When the Words By and Now Don't Go Together
In his brand-new book Quitter, Jon Acuff encourages you to pursue your dreams regardless of your age. Here?s a clue: It?s never too late. In the excerpt below, Jon explains how the phrase ?by now? can keep us from pursuing our dreams.
By Jon Acuff
I hate the words by now. Not separately. I?ve never had a problem with by when it?s on its own or supporting another sentence. I have no issue with ?Stuff Christians Like, by Jon Acuff.? It performs admirably in that example. And now is a fine word too. Short, rhymes with cow, often the place people encourage you to live. I got nothing but love for now.
But when those two words team up and hit the town together, fist pumping and drinking the night away, they become something entirely different. They are not peanut butter and chocolate, together at last. They are orange juice and gasoline, helpful in isolation, napalm collectively.
The problem is that ?by now? is a phrase we say to ourselves when we?re trying to believe the lie that it?s too late to start pursuing our dream. As we survey our lives and stand on the edge of the possibility cliff, we start to say things like:
?If I were really going to be a high school teacher, by now I would have already had a few years of teaching experience.?
?If I were going to be a musician, by now I?d be better at the guitar.?
?If I were going to be a pastor, by now I would have gone to seminary.?
The goal of the phrase ?by now? is to offer yourself a twisted justification that, indeed, you could have been what you wanted to be but, alas, you?re too late. The tricky thing is that ?by now? isn?t age specific. You?ll tell yourself this at 25 or 55.
And if you convince yourself of this, you will also believe the next lie, which is ?Don?t start.?
The window of opportunity has closed. The ship has sailed while I was busy working or parenting or paying off student loans. It?s too late. Don?t start.
Don?t let the phrase ?by now? in. Like the vampires in the first Corey Haim film, Lost Boys (the only Lost Boys film I officially recognize), it can only come in if you invite it.
If you haven?t by now, get Jon?s new book, Quitter. It?s time to discover how to kick the lie that it?s too late for your dream job!
Excerpted from Quitter by Jon Acuff. Copyright 2011 by Lampo Licensing, LLC. Published by The Lampo Press. Used with permission.
Source: http://www.daveramsey.com/article/when-the-words-by-and-now-dont-go-together/lifeandmoney_career
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