0 (2s):
Who's ready to rock today, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire.

HubSpot Podcast Network (7s):
Brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with great shows like Inclusion and Marketing.

0 (15s):
Today we're pulling a classic episode from the archives and we'll be breaking down how to turn overthinking from a super problem into a superpower. To drop these value bombs, I brought to Jon Acuff into EOFire Studios. John is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books and an INC Magazine Top 100 Leadership speaker. And today Fire Nation, I will talk about how every new level you go to, there is a new fear, deal with it then go on to the next level. Do what you want to do. Do not allow extra thoughts to slow you down, Fire Nation and so much more. And a big thank you for

The Sales Evangelist (44s):
Sponsoring today's episode goes to John and our sponsors Sales Evangelist hosted by my friend Donald Kelly is Brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Each week Donald interviews the world's best sales experts, successful sellers, sales leaders and entrepreneurs who share their strategies to succeed in sales. Right now a recent episode you should definitely check out is The Five Ways to Do Daily Outbound with LinkedIn. Listen to sales evangelist wherever you get your podcasts.

0 (1m 13s):
Hostinger is among the top web hosting and website creation brands in the world. See for yourself. Head to Hostinger.com/ONFIRE and use code ONFIRE for an exclusive 10% discount. That's Hostinger.com/ONFIRE . Enter the code ONFIRE. John say What's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with.

1 (1m 41s):
I am thrilled to be back again. This is my favorite conversation that we get to have. I think most people think you can become fearless and you must become fearless in order to be successful. And my idea is no Fear gets a voice, it doesn't get a vote. So when I spoke to 10 people the first time I had 10 person fear, but then I did it and I got over it then a hundred people, I had a hundred person fear a thousand people. I think that at Every new level you go to, there's new fear and you deal with it and then you grow to the next level. So I don't think you wait until you become fearless to do the thing. I think you'll always have some degree fear will be present, it has a voice, it doesn't get a vote, it doesn't get to sit at the table and decide whether or not you do the thing.

0 (2m 20s):
Fear has a voice, not a vote. And Fire Nation. Honestly, this is one of the problems I have when I interviewed John as I'm too busy taking notes and typing away here and you know, then I have to rush back and like have the next part of the conversation. 'cause I learn so much, so many big takeaways that by the way John, when I repeat them down the line, I give you credit for them the first two times, but then I own them. Is that okay?

1 (2m 42s):
Yeah, that is rare that I get the first two times. Most people go, you can just say Abe Lincoln or Rick Ross, just whatever the internet doesn't fact check.

0 (2m 49s):
I love it. So good. So listen, Fire Nation, as I mentioned in the introduction, we're gonna be talking all about how to turn Overthinking from a super problem into a super power. And Jon Acuff is gonna drop these Value Bombs. So John, let's just dive into the first part of our conversation is what specifically percent of people overthink?

1 (3m 10s):
So the PhD who helps me with my research, his name's Mike Peasley. He and I asked 10,000 people if they struggle with Overthinking and 99.5% of people said yes. And it's, it's really interesting because most people think they're the only ones, but actually everybody does it. and we did this survey before 2020. I mean, you talk about a year that was catnip for Overthinking 2020 had everyone Overthinking. So it's a really common issue. And as an author, when you find something that 99.5% of people raise their hand for you, you write that book. I mean you talk a lot about serving need and adding value in what you do. There's a place for me to add value.

0 (3m 50s):
I mean, I can tell you Kate, my fiance, she is a perfect example of an overthinker. I mean she's an amazing human being, but she overthinks everything. We always talk about it like she gets sometimes paralyzed with thinking and Overthinking because it just, it just, she doesn't know what to do with it. She's just like, okay, I'm just thinking, I gotta think of all the possible scenarios. I know there's 4 billion possible scenarios, but I gotta think about every single one of them. If this outcome happens, what happens? I think I might be in that 0.5%, John, I might be in that 0.5% of people who do not overthink. And sometimes by the way, like it's to my detriments. I mean I am a big believer in that ask for forgiveness, not permission type of thing.

0 (4m 30s):
And, and I've gotten into some hot water more than one time. So what would you say to me the person, the 0.5%?

1 (4m 37s):
Well my wife is in the same 0.5%. So I, I'm very, you know, we've been married for 20 years and so sometimes it's like we speak a foreign language. So what I'd say to you in the 0.5 is one of the greatest gifts you can give your fiance is the gift of empathy. Ooh. And empathy is defined with two things. Understanding what someone needs and acting on it. It's two parts. Like, and that, whether that's business, whether that's personal relationships. So if you, if you're not somebody who overthinks, give somebody who does overthink empathy, understand what they need and act on it so that they don't feel like they're giving you 10,000 thoughts and you go, no, you should only have two. 'cause that's where you end up speaking different languages and missing each other.

0 (5m 14s):
I think I kinda like your wife, I mean in our pre-interview chat you told me how she's amazing when it comes to all home construction and repair. Now she's like not an overthinker. I mean there's a lot of good things. I can see what you saw on her, John, very, very good stuff. She

1 (5m 27s):
Said to me the other day, she said, I think in three years you're gonna wish you had a time machine that you could use to travel back to these days right now that you're missing. And I was like,

0 (5m 37s):
Oof. Yeah.

1 (5m 37s):
So she drops what I call elegant grenades. And what she meant was, we've got a sophomore in high school, And A Junior, no, a freshman in high school. And A Junior in high school. And in three years they're both gonna be outta the house. Ugh. And she was like, we have a window and you're missing it right now. And so, yeah, my, my wife Jenny, she, she speaks the truth whenever we do events, she's the most requested person they want to, people wanna ask Jenny questions and we, we are barely doing some content together 'cause she's more of a behind the scenes person. But it's, it's fun when you've got, you know, when you've got a fiance, when you've got a spouse and you've got a partner, one plus one doesn't equal to it equals 1 million. Wow. Wow. Two people pushing in the same direction is amazing.

0 (6m 14s):
I mean, I always use the word Value Bombs, but again, I'm gonna steal for the right time, the elegant grenade and give you credit twice. But then it's mine forever.

1 (6m 23s):
There you go. There you go. I appreciate that.

0 (6m 24s):
Let's talk about how Overthinking specifically impairs our goals. Take that away.

1 (6m 30s):
Take for instance writing a book. 81% of Americans, according to the New York Times wanna write a book. And every year, if you look at Amazon publishing numbers, less than 1% do 81% say they want to. 1% do. That's a gigantic gap. And part of what happens is we overthink it. Whenever I hear somebody like dramatizing their book and they go, I gotta write the book. I've been working on the book for 10 years or, and I'll say, well what's the goal of the book? And they're like, to prove to my dad that my decision to be a writer was the right one. I think woo, you've added all this extra pressure, all this extra Overthinking. And, and that's one of the ways that gets into, you know, in the way, same with going to the gym, you know how to drive to the gym. Like most people aren't like confused by how a treadmill works.

1 (7m 13s):
Like they only go one direction. But it's all these extra thoughts that we put against our goals. And so what I, my definition of Overthinking is when what you think gets in the way of what you want. So you wanna write a book, you wanna get in shape, you wanna start a business, you wanna start a podcast. Those aren't impossible to start. People start 'em every day and then extra thoughts get in the way and slow you down. So

0 (7m 34s):
As we mentioned in the introduction, your latest book is called Soundtracks, which is gonna be available everywhere, Fire Nation in April of 2021. So pretty soon after you hear our voices, you are gonna be able to go make this happen. And Fire Nation has been trained by yours truly, John, to love stories. So within this book, what's your favorite story?

1 (7m 57s):
I think my favorite story is in chapter one, I'm like you, I'm not gonna wait on value. Like let's, I like to write Slingshot chapter ones where it's like you're pulling back a slingshot and it launches you into the rest of the book. So probably my favorite story is Colleen Berry. I, you know, did a ton of research with my readers and I tested the, these ideas with thousands of people before I put 'em in a book. And so I asked people, you know, have you ever changed your life by changing your mindset, by controlling what you thought? 'cause most people don't pick their thoughts. Even my know most type A friends who lay out their clothes the night before they go to the gym, don't pick out their thoughts for a meeting. They don't say, Hey, you know, I've got a big meeting tomorrow, so here's the three Soundtracks I want playing while I'm in there.

1 (8m 38s):
They just let their thoughts show up and then get wrecked by them. So I ask that question Colleen Barry says, you know what? I lost my job during the.com bust in Boston. I was a documentary filmmaker. I had shown a film in Con and all of a sudden I had to take four jobs just to piece together something. And A. Lot of people would've gotten stuck there. She's a receptionist at a real estate office. A lot of people would've had resignation, oh well this is how it is, fear. What if I even lose this job entitlement? I shouldn't have to make people coffee in a lobby of a real estate office. And instead she said, I'm gonna build a plan. And A path out of this. I'm gonna become the best receptionist that there's ever been. I'm gonna change my thoughts, which will change my actions, which will change my results.

1 (9m 18s):
And over a 15 year process, she's now the CEO of the company. So getting to show her as an example and how she deliberately all along the way used thoughts to lead to different actions was probably my favorite story. In the book

0 (9m 32s):
Fire Nation, you'll hear me talk a lot about not being a time traveler. Like don't live in the past, don't dread the past and don't live in the future. Don't dread the future. It's like you have this present moment right now and knowing that this is the present moment you have, why would you just not be the best version of you right now? And that's exactly what this character and this story decided to do, be the best present moment she could possibly be. And that led it to amazing things. 'cause all these things add up over time. Fire Nation. So what are you doing with your presence? And now one thing that I'm excited about is we're gonna be talking about three specific questions that you Fire Nation should be asking your thoughts as soon as we get back from thanking our sponsors Happy 2024 Fire Nation. New one is here and that means new goals, more growth in upgrading your day-to-Day workflow.

0 (10m 22s):
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0 (11m 5s):
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Coda.io (11m 17s):
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1 (12m 27s):
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0 (12m 33s):
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0 (13m 18s):
See for yourself. Head to Hostinger.com/ONFIRE and use code ONFIRE for an exclusive 10% discount. That's Hostinger, H-O-S-T-I-N-G-E r.com/ONFIRE. And the code ONFIRE. John, we're back. And as we kind of teased before the break, we know that Fire Nation has thoughts. So what are the three questions that they should be asking these thoughts?

1 (13m 44s):
Well, here's the three questions you should ask. Any repetitive thought I said Soundtracks for thoughts because that's what it's like. It's like a soundtrack for your day. It's something you're hearing over and over and over again. So you take your repetitive thoughts and you ask them these three questions. Number one, is it true? Is this thought true? Is it true right now? Number two, is it helpful? Does it move me forward or pull me back? And the third is, is it kind? Is it kind to myself? Because sometimes you know, you'll have a true thought that say like, I wanna start a podcast. Okay, well that's difficult. Is it true? It can be. But is it true that it's impossible? No. So that thought you might go, it's not impossible to start a podcast.

1 (14m 25s):
That's not true. Or this, you know, I have a thought, is this helpful? Does it move me forward? Does it encourage me? And is it kind, does it result in me feeling better about myself? 53% of people who filled out the survey said they felt drained and inadequate by Overthinking. The one thing I never saw in any of the research was somebody who overthinks compliments. Hmm. I couldn't find a single person that's like, I just am so nice to myself on the inside. Like I overthink compliments about what a good a good mom I am constantly. It's a real hassle. No, we tend to overthink the negative. I always say that fear comes free. Faith takes work. You have to work at positive thoughts. You've all had that moment where you're in the grocery store and something you failed at three years ago comes back and reminds you, oh, that's right.

1 (15m 6s):
I said that stupid thing in the meeting. Mm. So I want you to ask those three questions and when you do, you're gonna be really surprised at the thoughts you've been letting. Take up a lot of your space. And that's where it gets fun. 'cause you can start to create some new thoughts, some new soundtrack,

0 (15m 20s):
Soundtracks for your day. I love how you broke that down. And those three questions, is it true? Is it helpful? Is it kind like, just try it for one day. Fire Nation. Try asking yourself these three questions. Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it kind? You might be re you might be surprised by the results of that question. Now John, obviously we live in a new world now. I mean 2020 through a right hand hook punch to a lot of people in a lot of different ways, by the way, a lot of different ways. So do you think that Overthinking increased or decreased in 2020?

1 (15m 57s):
It a hundred percent increased. I mean, think about all the things we used to take for granted that would happen. I mean, you've, you've talked to me before about going on European vacations Yeah. With your fiance. Like you, you can't plan that the same way. Like even the calendar got twisted on us. I tell people right now, three days is firm. I have a pretty good sense that's gonna happen. Three weeks is fuzzy. I'm a little unsure. Three months is fiction. And so we all had to change our calendar. So yes, the, you know, all of the 2020 challenges increased Overthinking because we lost comfort, clarity, and courage in a lot of things. and we had this kind of perfect storm of Overthinking. And that's why I'm really excited.

1 (16m 38s):
I mean, to be honest with you, would I rather launch the book the way I know how to launch the books, which is doing a bunch of live events? Yeah, that's, that's what I've built my career on. But it also gives me a chance to say, Hey, I, I made it through 2020 because I learned how to cha like control what I think. And it was like I learned how to swim right before the world got covered in water. And I can't wait for you to learn these same things too.

0 (16m 59s):
Lost comfort, clarity and focus. 2020 hit people really hard. Really where it hurts in fire. Nation, there's a lot of people by the way, who have completely transitioned, who are completely living new lives right now and thriving. And there are some people who are literally still drowning right now. So let's talk as we close down here about Soundtracks. It's available in April of 2021. So John, take the mic. What do you want Fire Nation to know about this book?

1 (17m 30s):
I want them to know they have the permission and the power to change the way they think. That thoughts aren't something you have, there's something you hone and that you know, if you can worry, you can wonder if you can spin, you can soar if you can doubt, you can dominate. And it starts with how you think. I mean, your thoughts are the most constant loudest thing you'll experience all day. What if they could be fighting for you, not against you? That's the potential you have. And it's, there's simple things you can do and there are fun things you can do. And so I think that the people that read this book are gonna go, I had no idea how many things I was listening to that aren't true.

1 (18m 10s):
And I had no idea what happens when I start listening to things that are true that I get to pick, that I get to create. So I think it's going to be a lot of fun for a lot of people.

0 (18m 19s):
Fire Nation. You see what I'm saying over here? I mean, I'm Johnny Twinkle fingers trying to keep up typing all these things down, taking all these notes because just line after line of awesomeness, I mean, one that I got down was thoughts aren't something you have, they are something you hone. I mean, when you think about it that way, man, I just wanna start honing my thoughts. Literally.

1 (18m 39s):
Well, John, think about it this way. People say things like, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. That means that you woke up with some thoughts you didn't like and decided they got to change your day. Well who, who says they get to control your day? Oh yes. Or like when traffic ruins your day. Like I don't wanna give the Atlanta traffic permission to change my day. Like, it's just, it's, it's terrible at deciding what kind of day I have. Like, as a general rule, you shouldn't give traffic the power to control your day. And if you know you're going to experience it, it's so much better to go, no, no, no, no, no. I get to choose my day. I get to shape my day and it starts with the thoughts that I listen to on repeat. Like that's the, the key to the book, the heart of the book is you retire your broken Soundtracks, you replace them with new Soundtracks and you repeat them so often they become as automatic as the old ones

0 (19m 23s):
When it comes to your Soundtracks for the day. Fire Nation, when it comes to the thoughts for your day, is it true? Is it helpful? Is its kind? John, where are we going? Ideally to pick up a copy of this book,

1 (19m 38s):
Soundtracks book.com, if you pre-order it before April 6th, you get the audio book for free. I read the audio book Woo, which I absolutely love doing. You get a ton of fun bonuses, you get, you know, a, a signed book plate, which is a fancy word for sticker. We're actually going to send you mail. And here's what I, here's what I've been telling people about pre-ordering a book. When you pre-order a book, you're sending yourself a gift in the future. Like you're going to forget the only one. You and I are releasing books. The only people that remember the exact release day are us. That's true. And you're gonna go to your doorstep on April 6th and you're gonna go, what is this box on my front steps? And you're gonna go, did somebody send me a gift? And you're gonna open it and realize, oh, I sent myself that gift.

1 (20m 18s):
So I would just say, go to Soundtracks book.com, get all the bonuses, check out the book. If you know somebody who overthinks, buy them a copy of the book. I think you're gonna have a ton of fun reading this one.

0 (20m 29s):
Boom Fire Nation another value bomb that I'm gonna be able to use now in my book Promotional tour, which I get to say, Hey, Fire Nation, you are sending yourself a gift for your future. And guess what? You deserve it. 'cause you do deserve it. So John, what is the one takeaway of everything that we've talked about here today? I, I mean, I've repeated a ton of the value that I got and I was writing down here, Johnny Twinkle Fingers, what do you wanna make sure we walk away with from our conversation today?

1 (20m 56s):
I want you to walk away knowing I get to choose my thoughts like that. I have the ability. Everyone has the ability. It's not special people. It's not that overthinking is a personality trait and you're just born with it. No, it's an action. So you get to, you get to choose in the same way that I'd say Bravery is a choice, not a feeling. We get to choose. And so you get to today, you can start making that choice and start seeing the difference it makes in your life when their thoughts are the thoughts you want to have, not the ones you think you're supposed to have.

0 (21m 25s):
Fire Nation, you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with and you've been hanging out with JA and JLD today. So keep up that heat and head over to EOFire.com type John in the search bar. His shown us page will pop right up with, by the way, all the other interviews that we've done over the years and they're all value bombs. So you wanna also head over to Soundtracks book.com to get those goodies in the bonus and to give yourself that gift in the future 'cause you deserve it. Fire Nation. So John, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side.

1 (22m 3s):
Thanks buddy.

0 (22m 5s):
Hey, Fire Nation. Today's value bomb content was brought to you by John and Fire Nation. Over the past decade, I've interviewed more than 3000, I mean 3000 of the world's most successful entrepreneurs. And I've created a revolutionary 17 step roadmap to your financial freedom and fulfillment. I put it all into my first traditionally published book, the Common Path to Uncommon Success. This book is personally endorsed by Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk. The common path to Uncommon success is the step-by-step guidance you need to achieve lifestyle freedom and fulfillment. Visit Uncommonsuccessbook.com to learn more and order your copy today. I'll catch you there and I'll catch you on the flip side.

0 (22m 49s):
Sales evangelist Hosted by my friend Donald Kelly is Brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Each week, Donald interviews the world's best sales experts, successful sellers, sales leaders, and entrepreneurs who share their strategies to succeed in sales. Right now, a recent episode you should definitely check out is The Five Ways to Do Daily Outbound with LinkedIn. Listen to Sales Evangelist wherever you get your podcasts.

Hostinger (23m 14s):
Hostinger is among the top web hosting and website creation brands in the world. See for yourself. Head to Hostinger.com/ONFIRE and use code ONFIRE for an exclusive 10% discount. That's Hostinger.com/ONFIRE in the code ONFIRE.