Starting Friday night and extending all day Saturday, we’ll have the most creative speakers, surprising surprises and helpful content.

Why should you come?

Because fear fears community.

Social media is awesome, but there’s something amazing about being in the same room with hundreds of other people who are hustling on their dreams too. You get encouragement, tips and most importantly, you get community.

On top of that, I’ve put together a dream list of speakers and they all said yes. You’ve seen their work on the cover of Time Magazine, watched their careers blow up internationally and laughed alongside them from a far. But soon, you’ll get to hang out with them, learn from them and launch your dream with them.

Plus, for the first time ever, we’re having a VIP experience. With the VIP package you’ll go to dinner with me at Mangia (I took this video myself of the chef dancing).

It’s the most amazing 3 hour Italian family dinner and dancing and Frank Sinatra awesomeness you’ve ever seen. There will also be a ton of bonus items that will be announced in the coming weeks.

Our last 5 events sold out.

That’s not hype, that’s just the truth and I hate having to tell people they missed their chance to attend.

If you attended one in the past, come to this one too because it’s new content.

If you’ve never attended one, ask someone who has if it was awesome.

Early bird sign up starts today.

Whether you’ve got a specific dream you’re working on or just know that there’s a gap between who you are and who you know you can really be.

Expect special announcements about the speakers in the weeks to come.

Don’t miss the Start Event.

Sign up today!

It’s full of photos of amazing cabins, vistas that stretch for miles, and perfect places to write a book.

It’s fun to think that I’ll write there. Maybe you have a similar fantasy. As you work on a dream, you imagine pursuing it in some fun, creative setting.

But the reality is, I write in the space in the photo below more than just about anywhere else. That’s inside an arena somewhere. I’ve found a chair to sit in as I wait to go speak at an event.

It’s not sexy.

It’s not romantic.

It’s not how I might have dreamt it.

But it’s the space I have to work with, so work I will.

I don’t know what your dream is, but I know you have to hustle on it wherever you are.

Don’t wait for a snowy cabin in the woods to start working.

Just start.

Does your view of the situations in your life make a difference?

Does your filter change things?

It does.

And I’ll let tennis legend John McEnroe sum up his career and the critical importance of perception in one quote.

Why?

Because the first chapter doesn’t tell them what they want to hear. They expect a book titled Quitter to be full of dreamy, rainbowy fluff about how you should “just go for it” or “step out in faith.” Instead, they find a first chapter titled “Don’t quit your day job.”

That’s a bit of a bummer, but it’s the best way. Ask Nicholas Sparks.

Regardless of what you think about his romance novels, there is no questioning his unbelievable success. He has sold tens of millions of books in the last ten years. But did he quit when he got his first deal?

I’ll let him tell you via a Vanity Fair interview:

Reporter:
I have never heard of an unknown author getting paid a million dollars. What was the first thing you did?

Nicholas Sparks:
I was immediately struck by disbelief. It felt like I had won the lottery, but at the same time I didn’t even know if people would buy the book, so I didn’t quit my job for another year.

Let’s recap for a quick second. Nicholas Sparks got a million dollar advance. Instead of assuming the whole planet would buy his book, he kept his day job. For a whole year.

I love it.

May we all have the patience of Nicholas Sparks and be deliberate about the cliffs we jump off on the road to chasing our dreams.

Why?

Because how fast is our culture getting? One second? Really? Is that now a product benefit? Something has to win your attention by promising you only 1 second per usage.

But I get it. Life is full right now. Life is busy right now. That’s why people have phone conversations in the bathroom. Unless you’re a heart surgeon inexplicably performing surgery via phone, you can hang up for 60 seconds. Do you know how many people have died because I don’t talk on the phone in the bathroom? None.

Slow down.

The best things in life take time, and when we don’t give it to them, they just become OK things.

During the interview, the journalist said something surprising. He said:

“I have to confess. I’m not at all familiar with your music.”

This is a subtle insult.

Why?

Because when journalists interview musicians, they research them. They listen to their music. They listen to a lot of their music. They prepare.

This journalist didn’t, though, and instead deliberately brought up that point.

How did the musician respond? Was he insulted or angry?

Nope.

He simply said, “Well, that’s quite all right. I probably haven’t read many of your articles, but this is the beauty of our business.”

That insult didn’t even have a second to land on his shoulder. He brushed it aside before it could touch down.

Let the little insults go. They tend to cause big damage if we hold on to them too tightly.

One of my favorite things about this tour has been the broad range of events where Jon has spoken. In Nashville he spoke at Kairos, a young adult worship service. In Atlanta he spoke to several thousand Kids and Youth ministry pastors, leaders and volunteers at the Orange Conference. The next day in Tampa he spoke at an event sponsored by the Center for Non-Profit Leadership that brought together leaders and influencers from the city’s non-profit and for-profit sectors. Last Saturday and Sunday he spoke at 4 services across 2 campuses at Central Christian Church in Phoenix. Monday it was a private event for the sales team, executives and clients of a radio organization in San Antonio. Tuesday was a sold-out Start Night event in Austin. Wednesday was a leadership break-out with Rachel Cruze at Catalyst and Thursday was a main stage talk at Catalyst. It’s been incredible to see him connect with such a wide array of audiences in so many different settings.

Undoubtedly one of the many highlights of the tour happened while we were at dinner Wednesday night before the Dallas book signing and got the news that START had debuted at #5 on the New York Times Best Sellers list! Minutes later, Jon was walking into Barnes & Noble and doing his first book signing as a New York Times Best-Selling author. Pretty awesome!

To celebrate the success of the launch of START and the New York Times debut, Dave Ramsey made arrangements to fly in to Dallas a day early, bringing Jon’s family from Nashville, to surprise and congratulate him following his main stage talk at Catalyst. And that’s exactly what happened.

It was such a great moment and was a shining example of how much Dave believes in and supports Jon and his message.  Dave also announced that everyone at Catalyst Dallas was receiving a free copy of START immediately following the session.

After today’s stop in Houston, the tour has 2 more stops; Albany, Georgia this Sunday the 5th and the Los Angeles area on Monday the 6th. You can get more details on those dates here.

Jon will be sharing more about the whole book release and tour experience in the coming days, but I’ve really enjoyed having the opportunity to share a bit with you from my perspective on the road with him. It’s been an amazing experience! I’ve had a blast being part of this adventure with Jon, supporting, encouraging and working alongside him as his dream became a reality and I can’t wait to start hearing stories from people whose life trajectory has been impacted by START!

On the right is Scrabble for the iPhone.

Which would you play?

The chat will take place Friday from 11am-12pm CDT right on this page.

*UPDATE: The live #StartBook Q&A was awesome! Thanks to everybody who watched and submitted questions! We’ll have to do that again soon. If you missed it, you can watch the full video below!

A few days ago I came across a video review someone had done for START.  The woman who made it is named Tracie and I actually got to meet her after speaking Saturday night in Phoenix. It’s pretty awesome and I wanted to share it with you!

See below for links to all of the various sizes and designs.

iPhone/iPad Lock Screen

• Slide to Start: iPhone 4 | iPhone 5 | iPad

Desktop Wallpaper 

• Punch Fear in the Face:
  1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1920 x 1200 | 2560 x 1440
• Do Work That Matters:
  1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1920 x 1200 | 2560 x 1440
• Average to Awesome Switch:
  1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1920 x 1200 | 2560 x 1440

Facebook Cover Images

• Escape Average
• I Am Ready to Start
• Punch Fear in the Face
• It’s Time to Start
• It’s Time to Start (with book cover)
• Average to Awesome Switch
• What Are You Starting?

Twitter/Facebook Profile Images

• Escape Average
• I’m Ready to Start
• It’s Time to Start
• What Are You Starting?

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to pick up a copy of my new book START yet, today I wanted to give you the first full chapter for FREE.

If you’re ready to escape average, do work that matters and punch fear in the face, I believe this book is for you!

START Free First Chapter Download

If you like what you read and want to purchase the full book, here’s where you can do that:

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on DaveRamsey.com

Buy it on Barnes & Noble

Buy it on Books A Million

This interview clip is courtesy of the EntreLeadership Podcast. Check it out for great teaching on business, team building, and leadership.

I’m so excited to see this day come and to be able to share with all of you what I’ve poured into START!  I want to thank everyone for your support leading up to this day. It’s been an awesome journey, but it’s just the beginning!

Here are some places where you purchase START beginning today:

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on DaveRamsey.com

Buy it on Barnes & Noble

Buy it on Books A Million.

Last night Dave Ramsey and I threw a huge party right in the middle of Times Square to celebrate and kick off the START Book Tour with a couple hundred friends.  It was amazing! Here’s a quick recap:

In case you missed it, here is the killer book trailer the Ramsey video team put together.

So there you go!

It’s time to START!

This is Grant and for the next few weeks I’m helping Jon with the tour. We’ve known each other for years and I was excited when he asked me to tag along! I’m looking forward to the opportunity to connect with you guys to talk a little about the START Book Tour.

As Jon tweeted yesterday, I’ll be on the START Book Tour with him, managing social media, documenting this crazy adventure on video and assisting him in general. You guys will be hearing from me via social media and periodically here on the blog over the next couple weeks.

What’s been many months worth of planning, strategizing and dreaming is now a reality!  Today, the START Tour bus is pulling out of Nashville enroute to New York City for the official START Book Tour Kick Off event in Times Square this Sunday, April 21. Wow!

Over the next 2 weeks we’ll be traveling to 11 cities where Jon will be speaking at a variety of events, doing book signings and getting to meet many of you all along the way. Here’s a listing of all the START Book Tour stops:

4/21    New York City Kick-Off Event *SOLD OUT*
4/23    Brentwood, TN – Speaking @ Kairos
4/24    Brentwood, TN – Book Signing @ Cool Springs Barnes & Noble
4/25    Atlanta, GA – Orange Conference
Lawrenceville, GA – Book Signing @ Lawrenceville Books-A-Million
4/26    Tampa, FL – Book Signing @ Brandon Books-A-Million
4/27    Phoenix, AZ – Speaking @ Central Christian Church
4/28    Phoeniz, AZ – Speaking @ Central Christian Church
4/29    San Antonio, TX – Book Signing @ Books-A-Million
4/30    Austin, TX – Book Signing @ Barnes & Noble
Austin, TX – START Night *SOLD OUT*
5/1      Dallas, TX – Speaking @ Catalyst Dallas
Dallas, TX – Book Signing @ Northwest Hwy Barnes & Noble
5/2      Dallas, TX – Lab @ Catalyst Dallas
5/3      Houston, TX – Book Signing @ Mardel’s
5/5      Albany, GA – Speaking @ Sherwood Baptist
5/6      Los Angeles, CA – Book Signing @ Santa Monica Barnes & Noble

You can get all the full details, times and addresses on the Speaking Events page here.

If we’re coming to or near your city, we’d love for you to come out to say hello. I know Jon would love to meet you, thank you for your support, give you a side hug and personally sign your copy of START!

Who knows what all kinds of awesomeness we’ll get into over the next couple weeks. Whatever it is, you won’t want to miss any of it. We’ll be doing a lot of fun stuff and it’s going to be a blast! See you on the road!

Times Square and I have been on a crash course for six months.

Ever since Dave Ramsey dared me to create an awesome kick off for my new book, New York was on my map.

The team designed a crazy event.

First, I’ll give a talk about the five lands every awesome life goes through. In a small, intimate theater, I’ll lay out some ideas.

Then, and this is where it gets crazy, we’ll all put on the amazing Start NYC shirts the team designed. They are red and loud and not at all shy.

Then, I’ll lead a few hundred of my new friends down a block into Times Square where the book tour bus is parked.

We’ll do a quick countdown, and then I’ll unveil two ridiculous surprises.

The truth is, I’m a little afraid.

I want the event to go well.

I want things to work.

I want the book to sell on the launch day.

And a lot of those things are out of my hands.

But do you know who’s hands I’m not going to put them in? Fear.

I’m not hosting fear this weekend. I’m not entertaining it or rolling around in it or giving it a huge stage in my heart to really shout from.

Fear isn’t invited to Times Square this weekend. You are and I am and lots of other people.

Instead, I’m going to make fear afraid.

And you should too.

These are dipping sauces that McDonald’s came out with in 1983.

They were easy to use, popular, and helped sell a lot of McNuggets.

This? Is the new design of ketchup.

Was it launched in 1983?

Maybe 1984?

Surely someone saw how great the design was for the dipping sauces and decided to put ketchup in that same container.

Nope?

It would be 20 years before the new ketchup packets rolled out.

Why?

Because innovation is hard. Sometimes it hides right in plain sight.

Got a problem you’re facing right now? Don’t miss the forest for the trees. Or, in this case, the ketchup for the dipping sauces.

Want the first chapter of the Start audio book, also read by me, for free?

Visit NoiseTrade this week.

It’s absolutely free. If you give me a tip, all the money will go to support Charity:Water.

It’s only free for one week. Click here to get it!

Normally, that’s an optimistic gesture at best.

If you have ticket issues with a Patriots game, you probably don’t tweet Robert Kraft, the owner. You call customer service.

If your pizza is bad, you don’t tweet Papa John, you call your local Papa John’s.

If your Jim Collins book wasn’t delivered, you don’t tweet Jim Collins, you email Amazon.

But this person tweeted Dave Ramsey directly, and what did Dave do? He responded.

He beat me to the tweet. He informed customer service about the issue and helped fix it.

There were 350 people between Dave Ramsey and the person with the issue. A customer service team, the publishing team, the web development team, and me.

But Dave responded. Why?

Because he believes you should stand behind your stuff.

He loves to make sure everyone who bumps into the work we’re doing has a good experience.

He wants you to be super served and walk away from an interaction with us with a wonderful experience.

He stands behind his stuff.

And I’m learning to as well. That’s why, when we throw events like Start NYC this coming Sunday, we offer a money-back guarantee. (You can buy a ticket here.)

If you don’t love it, if you don’t think it’s awesome, you’ll get your money back. Without discussion or feeling like you have to prove anything.

Why?

Because you should always stand behind your stuff.

I don’t know what your dream is, or who it might serve some day, but I know this.

Whether you’re a small author or one of the biggest radio personalities in the country, you’re never too big for a tweet.

And you never outgrow the need to stand behind your stuff.

It’s an act of rescuing something from your past that you loved but you lost.

Finding your dream is usually a reunion, not a first date. A matter of bumping back into something you put down because life got too busy.

Why is that hard?

Why is that difficult?

Because recovery is hard.

My wife hurt her finger a few years ago. With a power drill. And she had to recover. For weeks, she had to go to physical therapy. She had to fight and squeeze and struggle with painful exercises.

And that was just a finger. She spent months ultimately wrestling that finger back. (Her x-ray is below. I will let you guess which one was hurt.)

We spent painful nights and hard days trying to help her get feeling back. And that was just a finger.

Will it be hard to recover your dream?

It will, oh it will. But know this, it is worth it.

What does it mean?

The short answer? He’s a great leader.

The long answer?

We’re planning the biggest, craziest thing we’ve done together in the last three years.

We rented part of Times Square. We rented a huge digital billboard. We’re parking the Start tour bus in the middle of Times Square. Then we’re throwing a party for 200 people. (There are a few tickets left, so sign up if you want to come.)

It’s a massive endeavor with a thousand moving pieces. We’re giving people t-shirts and posters. I’m giving a talk about what it means to really punch fear in the face.

There’s a lot of pressure. So when Dave visited New York last week, he wanted to encourage me.

He took a picture of our friend JK standing in the exact same spot we’d be on April 21. And then he told me to punch fear in the face. Why?

Because leaders go first.

Part of good leadership is being willing to go first.

To step into a fear or an opportunity and go first.

To shout first.

To own the situation first.

To celebrate first.

That last one is often the hardest. Leaders sometimes feel they are being too over-the-top. They don’t want to come off as cheesy or silly. So they don’t celebrate loudly. They quietly pat backs and shake hands. But the best leaders celebrate first.

When you go first, you give everyone you lead the opportunity to go next. And next is always easier than first.

Start NYC is going to be crazy. How do I know?

Because Dave Ramsey went first.

The t-shirt is free when you buy a ticket for $19.

The first 50% of the tickets sold out in the first four days after we launched the event. It will sell out soon. Don’t miss your chance to go. If you’re ready to Start, sign up today.