Good Life Project - Jon Acuff: On the Power of Truth, Humor and Craft

Episode Date: February 15, 2016

Imagine you're on stage, charged with holding the attention of a thousand people. Knowing that, as soon as you stop talking the free cocktails begin. Your job is to keep the audience rapt for a solid 60-minutes. It's you against the taunt of free partying.That's often the speaker's worst nightmare. But, this week's guest, Jon Acuff, loves those moments. A New York Times bestselling author of 5 books, including his latest Do Over, he relishes the challenge to win over his audience and keep them hanging on his every word.What's so interesting is that he doesn't do it by telling them he has everything figured out, then endowing them with his omniscience. He does it by sharing his own humanity, his vulnerability, his not knowing, and then tying it all together in stories that leave people crying with laughter and inspiration. And, he pretty much does the same with his books. Everything he does comes from a place of truth, humor, humility and craft.In this week's conversation, we go behind the scenes, exploring why Jon left a hugely successful corporate career to take a risk on writing and speaking. We learn how Jon's deep devotion to being honest (but not radically honest), to always working to connect with, rather than separate himself from his readers and listeners, and his devotion to craft and deep study not just of writing and speaking but also of comedy, has become the center of who he is. We explore how he dances with both the maker and the helper in him and reconciles his desire to create with his commitment to serve. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch, getting you 8 hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X. Available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone XS or later required, charge time and actual results will vary. 20 years ago, you wouldn't have gone into Blockbuster and rented nine movies and not felt like a loser. Like even the cashier would have been like, is everything all right, man? I talked to a lot of people who come up to me and they ask, how do I become an author? How do I become a speaker? How do I build a career where I'm writing and speaking and living an extraordinary life and playing with only the people I want to play with and talking and writing about the things that really light me up? And I always think it's kind of funny that that comes to me because I

don't consider myself that person yet. I'm very much on the journey. But one person who I always think it's kind of funny that that comes to me because I don't consider myself that person yet I'm very much on the journey but one person who I do think has really done a great job of building this for himself is today's guest John Acuff John is a friend of mine and you may know him because he's a New York Times best-selling author of a number of books I believe five of them the latest called Do-Over. And he transitioned from a pretty mainstream job and now basically writes and speaks, travels the world writing and speaking for a living, talking on stages of all sizes from dozens of people to tens of thousands of people. And we really dive into his journey in today's conversation and what it's actually like to

build that type of career, what his focus on the craft is and what it's actually like to build that type of career, what his focus on the craft is, what part of it lights him up, what he struggles with, and where he's going with all of it. It's a really fun, wide-ranging conversation. John is also a massive student of humor and comedy. And we really dive into his exploration of that and how he elevates that to one of the most important things he tries to do in his creative process and in his writing and in his speaking. Really excited to share John Acuff with you. I'm Jonathan Fields, and this is Good Life Project. So we're hanging out at GLPHQ, also known as My Living Room Studio, in New York City.

We met just like a month ago. Yeah, it hasn't been long. In Portland, Oregon, hanging out at a different event. Just started jamming and immediately I was like, this is a conversation we need to continue. So it's fun to be hanging out with you here, even though I'm wearing bare feet, ripped up jeans. And dude, you're dressed to the nines. I know. I had a speaking engagement this morning i i spoke over at comedy central and it makes me nervous because like i'm hilarious when

i'm talking to like a convention of plumbers like i destroy at plumber conventions but comedy central they're all professionally funny so i felt like i really have to have a button-down shirt on for this one if i could wear the same t-shirt and pair of jeans every day, I would. Like I would, a black t-shirt, that's it. I'm not good at fashion. They hired a stylist once to help me, to teach me how to dress. And she's like, you don't even wear the right sizes. Like how hard is that? Like I was, I was like two sizes too big. It was like, so even that was wrong colors, wrong size. There's only two things involved in fashion, size and color, and I got them both wrong. So I came, and we came from there. So I was like, you know what?

I'm going to do it up right for JF, which I've heard people call you earlier today. So from here on, me and JF. I can totally live with that. At the GLPHQ. There's so many places that we could potentially go in this conversation. One of the things that actually really fascinated me when we were just starting our conversation not too long ago, there was a moment where I was like, wait a minute. It's actually like all you do now is write books and speak.

And you're like, well, yes. Yes, I do. And that is such a massive aspiration for so many people. And there's so much stuff in the market now, which basically says, don't even try. I'm glad I don't read that stuff. That'd be discouraging. It would be, right? Tell me a little bit about sort of like the path for you, because this is relatively new, I mean, for you in the scheme of, you know, you're a grown up who's had a substantial work history. It's very new as far as doing it, but it's even newer as far as believing it. All right, deconstruct that for me.

Well, my wife has a couple times I said, Hey, are you ready? Like, you've written five books. Are you ready to say the phrase, I'm a writer out loud now? And I'm like, ah, maybe book 10. It doesn't count yet. So it feels really new there. But I worked in corporate America for 15 years in advertising and marketing. And so I was always fascinated by the ability for an idea to inspire somebody to change their life or to do something with it. So like the power of words, the power of ideas. And then I started to blog.

And there's all these new avenues that opened up because of the internet. And so I started a blog and got some momentum and was able to get a publishing deal after that. But my first publishing deal was $30,000. And so after agent fees and taxes, I got $13,000. And when I told people I got a publishing deal, they'd be like, you're going to quit your job? You're going to Mexico? And if you won a $13,000 lottery, nobody would say that. And so it was bit by bit by bit by bit until I felt like I had enough foundation.

And I had an opportunity to work with this guy, Dave Ramsey, who had a huge platform. And I was thinking about this. Like two weeks ago, I spoke to 10,000 people twice in the same week. And I was nervous about it, but I knew I could do it because with him, I had done 20 10,000 person events, you know, three, you know, every year I did 20 to 25 of those. So I got reps and I got practice. And so those three years really fast forwarded me. And then I felt like it's time to try it on my own. So we've only been doing it for like two years. And I, there's still a large part of me that doesn't believe it. Like I met with Penguin yesterday, my publisher, and there's still a part

of me that's like, why are you letting me in the building? And so I think a lot of people have the same kind of negative kind of self-talk. But I mean, where is that coming from for me? Like when you say, why are you letting me in the building? What's the source of that questioning for you? I don't know. I have a hard time. I'm working on a new book and I might explore this idea. I have a hard time accepting success. The closer I get to it, the more I want to kind of like drill holes in my own boat and not get out of my own way. And so I think sometimes when things go well, like the book hit the New York Times list, like the second one in a row did that. That's awesome, but I'm still learning to wear that as a coat.

Like success feels like my dad's coat at the eighth grade dance sometimes. And so then I have to do the work of being self-aware and going, okay, what's the secret rule I learned at some part of my life that I've practiced secretly and quietly that's still reacting when I experience that. I don't know that I can trace it yet, but I do feel better about going, you know, it's a thing I'm working on, you know, and where did that come from? What's the origin? I had a friend tell me he got some new luggage because he got a new job, like an important job, and he got some cool luggage. And it was really heavy, and it was cool looking, but it wasn't functional. And he thought, that's what you have to do.

And he was at the airport. And he saw this businesswoman walk by wheeling her suitcase. And it had wheels. And it just hit him like, why do I think wheels don't count? Why am I so hard on myself that it has to be painful for it to have value? And then he got a wheeled suitcase. Like, this is amazing. Like, you don't have to.

And so I'd say part of my life right now is going, where are there parts where it's okay to have wheels, and it's okay to do things you enjoy, and they don't have to be this miserable thing. And so that's a long rambling answer. But, but, you know, I think it's such it's an experience that is so pervasive, whether you want to be an author, like, and it comes up, I think, almost always in the context of doing something that actually is deeply meaningful and joyful to you and at the same time starts to present like you start to see the light of possibility of like this could actually be my thing you know and there's like something inside of you it's like like gay hendricks like upper limit problems for so many

people i don't i just read that and was super, it was wildly challenging to me. I felt like he was reading my diary. And I thought it was, and I hadn't heard of the book before. And I was like, why aren't more people talking about this? Yeah, because it's so interesting because it's sort of like you get to a point

where you're not comfortable for some reason. But you work so hard to get to that point. So it's this terrible cycle. It's like, I, you know, words of affirmation or something that are one of the ways I receive love. And, but as soon as people give them to me, I shot block them and find a different way to not accept the compliment.

And so I've learned. So if somebody goes after an event, like, hey, that was amazing. That speech you gave was really good. I go, oh, thanks. That team was great. Like they did a good job putting on that event. Or thanks, the audience was so kind, which is me deflecting.

And if you think about it, it's really insulting to the person because they've said, I believe this thing to be true. You did a good job. And you go, actually, you're wrong. Like it was other forces you don't understand. And so just to go, hey, thanks. Like I really had a lot of joy doing that. And I worked really hard on it.

Thanks. Thanks for saying that. Even just receiving a compliment. I mean, you talk about word yoga. That's word yoga. The flexibility to allow somebody to say you did a good job on something and for you to allow it to land. That's fascinating to me. Yeah, I totally agree. And I've actually been accused of the exact same thing by my team.

They're like, like dude you receive a compliment so badly yeah yeah and it's it's a weird thing because we worked hard for them it doesn't you can receive it and not make it your idol like it's not like you you know i don't think you should ever just do something for applause because then when the applause stops so will you like and it's going to you go through phases where there's a lot of it and there's a little of it and there's none of it. And so, I don't know, it's a weird thing. That's what was part of the fun thing for me talking to you about some of these ideas is, okay, there's other people exploring this stuff too. And for 15 years, I didn't know that. And

then I kind of jumped into this space and I met two really interesting people right before we did this podcast. I didn't know they existed. And so, two really interesting people right before we did this podcast. Like, I didn't know they existed, you know, and so that's what's fun to me about this. Yeah, no, I completely agree. And it's interesting to like when I think about these questions also, because I spent some time really sort of, you know, like diving into Eastern philosophy. And it's very different lens, you know, whereas it's nothing is about you. So there's this really interesting dance where we're all part of one, but at the same time,

it's like everything is about service and generosity. So on the one hand, you feel like, well, I shouldn't be taking credit for anything. But on the other hand, like you said, I never actually thought about the fact that, wow, I'm kind of insulting this person by not doing that. So I don't think that's why I deflect the way that I deflect. And I deflect fiercely.

I think it's a real discomfort just with anybody giving me credit for being good. And so it's something I think about a lot also now because I realize if there's a time where you're just like, hey, thanks, it means a lot. Well, that's what I've learned to say is thanks. I had fun, but I catch myself going into it. And part of it's dishonest, too, because there's times when I know I did a good job. And so I don't want to lie to that person. Like, I'm learning a lot about the honesty of my words and, like, the honesty of, like,

the closer I try to get to who I am, the more honest it forces me to be and not to you know manipulate especially with a marketing background like i know the three levers to pull and there's so much of that on the internet right now where i'll have friends go oh this so-and-so launched something and they made five hundred thousand dollars on this course and i'll go was it is it a good course does it help people people? And they go, I don't know. That should be something we think about. Because otherwise, you're just shaking somebody as an ATM machine. And it's not that you, like my wife really challenged me on this. She said, ask, how can I help someone? Not what can I sell someone first?

Because if you ask, how can I help? You can come up with a million ways to sell them something. But a lot of times when you ask the sell question first, you never loop back around to the help question. And so learning to be honest about some of this stuff and go, okay, I'm going to, if somebody asked me to do something and I don't have time, I'm just going to say, no, not, I'm not going to push it off or give them some, like, I'm so honored that you asked. No, like that's, those are just words and they're empty. And so practicing honesty, I think, is a really fascinating thing, too. Yeah, it is. And then there's like, you know, how honest do you get? Because there's radical honesty, which I don't know if I'm actually a fan of.

No, I'm a fan of relational honesty in that. Break that down for me. So, you know, I talked about Eastern philosophy. I'm a Christian, and part of our, you know, love your neighbor, part of that idea is the community of people you're actively involved with. Like, and how are you really loving your neighbor? And so there are people that are my neighbor that receive a level of honesty that's different than people that are on Twitter. And I don't, like, radical honesty might say everyone deserves the same level of honesty, or every email or every whatever. But I feel like your level of intimacy and relationships should grow as your level of honesty and vice versa.

So if somebody says, you know, hey, I need you to do this, and we don't have a relationship, it's okay for me to go. I know I can't do that. Like if somebody if that somebody is my brother, or somebody who I'm close to, I might need to say, hey, here's why I can't do that like if somebody if that somebody is my brother or somebody who I'm close to I might need to say hey here's why I can't do that and here's the date I could do that you know

and so I think there's that's part of the dance for me is that not everybody deserves that and the other thing

is if you're married it's not your story it's our story so when I was first married I would kind of threaten my wife and be like I'm going to share

this story about us and she'd go well that's our story and I've got a voice in that and I'm not just because the internet gives you that chance to do that. And then I think you can even get into using authenticity as a tool where you confess something publicly because you know where it'll take the audience emotionally. And so for me as a speaker, as a writer, I have a post that I know I'm not going to share because I was trying to be

honest and then it dipped into manipulation. So it was this whole post about, and I spoke about this at WDS, the concept that if you see people as just your platform, you eventually stand on top of them. And I believe that to be a true idea. But then I went and it got corrupted by ego and I said, so I won't do that to you. I'm not going to sell you stuff. And now, in addition to criticizing other people, I'm now saying I'm the bastion of, oh, I'm only going to give you things that are amazing. And I was doing that because I wanted people to think about me a certain way. So now I've left the lesson, which does serve the person.

And now it's just about serving me. And so unless I can find a way to take that other part out, it doesn't help the audience. And you've seen speeches like that where you can see, because you've done this so many times, And so unless I can find a way to take that other part out, it doesn't help the audience. And you've seen speeches like that where you can see, because you've done this so many times, that thing really served the audience. This other part served the speaker. And it's okay for some of that, but sometimes it gets so muddy that I don't know. I think it's definitely a fine line. line i don't have sort of like the traditional marketing background but i've spent a lot of years studying language of influence um and studying with copywriters and learning to be a copywriter so i know all those same triggers that you know like i know how to create an influence experience

that will move somebody from point a to saying i want it i want this like i want what you have but i so agree with you i think like the fundamental question, you know, like, is it genuinely in service of a need? You know, because just because you can sell something doesn't mean that you should. And as a leader, as a human, you have a responsibility to say, just because somebody buys something from me doesn't mean I should. And not in a self-righteous as in I know what they need and they don't. But just in a, this is a group of people I'm trying to shepherd. So you're doing your camp. Like you could do a lot of stuff at your camp that would do the A to B, move somebody there. You could have a big emotional thing at the end of the camp where it's this big, like,

and here's all this stuff you can buy because everybody's emotions are high or whatever. But you know, like, what's the point? Like one, you burn all those relationships. Two, they don't get to really know you you i kind of think about it like blogging like i remember um something that bloggers suffer with is that they'll write a hundred posts and one of the posts gets the most traffic and so then they go okay well i need to write about that topic more and then they start to write about that topic more and more and more and more and six months later they're now a dating expert because and then they look at it and go i'm unhappy with my blog and you say well why'd you do that and they say well this topic gets more traffic what does that mean more traffic

means more ad revenue and more avenue more revenue means more money and then essentially somebody's come up to you and said if i give you money will you not write about what you care about if somebody said that to you in the street you'd go what kind of monster walks around to people who love to blog and says, can I pay you not to express your heart? But there's this fine line, and it's tricky, and it's layered. And so I don't know. I like getting in kind of the mess of that with people and talking about it. Yeah, no, I completely agree.

I think we both probably talk to a lot of creators and entrepreneurs. And to me, it's always you start from a place of solve, don't sell. And first and foremost, and it's funny because this is a conversation that I've had with a lot of people. I'm curious whether you've had something similar, which is if you can first figure out who do I want to serve as the foundation of building something, whether it's your career, your job, a business, a body of work, whatever it may be. If you can start with that person, can you actually picture the person that you want to serve? And then get into their head and find out.

This is all the classic marketing stuff, right? But it's funny. When I build a business, I actually don't write business plans. I write copy. Because to me, it's like it puts me the gift to be able to actually do that. And then if I'm convinced of that, I'm like, okay, what would the business built around this look like? But that's not normally very often certainly the way it happens. Yeah, but I think now we're talking short-term versus long-term. In part, yeah.

Like there's some of the stuff you just described, like in our hope to find a shortcut to whatever passive income or whatever kind of the thing of the moment, sometimes the process you just described should take time and should be built on questions. And so I think about what's interesting too is other audiences, if you create a good work, other audiences will find the good work that you didn't even know existed. So right now, my last book was called Do-Over and it was about change and transition. And the person that bought the most was somebody in the military and he bought a hundred copies and he said, leaving the military is a huge do-over. Going back to civilian life is a gigantic do-over. I've been giving it to members.

I'd be lying if I said when I thought about the audience, I considered military. So now I'm kind of in the – how you described it, I'm looking at it and going, if I did a webinar for people who had left the military, the first thing I'd have to do is talk to people who had done that and ask them, what are the things that are hard? What are the things you need? Because I can brainstorm them all day, but it won't really serve them unless I really know these are the five things. And then once I know the five things, then I can add my insight, hopefully some ideas on top of that. And now I can serve this audience that appeared once the work was created.

So I think it's that balance of both. But I get, if I'm not careful and I overthink the audience, I won't create something because I'm thinking before it's even left my head and hit the paper, I'm editing it going, they wouldn't like that. And that's the flip side of it, right? So you've got the empathy-based approach to creation, and then you've got the maker-based approach to creation, which is like, there's a thing in my head, there's a monster in my head that must get out. And if I don't, I'm going to be wildly unhappy. Right. The only thing worse than

and this is like Robert McKee. I remember him saying this. He's like, you've got a monster about writers. He's like, you've got a monster in your head. And the only thing worse than the process of getting it out is not trying to get it out. Oh, that's good. It makes me feel better because writing is hard.

It's so hard, right? And there's an aesthetic. There's a voice. There's a quality that like you have to be true to. And then there's the empathy side. You know, like will it be in service of, and if so, whom? And then how does that dance where you feel good about being okay with both of those things? That's not an easy dance.

Yeah, and the first one is the one I start with because I think some of the things I might've said already sound like, oh, it's all service. That's not true. Like what's true for me is my favorite part of the process is the getting it out. Like, because that's the part. And then I'm so thrilled when it goes into the service mode and that that happens. But like, for me, the favorite part is still, like I've heard myself on on radio shows before go like the best part of my job is knowing i change people's lives and that's me giving a radio answer yeah we're like my favorite part of my job is the writing of it and the you know the crafting of it and i'm so excited that i didn't get to do that other part but i think that's some of the tension and it's the fun part but man i i don't know maybe there's writers out there that are like i woke up and wrote eight hours of prose today

and it was amazing. I would rather do almost anything than write. I have to force myself. But once I'm in the mode and once I'm binge watching Netflix, I'm way better at than writing. But I know which one will produce a book at the end. Yeah, I'm the same way. I am like 90% maker.

The process of bringing something, you know, creating something from nothing or from seeds is like, that's where I'm so, it's so funny. And tell me,

I'm curious about this. So when I get, you know, when I write a book. Are you grumpy when you do that? Because my wife would say like, sometimes I'm not very. I see her like shaking her head.

She's like, I mean, nodding. She's like, oh yeah. I'm not very livable as it were. It depends on the time of day and depends me. I mean, nodding. She's like, oh, yeah. I'm not very livable, as it were. It depends on the time of day and depends how close I am to the deadline. But that final month, probably not all that much fun to be around me.

I feel like in the movies, writers are always making out more than is really happening. They write a bunch and then they make out. I don't feel like that's our dynamic. But they're also drinking. Yeah, exactly. They're drunk constantly. write a bunch and then they make out i don't feel like that but they're also drinking like the suffering artist spectrum like that was never my mo but for me it's like the thing as hard as it is it's like the process of like the creator process for me when i get a finished book you know it's funny like we probably have both have a ton of friends who are authors and i see all these pictures on instagram or twitter or something like and they get the actual When I get a finished book, it's funny. We probably both have a ton of friends who are authors.

And I see all these pictures on Instagram or Twitter. And they get the actual book in the mail and hashtag I'm weeping. And it's funny. When I get the book, I really don't care. I just couldn't care less. Because I'm like, okay, whatever. I'm done. It was the process that was cool. I my piece it's a trinket yeah cool i hope i hope you know it goes out there in the market it makes a difference it matters but the book itself i'm like it like the box will come

right from the publisher with like a little note and i'll get an email and they'll be like check your mail today there's something cool in it and i'll let it sit for like a week that's so yeah i same thing i mean i was excited to get the box the first like the time but no i'm not the i don't know it's the process for me like and it's the being done like i don't love to write i love to have been done and so i know that i get the one after the other. But I've got to work on a new book right now. And my wife's been kind of pushing me about it because there's always more emails to respond to. Like if you want to be distracted from your life's work, there's no shortage of opportunities. And so what happened, a couple times what's happened is that I've said yes to a lot of

speaking gigs. And Jenny will say, you're taking a lot of advil these days i'm like well my neck hurts i've got a lot of stress i got a lot to do and she'll say then you you must have a terrible boss and by the way it's it's you and or like i think it's fun down i think i said this at was fill our calendars so full that we don't have to face the honesty of the reason i'm not doing this life's work or building something is because I'm afraid to. And if I didn't have this long to-do list, I'd have to sit down in the quietness. I mean, that's why phones are such a blessing and a curse in that you can never be alone with your thoughts if you want to. Like, at least it used to be like in the shower, you know, thoughts could catch up. But

even now you're like I'll play music or I'll think about something else I'll stream something I'll stream something yeah like I'll figure out a net fit you know

I'll watch House of Cards somehow with a mirror that shoots it up like I don't know but yeah in the same way it's funny you say that because I do think the perception is

at least on Instagram like I got this and you know what I held a party and I read it to my friends just out loud like we had a by a fire pit and it was we had mead we didn't even have wine we had mead like somebody

made their own mead and you know and i read it the only time i read my book is when i do the audiobook and you know and that's so i don't know maybe there's different writers out there i think that i and i think it's i mean i have kind of a theory that there's a spectrum, you know, it's like of what lights people up that moves from pure service to pure maker. And everybody's somewhere along that spectrum. I am definitely much more, you know, on the side of much closer to pure maker than pure service. I love the fact that what I create matters when it does matter. It doesn't always. But your job was to create it.

Right, exactly. And it's kind of like there's this amazing line in Liz Gilbert's new book, Big Magic, which is phenomenal on the creative process. And she's like, if your primary motivation to write something is because you want to help somebody, please don't. That's great. She's like, it can be part of it, but write it because it's the thing you have to write first and foremost.

And what's interesting, I don't necessarily think that that's true for everybody. No, I don't think it's. I think for my orientation, because I am primarily maker-driven, that's right for me. But for somebody who wakes up in the morning and is sort of born and lives and breathes to be in service of, the thing that they really want to do is

they'll create something not so much because it's the thing they have to create, but because it allows them to serve on a higher, better level. Yeah, I don't have that. I mean, I feel like... We both sound like cold-hearted. The spectrum for me is service or jerk, and I try to fight my way to service, like to claw.

So I don't know. My favorite thing is to make people laugh and to make people think. And so books are a great way to do that, and podcasts are a fun way to do that, and speeches are a fun way to do that. But it's the process of creating that idea. I know one of my favorite ideas that I've been playing around with is the Netflix binging thing.

And I'm relating it to, like, 20 years ago, you wouldn't have gone into Blockbuster and rented nine movies and not felt like a loser. Like, even the cashier would have been like, is everything all right, man? Because there's, like, trees outside and stuff. Now, culturally, we're okay with that. Like, on Monday, if you told me at work, I said, what did you do this week? And you said, I binge watched eight hours of TV. I'd go, have you watched House of Cards yet or Bloodline? Like I'd give you other recommendations to, and so like that, exploring that idea and the humor that I could try to find in it, that's really funny to me. It's the service part comes later. But I think as an author,

you feel this pressure to be like, you know, at the end of the day, I sit down with a blank piece of paper and I look out across my yard and I see humans and I go, I'm going to save you. This is for you. And then I write. I think you do. I think also, you know, as somebody who's trying to make a living doing it, the expectation is, you know, like you're doing this in service of. And if you don't say that, then people won't sort of rise to support you and i think it's okay i don't think any of us do it entirely in a vacuum you're like the fact that you know of course there's a service element to everyone like we want to make a difference on some

level but it's just it's that spectrum whereas like what's the reason that you're like what do you wake up in the morning and do the work because like that's the thing that's really making me do the work and it's like i love the fact that it lands and helps people. But I think it's different too. Like if we're talking spectrums, there's, there's creating the work and then almost servicing the community. And so when I'm, when I'm alone in my room or at the library or wherever, I'm trying to create the work. And I know, you know, a lot of, a lot of what I'm going to write will be inspired by people who have said, hey, this thing you wrote, I liked, but there's seven other questions that

like, these are the ones that are really hurting me right now. And I'll think about that. And I'll consider that. I don't write books of poetry and then go, hey, you've hired me to write books that help people. Here's my books of poetry. I hope they, it's just something I felt like passionately writing. So there is service baked through, but I think the service is like the spectrum where it jumps up during the book exists and you go share it with people. Like when I go, like WDS, I tried my best to go, I didn't really even talk about my book much, but I tried my best to go, what does this crowd need? Knowing who they are and knowing where their hearts are.

And, you know i'll talk about voice because i struggle with using my authentic voice and maybe some of them do too so i don't i but i but that's after the writing process to me so i think my thing is that i can get too manipulative during the process if i try to pretend i'm this you know high and mighty person that's like just all about service all the time it kind of ebbs and flows yeah i think and it's interesting because i know you recently wrote about sort of your writing process and it was kind of fascinating to for me to raise you know like the multiple passes about how things land in the page because i had a really similar process but what you just mentioned you know like really just like finding your authentic voice

when you read what you've written in book form it sounds very much like i'm just having a conversation with john you know but what's interesting is then when you read what you recently wrote about your writing process it's kind of like so when you read the book you're just kind of assuming that oh he it's almost like maybe he just spoke this into dictation had somebody write it and it just seems like we're hanging out, talking, right? And then when you write, because it sounds so conversational and just like casual. And then when you read,

like when you shared your writing process, you're like, oh, wow. Like this is so much more, like to get to a point where it sounds like no work was done on it. It's so impossible for me. And on the same way, so I want to wrap the conversation around service, because I think it's really easy to listen to the conversation and say, well, these guys are just

all about creating stuff, and they have to serve other people, because that's the way that you make money doing it. And I want to be really clear that it's in our bones as well. And I think it's in everybody's bones. But I think you kind of were getting to the point where very often it happens in modes and phases, where like, when you're creating, you're creating because it's the thing you have to create. And then when that part of the work is done, you turn around, you say, okay, how do I move this out into the world in a way where I can genuinely like where it can be of service, and I can be of service. And so it's all kind of like you're switching modes at that point. That's the tension for me, too. I mean, we early in this conversation conversation talked about just because you can make something and sell it if it's not going

to help people don't do it so there's a lot of things that i look at and go you know people come up to me all the time and go you're not monetizing your audience enough and i feel a lot of shame in that like because i feel like it's always presented like there's a dump truck of money that every other author is just swimming around in. And then you go, and it's passive, like it did in 10 minutes, and it just comes through my window in a shoot. And I feel like, man, what am I missing? But at the same time, I know I wouldn't feel good about myself. And there's this one person I think of sometimes when I create stuff.

I had coffee with him, and he said, oh, my wife and I have a $20 budget we can spend on discretionary stuff because we're really trying to pay bills. And he said, it's audible. And we listened to your book. That was one of the two books we got that month. So there's that tension for me where I do like to win. I am competitive.

I do like to build stuff. But there's also remembering there's a guy, there's people behind the 2,000 person audience or there's people behind the thing that you really want to, like you do want to serve. And so that's the tension I feel. I don't feel it when I'm necessarily creating something. I feel it when I'm releasing something. Yeah. And I feel it at the beginning.

I wouldn't create it if I felt like it wasn't going to help somebody. Like I wouldn't, people have sometimes said like, you guys should do a book about parenting. Like I have a 9-year-old and a 12-year-old. I should not do a book about parenting. Like, I have a 9-year-old and a 12-year-old. I should not do a book about parenting. I've never had a teenager. Like, so if I write a book that's like, hey, hey, I figured out, kids, here's the answer, that's really dishonest. And even if I could sell a lot of copies, I wouldn't feel good about it.

But she asked me about my writing process, like the hard work of getting it sounding conversational. Like, yeah, it's really hard work. And my poor wife had to read like nine drafts of this last book. And there were parts where, and even as I write the new one, she'll go, you didn't push it far enough. Like you didn't, it's not, you know, it's not honest yet. You're writing a safe book.

And the other thing is that, I don't know if other authors struggle with this. I sometimes try to write somebody else's book and I'm a terrible, I write a terrible Jim Collins book. I write a terrible Simon Sinek book. I write a terrible Tim Ferriss book. Like the only books it turns out I can write are John Acuff books. But out of fear or insecurity, whatever, the first couple drafts are like, so anyway, as I was saying in my research that I don't know how to do because I'm not a Stanford professor like Jim Collins and haven't done it for 20 years. Here's the thing.

Or like, I'm going to do a Malcolm Gladwell twist on this paragraph. And it turns out, you know. And so then I have to write that. And then I'll read it to my wife. And even as I'm reading it out loud, I'm getting bored. And I'll just talk about it. I'll talk to you later. Like, it's not there.

Like, if I'm getting bored in the reading of it, then everyone's going to go. Yeah. It's really tough. So you have, you have like three passes that you make. At least. Like, so what are like the major three ones? And even though there may be five under each one. Yeah.

So the, one of them is honest. Like, was it honest? Was I saying something to try to make myself look good, but I didn't really do. Like one time I wrote this idea about like, every Friday I try to have lunch with somebody who asks me to lunch, and it's a stranger I try to serve. I did that, like, twice. And I was like, that'd be a good thing to do, and I bet I'll do it just because I wrote it down. And then, like, I wasn't doing that. That wasn't, that was an example of, like, that's not honest.

Or am I telling you to do something that I wouldn't do myself? I'm like, well, some people should do this. So I try to make it honest. I try to make it hopeful. Sometimes I get really jaded and really kind of like, I always call it like the counting crows draft because it's like round here. Because I love the counting crows. But it's not like you don't jog to the counting crows.

Like nobody's like, oh, I'm going to throw some perfect blue buildings and go run. And so I'll read it and be like, this is really depressing. Or like, it's really mopey. My wife, I know I say the phrase my wife a lot, but she's just like the smartest person. We were talking about me doing a podcast and she was like, you better get a producer because otherwise it'll just be you like a tween girl crying in the mirror to watch yourself emote and i was like that is very very true and so i try to make it hopeful because at the end of the day i am hopeful tension for me is i believe people are capable more than they think and i believe it's going to take more work than they think if i can get you to buy into that first part then we

can talk about the second part where it breaks down is when books or blogs sell you on that first part they don't talk at all about the second part. And you read it, and you feel like a failure because your life didn't change because it sold you on the unicorns and the fluffiness. Or there's books that say it's hard work, but they're so boring and so dry that you have no hope to fuel your way through them. So then the third one is I try to make it hilarious and humorous. I love humor. For every business speech I watch, I watch a hundred comedians and study, okay, why did Gary Goleman say it that way? Why did, you know, why did like Brian Regan, like what was it about this word that worked better than the other one? And how

do they communicate it? Because the best comedians to me are social commentators and they're saying things that are really fascinating. But the problem is like a lot of your listeners i don't value the thing i'm good at like we have this i always say the heart the talent you have the hardest time recognizing is your own um and i think it was derrick um sievers is how you say yeah sievers yeah i think so i think so but i'm not sure he's in new zealand he's amazing but he said like it's extra it's ordinary to you but extraordinary to everybody else and so because humor is so ordinary to you, but extraordinary to everybody else. And so because humor is so ordinary to me, I write these really boring drafts where I've sucked it all out. And people read it and be like, it's fine, but it's not funny, and you're funny.

And so if I'm at a dinner table at dinner, I'm telling jokes and I'm riffing. I'm not doing like, hey, I got four things that'll change your life. Let me tell you those over dinner. No, I'm riffing about things. not doing like, hey, I got four things that'll change your life. Let me tell you those over dinner. No, I'm riffing about things. So I try to put that in. And then the collusion of all three of those things is what makes it sound conversational. And the honest thing too is in our space, the space we're in,

there's a lot of people that only talk about the times they've won or a failure from a long time ago that no longer hurts. And an audience, whether they're reading the book or sitting in a crowd, gets separated from you when you do that, I believe. So when you go on stage, there's this gap that opens up between like, oh, they don't get me. They're on stage. It's different. Where if you'll be honest, you close that gap. And you go like, hey, I'm in the trenches. I haven't

figured this out yet. But here's what I'm learning. And it's messy. And I did this thing incorrectly. I wrote about my blog email list the other day because I had a funeral for it. Like I lit it on fire in our driveway because I was just so obsessed with it. Like everybody was like, you got to build your list. And if like, if the world ends tomorrow without an email list, it's all over, like it's all email. And I was terrible at it. And so I had to stop it. And then I started again and I messed it up again. I was sending 7,000 people double emails every day. And that's a bad customer experience. And then I'm writing books about leadership. And so, but that's what people will go, oh, you're like me. Like, okay, like I thought

I was the only one that sucked at email. Like, it's good to know I'm not. So that's kind of how I think about it. Yeah. I think the tension a lot of people have in that is if part of what they're doing is trying to position themselves as an expert, they become fearful that they'll lose the, the, I know more than you positioning that allows, that creates the ability for them to charge money for their expertise. And that's what, what's behind a lot of that. Yeah, I, I agree. But I think that if you'll drop some of that, not all of it, like, I think it's dishonest if you know how to do something well for you to pretend you don't just to try to be authentic or relatable. Like, it's not, I've spoken 300 times probably in the last five years, and I've gotten a lot better at it. I'm not 30

years in, but I know more than I did, but I know more now than I did then. So if somebody said, what are the 10 tips you'd give me about public speaking? I would feel okay saying, here's what you should do, or here's where you structured this part wrong in your speech. So it's as dishonest for me to pretend I can't tell you that as it is for me to fake that I'm only, that I know everything. And you don't. The older I get, the more I don't. Trust me, the older I get, the real, I'm like, wow, I am a moron. Yeah, yeah. Why is that? I was telling a friend, I'm so afraid to go new places to restaurants because I don't know what the parking's going to be like. Where will I park? But then people online are like,

you're such an adventurer. And I am in certain aspects, but at the same time, if somebody goes, hey, you want to go downtown to the restaurant? I'm like, is it a valet? Do they have their own lot? Am I parallel? I'm not good at parallel parking. Which is the smallest car we own? I don't know if we should go. Can we go to that place near my house? How are you with dress codes at different

restaurants? Well, New York frightens me because Nashville is jeans. Everybody wears jeans. So I have a sport coat, which is why I'm so hot today. Anyway, yeah, I get nervous about that. So I think it's a mix of those two. And if it's honest of you as well. That's what I really like is that there are some leader... If somebody said to me, should every speech be funny? Should every public speaker be funny? I'd say no. They should if it's honest of who they are. They should be relatable. They should be honest.

But if you're not a funny person, it's really weird for you to spend 99% of your week not funny. And then you get on stage for one hour and you're like, that'd be funny because you end up telling this really inauthentic joke that doesn't land with the audience and pushes them further away. Yeah. It also seems like you have a, I mean, so you share like for every one business talk, you watch 99 other stand-ups or comics. How much have you put into cultivating the craft of speaking? A lot. A lot more than I thought.

I probably have done, you know, I'll do 60 or 70 gigs a year. And from like 40 people like today to 10,000 people like two weeks ago. And I love the dynamic of an audience. I love to figure out how an idea lands. The more time I spend online, the more time I realize offline still matters. Like, you know this, like, but part of why you do the camp is there's a magic that can't like the internet promise of 10 years ago of it'll replace all need for interaction. Never. No. Never going to happen.

And so there's a magic to a live audience. And I love the challenge. And I'm starting to realize I'm a performer. Like, and I'm okay saying that, like, I'm a performer. And I like the tension. Like, I did a 10,000 person event and they had the wrong slides and I found okay saying that. Like, I'm a performer, and I like the tension. Like, I did a 10,000-person event, and they had the wrong slides, and I found out on stage. Now, the one thing is I should have double-checked.

I checked, but not well enough before. So that's my mistake, and I learned from that. But in the moment, I was like, all right, well, let's figure this out. You know, and let's, how does this go? And so, yeah, I really do like it. And I'm starting to admit that because I felt, I used to feel like I had friends that would say like, oh, you have to be gone all the time. That's terrible.

And I'm learning to balance that and admit like, no, I like it. Like, that's a fun part of my job. Like, I'm honored that I get to go do that. And I love to show up somewhere where they're not expecting it to be good. Like, I was at a big company and a 24-year-old said after, like, I came for the free sandwich, but this is really good like i love that a hundred people came because they had to or they thought like i'll get a sandwich out of it and who doesn't like sandwiches and then i get to kind of win that over i i enjoy that and the craft of that yeah so what what's the main thing that i mean when

you think about building the craft for you is it just doing it a million times? Or is there, do you take sort of a deliberate approach to cultivating the craft? Or is it just kind of doing it and exploring and playing? Doing it, exploring it. I had somebody tell me once, they got feedback. I'd spoken, it was 3,500 people, and like 10 people said it sounded faked and rehearsed. And what they were responding to is that i had practiced that speech 10 times so when i got

up it was just i was going because what i was afraid of is i was afraid of silence i was afraid of not knowing the next thing and they really said to me the best moments happen new for both you and the audience so you have to leave space in there for new stuff to come up and that's i think that takes time to get comfortable with that but now it it's my, it's my favorite part to kind of react to the stuff. And then the audience knows you're not just getting one message every time. So I'm deliberate in the sense of, I know kind of my key messages that I'm going to share. And I know where I've laid on other ideas but like today at comedy central i did some new material about flying first class like the the joke was about the difference between snacks in

first class and business class because in first class they have this wicker basket that just overflows and they're constantly like it's a cornucopia they're dumping it they're like take more like in business class if you ask for peanuts and pretzels they're kind of like you jerk like both really and then you have somebody who's like leave the can i want the ginger okay and leave it Like in business class, if you ask for peanuts and pretzels, they're kind of like, you jerk. Like both, really? And then you have somebody who's like, leave the can. I want the ginger ale can. Leave it. And you spent $500 on a ticket.

But in that moment, you're like, I need that can. Just leave that can. Like the absurdity of that. And so I practiced it with them, and I felt like it went well. So that's kind of how I look at the craft. But I did Toastmasters for like three or four four weeks and i've heard good things about the program but i've other than practicing it live and going okay this thing didn't land how do i connect with people or who's in the audience that i need to understand and their language and and so but little things like as a speaker if you call the client two weeks before and interview the client it's such a better speech because then you really know the problems

and that's the service thing. Yeah, exactly. You'd be shocked how many speakers don't do that, that their first interaction is when they show up and they've never known that what we're really afraid of is that we just went through a round of layoffs and people are really kind of gun shy right now. So when you talk about change, be careful about how you talk about it because we're a little bruised right now. That's fun to me, to understand that and then serve that. I'm always amazed because I do the same thing. I'm always amazed when somebody who would

hire you to speak actually has no interest in doing that. You have to hunt to get them on the phone to help you get the raw material to really serve them at a much more relevant level. I want the person that booked me to feel like it was great for them. Yeah, exactly. I want them to feel like that was a great decision because they've taken a risk. Your performance reflects on them.

Right. And you're there for an hour. They're with the company the rest of the year. So you want them to have had a good time too. But yeah, I love it. Like live events. I don't love putting them on because they overwhelm me with details,

but showing up and being able to do them. WDS was one of my favorite things I've done this year. Like it was, I felt great about it. It was eight 30 in the morning. So I was like, all right, it's the opener.

Like that's, you know, it's like, I like challenges like that where it's like you against cocktail hour and everybody out there, especially if it's free cocktail hour, you know, nobody in the crowd is like, oh, please go it's free cocktail hour, you know, nobody in

the crowd is like, oh, please go long. Nobody's there for you. Yeah. And so then you go like, how do I, how do I win this audience back? And that's kind of, or how do you tell a tense story, but then have some laughter in there to release the tension in the room? You call yourself a writer. Now you just said you're a performer. If you introduce yourself now, you say it. Like if you walked into a room like right now or like a dinner party where you're kind of the new guy in the room. You sat down and said, dude, what do you do? Yeah, it's so funny you ask this because this is an ongoing debate like fresh like right now. Because I'm realizing when I say I'm a writer, they say one of three things in response they say me too i have a book inside me i have a crazy life story you got to hear it

or they say have you written anything i would have heard of which is a weird thing to say no one says to accountants like i'm an accountant really what's your biggest client you've ever worked on most successful thing you've ever done you feel this pressure because you know they are not going to have heard of your work. And somebody told me that my response should be, well, it depends how well read you are. And that's a great, like, because it puts it back on them. Oh, I got to start using that. And so then the third thing they say is, well, have you ever been published? Because a lot of people are writers. So I don't know. I think I'm learning to say I'm a writer,

but I'm also learning to admit that what I care about is making people laugh and think and that speaking isn't like a silver have a, fortunately in Nashville, probably like New York, you can be a weird career person. Like there's some cities where if you said, this is the thing I do, they go, what does that even, what does that mean? But I have a, I'm wrestling with that right now. Like, I think there's a part of me that wants one thing that I do for the next 40 years, but that's not how life works. And it's not how my heart works. I would hate that. I would hate if I knew like, okay, I'm a factory version of a writer, and it's just going to be this, you know, here's the thing. Now, I don't want to jump around on shelves a bunch

because I do believe in the power of, like, working the same kind of shelf, if you will, or working this, like, building some momentum. I think I understand what you mean by that, but go deeper in case somebody doesn't. So if you wrote a business book and then a career book and then a poetry book and then a relationship book, you never establish multi-book conversations where people can go, when I think of you, this is what I think of. And I trust you for this type of information. And so for me, I love the business space. The last three books have been in the business space. That's where I feel good about staying. I think you can get to a level as a

communicator where you're so successful, you can do what you want. Like you could go like, you're so big, you could go, this is going to be my coffee table book, or this is going to be my, but I think that takes, you know, decades of kind of dedication. So the tension for me, that's a fun word, is the tension of being faithful to the space, but also being flexible enough that your creativity stays where it's supposed to be. And if you want to explore something that's more emotional than the last thing you did, then you figure out a way

to take the reader who read you along. Like, every musician faces this, where people go, oh, this album sounds too much like the last one or the other size. They go, I hate this one. I love their acoustic stuff. And now, and you look at people,

the rare people that can do that, Madonna in the eighties, nineties, like she was able to do that, but it's really hard to figure out how do you walk that. It is, but let me offer it. Cause I've been thinking about this a lot also,

just in terms of like the way i like to write and sort of like the other side of that in my mind is sort of like the prototypical example is gladwell you know where he's not the the blink guy he's not the tipping point guy he's the guy who latches on to a topic that just fascinates him and then tells the story of that idea in a way where like you just know when you're reading a Gladwell book. So he's got like, he's known for a process and a voice and people follow him not because he's like, so he is the X guy, but it's not because it's the topic of the book. He's not the trend guy.

It's because it's his approach. Like he might've written about trends and tipping point, but you're not going, I can't wait to see the latest trends that Malcolm Gladwell. Right. So he's known as like, he's known for a particular process and like lens and voice. And there's parts of me that sometimes wish I had a singular passion. I think it's easier. Like if I was into knitting and I was like, I am so knitting, like I knit all day and

like forever I'm going to knit. But I know that would get boring to me like two months in, three months in. Yeah, I'm the same way. And it's interesting for me also because I'm working on the third book right now. The first two were business books and the third one is not. And what I'm realizing even about entrepreneurship, you know, it's like if you looked on my LinkedIn, there's like 300 and something endorsements for entrepreneurship. And that's kind of like one of the things I'm known for.

And I love entrepreneurship. I've been kind of like one of the things I'm known for. And I love entrepreneurship. I've been an entrepreneur a number of times over. I've helped entrepreneurs. What I'm coming to learn is that the truth of it is I'm less interested in the things that get created in the actual business outcomes created by entrepreneurship, I'm more interested in how entrepreneurship serves as a canvas for the growth of the entrepreneur, which is like a brand spanking new realization for me. And it's like, it's explaining so many things for me. And it explains, you know, the programs that we run and why people emerge from them just like profoundly different people no matter what happens with their business.

Because my approach is so different. And I didn't key in on that until really recently. So it's interesting for me because I'm like, for a long time, I'm like the entrepreneur guy. I need to write books about business and entrepreneurship. And what I'm realizing is increasingly nothing I've written has really been about entrepreneurship it's about the human condition see that's how i feel about my last two books are about career but if you read them like yeah it's about character totally it's about the process and it's and that's what fascinates me and there's people that are great at that other thing that need to go be in that space and so like have like that's the that's them living

authentically out of who they are and so what happens sometimes is in nashville i'll have conversations with people that are entrepreneurs like hardcore like i want to build a business and if the widget was yellow instead of a book i'd do a yellow widget because i'm building a business and my goal is to have 10 million dollars in sales and 50 people and then i'll come back and tell my wife that's what i need to do like they told me i need to do that too. She'll go, stop going to lunch with these people. Like that's not good enough. You and I are like frightening and have a feeling our wives are frighteningly similar also.

Well, like for me, it's kind of the self-awareness is a great thing, but where it gets mutated is if it becomes like wanting approval too much and wanting to win the room and knowing how to read the room. And so like the challenge to you is in learning that it's, it's like, I think I've said this before, like, it's like you're standing in front of a white wall and you've been a

chameleon and you have to stop long enough to go, okay, I've always had a wall like entrepreneur. That's my wall. I'll, I'll form that look. And then to really be honest and go, that's not,

it's, it's a flavor of it, but it's a very different, because there would be hardcore entrepreneurs that I guarantee that went to camp that were like, right, when are we doing the LLC stuff? And you're like, actually, that's great. That's a great execution. But the big thing, the thing that will drive all of that is the questions you ask, like, where did that come from? Like, who told you that was, like, who gave you that truth?

And how did it get kind of broken in the last 20 years? That's the stuff that's curious to me. And the tension of going, our culture believes you can be anything you want, and that's not true. I'll never play in the NFL. And that's not failure. And so helping somebody in an honest, hopeful way

see beyond themselves, because most people can't see their real talent, can't see their real joy, but also have not accept that if they don't do a certain thing, it's a failure. You might love to sing, and I hope you do, but the goal is to sing more and to understand how to do that joy more, not to win a Grammy.

The Grammy's a consequence. And if you're not good at singing, it's not good for either of us to go, if you don't get a Grammy, the journey has been wasted. Yeah, so it's funny that we share that in common. I think we could probably swap stories forever. Yeah, I'm guessing we could. But in the interest of coming full circle, since we've been jamming for about an hour now,

so the name of this is Good Life Project. So if I offer that term out to you, to live a good life, what does it mean? To me, it means spending more time being who I honestly am. Like if I could, you know, less time faking it, less time being who I think I'm supposed to be or doing what I think I'm supposed to do or doing what everybody else is doing. And more time, honestly, being who I am and being brave enough to be that and for that to be enough. Like for that, you know, and not criticizing other people because I feel insecure and I need to cut them down to feel better about myself. Not hiding what I really feel.

Not, you know, not avoiding confrontation and letting anger boil into the surface. But really being plugged into here's who I am and that's enough. And here's how I express that. And here's how I plug into a story bigger than my own because mine alone is really small. And it's funny when you get things you thought you wanted that would make you a certain way and then you get them, you realize, okay, like it might sound cliche,

like there's a lot of cliches, but it's about the journey, not the destination. Like that's true. Like it might've been ruined on mugs and Instagram photos or whatever of like sunsets, but it's true because if you go, okay, here's the amount of money or here's the New York Times title, here's whatever. And that's why you do your thing. When you get the thing, you realize it's empty. And you have to go back to that joy part

and have to go back to that, here's who I was really created to be. And did I do that today? And which areas didn't I do that in? And which areas did I really do that in? And did I have enough grace to not be great at it? Like we joked about good podcasts, bad podcasts, but you're going to be bad at things you're new at,

and that's how it should be. And you can't compare it to somebody else's, and that I give myself grace to get through the bad seasons because there's going to be some. And you don't get to learn new things unless you give yourself that grace. So those are, to me, the things, the good life. And then that you're known by people who really love you and that they have access to tell you the truth. I think that so many times when people are facing a decision, they ask me for feedback.

I'll say, well, what's your team saying? What are the people that know you and really love you saying? Beautiful. Thank you. Yeah. Thanks for having me. Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's episode. If you found something valuable, entertaining, engaging, or just plain fun, I'd be so appreciative if you take a couple extra seconds and share it. Maybe you want to email it to a friend. Maybe you want to share it around social media. Or even be awesome if you'd head over to iTunes and just give us a rating. Every little bit helps get the word out and it helps more people get in touch with the message.

I'm Jonathan Fields, signing off for Good Life Project. Mayday, mayday, we've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were going to be fun. On January 24th. Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is?

You're going to die. Don't shoot him, we need him. Y'all need a pilot. Flight risk. The Apple Watch Series 10 is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist,

whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest charging Apple Watch, getting you eight hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series 10, available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone XS or later required, charge time and actual results will vary.