live with parents 10 years after graduating from college. You could also do what I did and give this book away with a break up note to your boyfriend, gently implying the relationship is doomed because he won't put away the X Box and become a grownup. So yeah, buy Quitter once, buy it twice, buy an entire case of books. I know you know people who should read it. My guess is you might be one of them, too.

I received an advanced copy of this book and blew through it in a weekend. It was fantastic.

The reason? Jon delivers a ton of wisdom in a very compelling voice.

Why is his voice compelling? Because he's "been there, done that". He's taken the path from his day job to his dream job. He's made the tough decisions, fought through the mistakes, and lived to tell about it.

Why else is his voice compelling? Because he's hilarious. It's so much easier to digest the wisdom Jon brings when it's broken up with absurd pop culture references and great anecdotes from his own life.

Why do I keep talking in questions? Who knows.

But here's the bottom line: If you're looking for an honest account of what it's like to make the transition from your day job to your dream job, this book is for you. Jon won't sugarcoat the journey or convince you that it's worth making stupid decisions now that you'll pay for later. He stays grounded in reality while inspiring you to truly connect with the things you're passionate about, and he gives you hope and a plan for getting there yourself.

Can't recommend it enough.

The new book by the national bestseller and creator of the blog Stuff Christians Like, Jonathan Acuff will be on sale starting May 10th. The book is called "Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job & Your Dream Job." I was honored to be one of just a few people to get a chance to read an advance copy of the book. Today I would like to give you my review of the book.

Quitter is the story of how Jonathan Acuff was able to turn his dream job into his day job. Jonathan was working for Auto Trader as a tech writer, but what he wanted to be was a book author. Jonathan talks about some on the struggles of realizing his dream job without destroying his life. The book encourages people to find ways to reach their goals and look for unique ways to do what they love. The two ideas that I found the most helpful were "Removing the `I'm' from Your `But'" and "Falling in Like with a Job You don't Love."

Jonathan found that when he was talking to people about what they did for a living or for life they would say, "I'm a ____, but I want to be ______. I know for me that I've said at times that I'm only doing this job, until I can get a real job. And in some of my jobs I've thought were dream jobs, turned out to be nightmares. This book has helped me look at my career, my profession, and my dreams in new ways. And the chapter on falling in like with your job has encouraged me to see my job and career as a tool to my dreams.

I think this book is great for those who just feel they are spinning their wheels in their job. It can be an encouragement to spouses who want to support their loved ones with their dreams. And it is a fun read about how someone worked hard to reach their dreams. I encourage you to give it a read.

I feel like I know Jon Acuff better after reading this book, but feel no closer to closing the gap between my dream job and my day job. Insights, but nothing revelatory. As someone who has considered alternatives to my day job for longer than a few hours, each of the ideas presented in this book has already crossed my mind. I also felt like the book was geared toward someone whose "dream" was similar to Jon's -- blogging, writing, creating a brand. If that's not what you dream of doing, I'd find another book to read.

My wife preordered this book for me after hearing about it on Dave Ramsey's radio show. It is everything promised and more. In Quitter, Jon describes the hustle, the intensity and the character it took for him to go from his day job to his dream job. And he did it without getting divorced, without getting totally burned out and without making his day job employers despise him. Quite a feat. I highly recommend this book to the millions who dream of a different position/life path (and want to keep their family and sanity too).

I received an advanced copy of Quitter and was able to read through it in an evening. The book is an easy read, but by no means contains simple ideas.

Quitter features Acuff's typical wit as he encourages you to slowly and securely embrace your dreams. Combining personal examples with foundational principals, Acuff outlines a self-directed method from getting from point A (your current reality) to point B (your dream scenario).

Note: Acuff isn't advocating a self-help plan of sequential steps to achieve anything you want in life. This book contains a heavy dose of reality, with an equally heavy dose of fun, as you grapple with the "I wish I could's".

I would definitely recommend this as a graduation gift (high school or college), but it works equally well for the individual who looks up, 10 years into a career, and wonders how the heck he/she ended up "here."

I received this book as a gift by a friend who I believe thought I was a little to "gung-ho" about quitting my day job after reading 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller. The book was a good, quick read, but I felt it lacked true substance to help bridge that gap he talks about. There are some good general anecdotes from his life that can be loosely applied, but I finished the book thinking, "OK, now what?" If you're looking for a loose framework, it might work for you. If you're looking for a fun read that might motivate you, it will work for you. However, I feel like some of the points made were a little too specific to the authors situation and not broadly applicable. It's not a bad book, by any means. I just guess I was expecting something of normal "Dave Ramsey caliber". The stories are good, but nothing really helps you start taking steps to bridging that gap in a real-time way.

I loved this book!

If you're looking for a responsible way to chase your dream job, then this book is for you.

This isn't a fluffy "follow your heart and you'll win the lottery someday" book. This is about hard work done right.

I finished Jon Acuff's new book, Quitter, on Sunday. It was a great, quick read full of wit and wisdom on closing the gap between your day job and your dream job. The book does a great job of looking behind the curtain at a years long process of building a dream job.

In the face of all the leap-and-the-net-will-appear, zen philosophy of pursuing your dream, Acuff's advice is to "fall in like" with a job you do not necessarily love so that it becomes a launch pad for your dream job. He encourages his readers to stay put in the day job, pointing out how much more easily a dream can flourish when there is money in the bank, food on the table and no creditors on the phone.

He also spends a good bit of time talking about the role of family in chasing a dream. He is completely transparent with his missteps and failings along the way, examining times when he pitted his dream against his family and left everyone in a lose-lose situation.

Finally, he does not hide the fact that dreaming is hard. It requires hustle, patience and determination. He is not sharing shortcuts and three step guides to success. Rather, the book is full of encouragement and advice that is both authentic and accessible.

Quitter is another great read from Jon Acuff. If you've ever wondering how to get from cubicle hell to your possible dream job, give this a read. Jon has been there...and now he is living the dream!