Start Book Summary - Start Book explained in key points
Listen to the Intro
00:00

Start summary

Jon Acuff

Punch Fear In the Face, Escape Average, Do Work That Matters

4.3 (37 ratings)
17 mins
Topics
Table of Contents

    Start
    Summary of 8 key ideas

    Audio & text in the Blinkist app
    Key idea 1 of 8

    Escape the average and become awesome by punching your fear in the face.

    Do you dream of escaping the average? Do you want to become awesome and exceptional, but don’t know where to start?

    Here’s a tip: If you want to become awesome, you have to punch fear in the face.

    Fear can alienate you from your dreams. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t let it, but to beat fear, you have to understand how it works. Fear prevents you from chasing your dreams by convincing you that they’re impractical or unattainable.

    But don’t buy into that kind of defeatist thinking. Instead, write down your fears and then exaggerate them ridiculously, to show yourself how silly those fears actually are.

    For example, if you’re afraid that starting a new project will cause you to lose your job and stay unemployed, write that down. And then let yourself go farther. Imagine you’ll end up on the street with a scraggly beard, sleeping on top of garbage bags and talking to stray cats.

    Does that seem likely? Probably not, which is why you need to write it down. That way you can see how illogical your fears really are, and thus prevent them from controlling you.

    Luckily, there’s one more effective way to deal with fear’s mind games: Just start doing whatever you’re scared of.

    You have no control over the eventual result, but that won’t ever change. You’ll never know how things will end up, but at least you can control the outset. If you want to do something, do it!

    For example, consider the Segway. When it was first introduced, people thought it might spark a transportation revolution. And yet, since its launch the Segway hasn’t been such a great success.

    Still, the Segway people deserve respect. They risked failure and pursued their awesome dream of developing weird, two-wheeled electric transporters.

    Want to see all full key ideas from Start?

    Key ideas in Start

    More knowledge in less time
    Read or listen
    Read or listen
    Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
    Find your next read
    Find your next read
    Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
    Shortcasts
    Shortcasts New
    We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

    What is Start about?

    Are you ready to escape the average and become awesome? Do you want to overcome your fears and follow your dreams? What does it mean to live a purposeful life and do work that matters? Ultimately, the most important step in achieving any great goal to START.

    Best quote from Start

    If taking the first step on the road to awesome were easy, then everybody would already be on it.

    —Jon Acuff
    example alt text

    Who should read Start?

    • Anyone who is tired of being average and wants to be awesome
    • Anyone who has a great dream but is crippled by fear of the first step
    • Anyone who has put off acting on an idea time and time again

    About the Author

    Jon Acuff is a New York Times bestselling author who writes about how people can overcome their fears and follow their dreams.

    Categories with Start

    Books like Start

    People ❤️ Blinkist
    Sven O.

    It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

    Thi Viet Quynh N.

    Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

    Jonathan A.

    Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

    Renee D.

    Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

    People also liked

    Start growing with Blinkist now
    28 Million
    Downloads on all platforms
    4.7 Stars
    Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
    91%
    Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
    *Based on survey data from Blinkist customers
    Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

    Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

    Start your free trial