My next book will be released in a week. It's called Unhinged Habits, and this is where I begin doubting myself.
A lot of people are about to judge the book.
Your brain optimizes for safety, a remnant of a more dangerous time. We excuse away risk, inventing reasons not to take chances. Like the smart kid who stops trying—if he doesn't try, he can't fail, but if he does and fails, he's exposed as a fraud. I feel a pull to keep quiet with Unhinged Habits. To not promote my work. Because then nobody can judge it. Safety is where weak people hide when they can't overcome their own impulses. And so I push on.
Up until now, this book was a project I was working on. Not yet real. But here I am, a week from its release on January 27th, nervous and excited like a stage actor before the curtain opens.
Unhinged Habits challenges the notion that long-term consistency is the most important element of success
The advice to pursue slow and incremental progress for a vague, yet improved future always bothered me. Consider your own experience. Are you consistent? Do you even know what that means? Consistent at what? For how long? Forever? In all things? Like, if you are consistent in one area—say health—what about money and relationships? Are you consistent in all three, in all the ways you need to be, all of the time? I can't.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized: I don't know anyone who has achieved anything meaningful through consistency alone. What's always missing are seasonal bouts of unhinged intensity.
Consistency maintains, but intensity transforms. Like cardio and weights, you need both for well-rounded success and longevity.
This is a book about wanting a better life and going after it.
It's got a contrarian spin. But so has my life.
I didn't become a doctor like my family thought I would. Instead, I built the first certification for online fitness well before the industry was ready. Then I lived in a different country for 4-6 months every year for 13 years. During that time, I built big enough social media followings to learn that building big social media audiences is a gloriously inefficient way to build a business and that real connections with real humans is a far better marketing strategy.
You should not accept normal. Nobody has ever gotten anywhere interesting by always doing what they were supposed to do.
Contrarian spins are useful because they are challenging. They force you to reflect on your way of being. You will either change or become more confident in your direction. Both positive results.
They say the work must be the win. And I believe that to be true.
Whatever happens—whether this book becomes a top-selling success or not—selfishly, it has already been a win for me.
The lessons from Unhinged Habits have already transformed me into more of the father, friend, spouse, grown-up son, businessperson, and human that I want to become. My hope is that what I’ve written down will be as useful for you as it has already been for me.
-Jon
Unhinged Habits is available in hardcover, Kindle, and audio. You can currently preorder it from Amazon, Indigo/Chapters, Barnes and Noble, or through your local bookstore. Bulk order discounts are available for 25+ copies. Please send an email to [email protected] with subject "Bulk order - Unhinged Habits" for more details.
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