I truly can’t thank all of you enough. My book “We” just hit #7 on the New York Times best seller list, #2 on the USA Today best seller list, and #3 on the Wall Street Journal list. It was an emotional roller coaster leading up to the big news…

My co-author, Rudy Karsan, and I were told by our publisher when the book launched that sales were strong and that we had a chance of making the lists.  They said that we’d hear the news on “Wednesday at 6pm.” I was on an airplane heading to Florida right at that time, secretly doing one last email check as we rumbled down the runway. No news. Oh well, maybe it’s just a few minutes late. I land in Orlando. Get in a cab. Now it’s after 9pm. I check my emails on my iPhone again, and again. Nothing. I go to the NYTimes website and the book isn’t listed. No news from anyone.

I call my coauthor, “Rudy, looks like we didn’t make it. Maybe next time.” I was so disappointed. I knew it was irrational and unreasonable to be so bummed out. It doesn’t mean anything…just a silly ego-boost, really. But still, I was really bummed out.

Writing a mass market book and making the lists has been a life dream. Something on the bucket list. Maybe this wasn’t just meant to be, I thought. I must have to do more to truly earn making that list. Maybe another path was to be followed. Maybe this would encourage me to write four more books before making the list and the satisfaction would be that much greater. Damn, I thought it was a really good book that could make the lists. Oh well.

The next morning I woke up in my dingy Orlando hotel room and flipped on the iPhone to do a routine check of emails. Spam. Spam. Request for meeting. Spam. Wait a minute, what’s this… but I thought… holy crap we made the lists!  Some explanation about snow delays or something like that, but we made the lists.

I hold no illusions about books that make the list. Making a best seller list has nothing to do with the quality of the writing, and everything to do with the quality and quantity of your friends. It’s clear that I’m blessed in this regard.

THANK YOU for supporting me on this crazy adventure.

Kevin

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Kevin Kruse is a NY Times bestselling author and keynote speaker. Get more success and tips from his newsletter at kevinkruse.com and check out keynote video clips. His new book, Employee Engagement 2.0, teaches managers how to turn apathetic groups into emotionally committed teams.