Join the mission
And: what I learned from the most successful authors
Note: I only write one purely self-promotional post per year. I hope you’ll read this short one. If you unsubscribe because of this, you’ll miss out on getting to read my spiciest essay next time! (seriously – everyone has advised me not to post that one…)
It’s been nearly one year since the release of my book, How to Be a Grown Up. The purpose of writing the book was not to gain money or fame—the purpose was to help twentysomething year-olds by equipping them with all the crucial life skills school never taught them.
The nice thing about this mission is that anyone can help. Everyone who gifts a copy of the book, or even mentions it to someone else, can help the next generation live better, more fulfilled lives.
So, how did we do in year 1?
I gave life skills workshops for young employees at many companies such as Dell and Microsoft.
The book has been on the shelves of not only major booksellers like Barnes & Noble, but also indie bookstores across the country. I often get these “spotted in the wild” photos from friends who are perusing their local bookshop:
The book even made it into a furniture ad for Wayfair??
The stunt I pulled at Princeton went somewhat viral on Facebook. Here is the short version in case you never saw it:
The book became a bestseller on Amazon in multiple categories, including #1 in “Grooming & Style” – even though it contains zero grooming advice, and my wife Charlotte would often like to have a word with me about my style (read: lack thereof). Which makes me wonder how legit these Amazon categories are in the first place… but hey, we’ll take it!
The book was featured in articles in People Magazine, Oprah, Forbes, The Atlantic, The Economist, The Free Press and more.
Notably, it was not featured in this writeup about the growing popularity of Adulting 101 courses… which is great! My dream from the first day of teaching was that my curriculum would spread to other universities so more students could benefit—and it looks like that is finally starting to happen. (Don’t worry, if you ask ChatGPT where the first-ever Adulting 101 course was taught, it will still cite mine at Boston College.)
I’ve received beautiful testimonials from readers. I’ll just share my favorite one:
“This book gets me. It’s like you were in my head… you often knew what question I was about to ask, then immediately answered it.”
We are soon entering 2026’s graduation season, which is a great opportunity to get the book into the hands of more twentysomethings and accomplish the mission.
How can you help?
During the publication process, I spoke with dozens of bestselling authors. The most common advice on marketing was: “Focus on podcasts. That’s the only thing that actually converts to book sales.”
I was skeptical. Marketing-wise, last year, I tried throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what would stick: the aforementioned corporate talks, online advertising, TV interviews, and more. And I learned: those authors were right. My appearances on podcasts led to way more sales than everything else combined.
So, my one request from you this year: which podcast should I try to go on? Bonus points if you know the host or producer (and negative points if you recommend a massive podcast where my chances are slim, like Mel Robbins or Joe Rogan… unless you know the host or producer!)
If you want to get a sense of what these are like—and hear some ideas I’ve never written about before—here is my appearance on the Liz Moody show:
If no podcasts come to mind, you can also help by:
Gifting the book to a friend who is about to graduate, or still in their twenties!
Leaving a review on Amazon! These matter more than you think… Just don’t be as snarky as this guy on Goodreads:
Thank you!!! Hopefully, with your help, this will be the year that the adulting movement catches on, that millions of twentysomethings are set up for better futures… and also maybe that the book gets to #1 in the Amazon category of “Good Titles, Not Just Good Content”.