What is the main message of Finish?

The main message of Finish is to overcome perfectionism and complete goals.

Who is the author of Finish?

Jon Acuff is the author of Finish.

Personal Development

Finish Book Summary - Finish Book explained in key points

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Finish summary

Name: Finish
Rating: 4.4 (266 reviews)
Author: Jon Acuff

Jon Acuff

Give Yourself the Gift of Done

4.4 (266 ratings)

14 mins

Brief summary

Finish by Jon Acuff is a practical guide for those who struggle with completion. Acuff debunks common myths about perfectionism, provides strategies for overcoming obstacles, and offers advice for achieving our goals with consistency and joy.

Topics

Goals Confidence Focus Effectiveness

Table of Contents

Finish
Summary of 6 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 6

What’s in it for me? Push through your mental roadblocks and finally get things done.

So you’ve written up 80 percent of your monthly report at work. Or you’re ten weeks into your new three-month fitness program. But you just. Can’t. Finish.

Are you lazy? Incompetent? Simply doomed? No. You just haven’t identified your true enemy yet: perfectionism.

And that’s where these blinks come in. Here, you will learn all about perfectionism, how it stunts your progress and how you can push back against it to finally finish those long-overdue projects and bring your dreams that much closer to reality.

You’ll also learn

why perfectionism is like the cuckoo bird;
how fear can make things fun;
and why you should sometimes choose to be bad at stuff.

Nothing in life is perfect, and the real work of finishing a project begins after the first sign of imperfection.

We’ve all been there: you start an exciting new project, but somewhere along the line, it stalls and remains unfinished. Our excuses are always the same, as we’ll tell ourselves or others that “life just got in the way,” or “I was never able to get back on track.”

But if we’re being truthful, a more accurate explanation is “I quit once it stopped being perfect,” because the real roadblock to finishing our projects is perfectionism.

Any plan can be ruined by perfectionism. Once, the author, Jon Acuff, began a new year with an ambitious new exercise regime. It started off perfectly, with over 70 miles run in the months of February, March and April. But then came May, and he only completed eight miles, followed by June, with only three. With his excellent streak ruined, Acuff gave up.

Acuff had the same thought a lot of us have: “If it’s not perfect, then it’s not worth doing.” But this is dangerous thinking, because nothing in life is perfect and no one should go around thinking everything will go their way. If we limit ourselves to perfect work, we’d never accomplish anything!

Instead, it’s best to expect imperfection and understand that when it arrives, the real work begins.

It’s normal for imperfection to arrive first thing on Monday morning. Before you even sit down at your desk, there may well be multiple problems that need fixing. How you deal with these imperfections, and how you proceed once they arrive, is what determines your success in meeting goals.

In fact, it’s the actions on the day after something went wrong that separate the quitters from the achievers. Did you skip the gym and sleep in instead? Did your diet go out the window after you devoured a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts one afternoon?

The day after imperfections like these are when you need to accept that life is messy, and push on with your goals. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that excellence can only be achieved through perfection when, in reality, perfectionism is the killer of excellence.

Avoid being overambitious, and increase your likelihood of finishing by cutting goals in half.

Perfectionism isn’t the only roadblock to finishing; we also make things difficult by creating overly ambitious goals.

When Jon Acuff was a college freshman, he dreamed of being a field-goal kicker for his college football team – this despite the fact that he was short, out of shape and had never kicked a field goal in his life. So it’s no surprise that Acuff failed to turn this dream into a reality.

Reduce pressure by letting yourself be bad at some things.

No one enjoys producing bad work, but sometimes letting yourself be lousy at one thing allows you to finish more important work.

In the author’s case it was his front yard, which was an unruly, overgrown mess that was being taken over by weeds. He could have taken on the chore of cleaning it up and making it look good, but it would have required a lot of time and effort, two things he needed to reserve for his kids.

You’ll get more done when it’s fun.

When you think of the word “goal,” do you associate it with enjoyment? Or do words like, “pain,” “discipline” and “grind” sound more appropriate?

You would certainly be better off enjoying the work you do, since you’re more likely to achieve your goals if they involve something you like doing.

Identify your own perfectionist rules and find your true motivations.

Are you familiar with the deceptive tricks of the cuckoo bird? It’s a unique bird in that it manages to lay its eggs in the nests of other species, tricking the other birds into feeding and raising its young. This is very similar to the deception that perfectionism plays as it nests in our minds and tricks us into thinking things that aren’t true.

One of the biggest lies related to perfectionism is that perfection is attainable if we follow certain rules.

Avoid last-minute pitfalls that play into your fear of failure.

Let’s say you’ve begun work on a new project and you’ve done everything right so far. You’re doing something you enjoy and find satisfying, you’ve accepted the imperfections, you’ve cut your goals in half and have overcome your perfectionist rules.

If you’ve gotten this far, you might think it’s smooth sailing from here, right? Not so fast. Perfectionism will strike once more, on the day before done.

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What is Finish about?

Finish (2017) is a guidebook for anyone who loves starting new projects but always struggles to complete them. You’ll discover how the real enemy to getting things done isn’t laziness, but rather the voice of the disgruntled perfectionist we all have inside us. This valuable advice can help you reduce needless, self-imposed pressure, giving you the opportunity to finish what you’ve started and be more productive.

Finish Review

Finish (2017) by Jon Acuff is a motivating book that explores strategies to overcome procrastination and finish what you start. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It provides practical, actionable techniques to help readers move past perfectionism and achieve their goals.
Through real-life stories and relatable examples, the book offers insights and strategies that are both informative and inspiring.
The book's humorous tone and relatable anecdotes make it a captivating read, ensuring that it is anything but boring.

Best quote from Finish

Developing tolerance for imperfection is the key factor in turning chronic starters into consistent finishers.

—Jon Acuff

Who should read Finish?

Creative types struggling to finish projects
Anyone who wants to build their self-esteem
Ambitious people looking for new avenues of self-improvement

About the Author

Jon Acuff began his current career with a popular blog and has become a sought-after public speaker who’s inspired many to live a happier, more productive life. He is also the creator of “30 Days of Hustle,” an online challenge to help people reach their goals. His other books include the New York Times best sellers, Start, Do Over and Quitter.

Categories with Finish

Personal Development Productivity

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