In stock and shocked

The first book I ever read all the way through was Baseball is My Life, by Tom Seaver, who was a pitcher for the New York Mets. I was 16. Aside from that, I generally asked other people to tell me what the book was about and just winged it.

Now it’s a different story–I read a book a week, on average. At times, two or three. But it was still a shock to find myself standing in a bookstore with my book for sale on the shelf.

I’ve sold plenty of books at signings, when people are engaged and want to continue discussing the topics of extreme anxiety and successful business. But it’s a different thing entirely to wander into a store in a city far from home and find your work staring back at you.

I was on vacation with my wife in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and we were enjoying the day, doing a little casual window-shopping. We stopped in a bookstore, and I wandered into the ‘Personal Growth’ section to see if there was anything new and interesting. To my amazement, they carried my book!

I won’t kid you–it felt pretty awesome. I approached the store owner and thanked him for carrying my book. He seemed as excited to meet me as I was to meet him, and asked me to autograph the entire stock of books. How could I say no?