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1-Page Summary of Quitter

Overview

Everyone has their own idea of where they want to be in life. Some people will even make plans to reach that place, but most people don’t ever get there and are stuck in jobs they hate or aren’t passionate about.

This book is based on a man’s journey from dead-end jobs to his goal of becoming an author. It explains how you can make your dream job happen, too.

In this piece, you’ll discover why it’s better to work hard in the morning than at night, and why some people never seem to have enough.

Big Idea #1: Finding your dream job doesn’t start with quitting your current one.

A survey in the United States in 2011 showed that 84 percent of employees planned to look for a new job. That’s huge! You might’ve even been one of them.

You want to find a dream job, but how do you go about finding it? You can’t just quit your current job without having something else lined up. Here’s why:

First, you might find yourself dealing with new financial concerns. For instance, you’ll have to deal with your electricity bill and water bill in addition to the bills that were previously handled by your boss. Second, personal relationships can be strained because of money worries. For example, if a couple is worried about finances they may fight more often because of their anxiety over money issues.

It’s best to keep your day job while looking for a new one. In fact, you should only take the offer if it’s really good. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck in an unfulfilling job that could have been avoided.

Jon Acuff’s first book contract was terrible. A publisher offered to buy the rights for his book, keep all of the profits, and then sell copies back to him so he could then sell them via his blog. Luckily, he had work at the time or else it would’ve been a completely different story.

It’s important to have a job and stay in it. You don’t want to be unemployed, because you’ll get lazy and unhappy. It’s better to work hard at your job so that you can maintain discipline.

Big Idea #2: Hinge moments can help you rediscover your dream.

Some people have a vague idea of what they want to do in life, like being an accountant but wanting to be an artist.

Not everyone can see their path in life. Some people don’t even know what they want to do with their lives. Instead of asking the question, “What do I want to do with my life?”, ask yourself a more manageable question like, “What have I done in my life so far that I really loved doing?”

Dreams are often not recognized at first. We usually figure out what they mean after we revisit them. Bono, the anti-poverty campaigner and lead singer of U2, realized his dream this way. He visited Ethiopia in the 1980s and struggled to understand poverty there and wanted to help with it.

In the 1990s, he got a chance to work with Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela fighting against poverty.

If you’ve forgotten what made you special, look back on your life for pivotal moments. These are moments that make an impact on the person’s future and they often seem insignificant at first. They can be happy or sad. Ultimately, these hinge moments push people in a direction they might not have taken otherwise.

Acuff was a young student. One day, his teacher asked him to write a book. He did it even though the other students were doing something else. His book was then laminated and bound to make it look real. This event made Acuff realize that he loved writing and wanted to do it forever.

Big Idea #3: View the risks you take through a telescope.

It’s natural for people to be afraid of risks. For example, Acuff took a risk when he left his job and moved away from home in order to pursue his dream of becoming a writer.