Want to learn the ideas in Do Over better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of Do Over by Jon Acuff here.

Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.

Video Summaries of Do Over

We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on Do Over, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Jon Acuff.

1-Page Summary of Do Over

Why You Might Need a “Career Do Over”

No matter how bad your job is or how you feel about it, you can make a career change at any rank or age. And your company will create a career change for you whether you’re ready or not. Don’t be blindsided by a sudden job shift because you didn’t prepare. Sooner or later, one of the following 4 situations will happen: “a Career Jump”, “a Career Bump”, “Career Ceiling” and/or “Career Opportunity”. Handle them by building up your Career Savings Account (CSA) in advance with four kinds of investment: relationships, skills, character and hustle. If you’ve hit a ceiling on your current position, use those same skills to break through that ceiling to get where you want to go. A jump usually means changing companies, getting promoted within the company or starting your own business; draw from the character portion of your CSA when this happens. An opportunity occurs when something unexpected happens such as someone leaving their job opening up an opportunity for promotion; then hustle! A bump happens when we are fired due to downsizing or laid off in tough times; our relationships help us get through these challenges efficiently and effectively without fear and complacency setting in which could undermine our do-over plans.

The Influence of Relationships

The cliché that your career hinges on whom you know is true. You can build relationships by making a list of all the people you know and categorizing them based on different criteria, such as how they can help you in your career or if they are family members.

  • I asked my friends for advice on what I should do after college. They suggested that I start with something small and work my way up to bigger things. I think this is good advice because it will help me gain experience while working towards a career goal.

  • Who do you know who owns a business? – If you’re trying to start your own business, it’s helpful to network with other entrepreneurs. * Which online gurus do you follow who work within your desired industry? – Social media can help people connect no matter how far away they are from each other. * Which casual acquaintances are you forgetting? – You might want to make sure that nobody slips through the cracks when making connections for networking purposes.

Friend, Foe or Advocate?

At work, people form three types of relationships: friend, foe, and advocate. Most co-workers are friends or acquaintances. Some will be close friends. Foes oppose your ideas or actions in order to prevent you from achieving success. Advocates help you succeed by supporting your ideas and encouraging you to pursue them.

It’s best to deal with your foes by ignoring them. Not everyone who is negative towards you is a foe. Mean people are just mean, and aren’t trying to be enemies. They’re focused on their own lives and can’t be bothered with undermining you. It’s best not to pay attention to online critics because if you have a bad boss, it would be better for you to change your work ethic or quit the job than pay attention to those critics.

You never know who is going to help you out. You may not expect it, but someone might come along and surprise you. Work relationships are like boomerangs—if you throw one out there, it will come right back at you if you don’t lose track of it. If people aren’t getting back to you after throwing a few boomerangs, then maybe they’re not the kind of people that really want to be friends with or work with. Don’t ignore phone calls and emails from old contacts because they may be more important than what’s happening now.

Do Over Book Summary, by Jon Acuff