Our lives are stories. Sometimes living a better story requires making a big, hairy, scary change. Like moving across the country or taking a huge pay cut to do what you love. But most of the time we just need to be open to the art of tinkering. I am super excited to announce a fun side project I'd been working on for an exciting new company called Snippet. They are doing some cool things in the publishing arena and have built a platform with tools that encourage writers to engage and delight their readers with a beautiful, connected experience. The first of what I hope will be many …
Kim & Jason News
The Escape Adulthood Summit is 45 Days Away!
Our small team of busy bees is hard at work to make this year's Summit a weekend to remember! Kim and I met with the caterer last week to finalize the menu. We weren't sure if they'd be able to accommodate what we had in mind, but they were more than willing to play with us. Last year was amazing, but this year is going to be epic! The most frustrating thing about all the planning is wanting to share all the cool stuff we have in store. But our aim to instill as much magic as possible requires that we keep most things a surprise. Which is really, really hard!!! Here's what I can say. …
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Behind the Scenes of My Book Writing Retreat, Part 2
You guys! I am thrilled to report that today I completed drafts for all 40 rules that will be in the book! I ended up including 6 of the top 7 rules voted on by you, so thank you to all who voted! (I decided the rule "Thou shalt take yourself seriously" was a theme that ran throughout many of the ones I already had, so that didn't make it.) Almost all of my writing took place outside near Lake Michigan today, as it was finally sunny and beautiful :) Tomorrow I will be hitting the sketchbook hard. I have plans to use much of my existing art in the final book, but I need to create a lot more …
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Behind the Scenes of My Book Writing Retreat
Pretty productive writing day yesterday! I have drafts of 28 of the 40 chapters for the book done, a feat I attribute 50% to focus & freedom from distraction and 50% to me drinking coffee for the first time :) Here are 10 things I wrote that I'm pretty proud of... “No one ever died at the age of 100 looking like a 19-year-old.” “And if you don’t want to make the bed, no evil will befall you. Sure, the ghost of your mother may haunt you, but it’s not like she wouldn’t have anything else to hound you about, right?” “The tuxedo I wore was a rental, but if it were still in my possession …
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Help Write My Book (a Poll)
As you may have heard, we have a new book in the works with St. Martin's Press about the "Rules That Don't Exist." There are approximately 1,385,984 of these so-called rules, although most of them have yet to be discovered. I have uncovered no less than 118 so far, but alas, the forthcoming book can only hold 40. (I smell a sequel. And maybe even some prequels starring the cousin of Jar Jar Binks!) Anyhoo, I am on a writing retreat in Milwaukee this very moment, trying to decide which rules should be included in this particular book. So far, I've got over 30 of the rules nailed down. …
Show & Tell Winner: Lego Maniac
A while back we asked you to send us a photo of something from your childhood that you still have. Our winning entry comes from Joel Conley, who wrote: I saved all my Legos from when I was a kid, for my kids, right? We play with them often spending hours sitting on the floor surrounded by the colorful building blocks of imagination. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my awesome Lego creation that I look around and realize the children have gone off to pursue other interests. I shrug, and build on. P.S. I married a woman who also kept her awesome Lego collection... For her kids... …
The Biggest News Since the Birth of Our Kids
As of today, Kim and I have been married for 14 years. So it seems like a good time to share some super exciting news with you guys... We recently finalized a book deal with a major New York publisher!!! St. Martin’s Press, which is owned by Macmillan Publishers, is headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City and is considered one of the largest English-language publishers. They loved the concept for my next book, “Penguins Can’t Fly and 39 Other Adultitis-Ridden Rules That Don’t Exist” (tentative cover above), and so we'll be working together to bring it to life! An Itty …
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The Two-Week, Twelve Buck T-Shirt Extravaganza
So I'm getting the itch to create some new products. Problem is, we are running out of space and I'm not interested in living in a warehouse. So for a limited time (just two weeks, to be exact) we are offering an insane deal on ALL of our t-shirts. At just $12 each, they are over 50% off! Priced to move, baby. Now here's the thing: when these shirts are gone, they're gone. We have no immediate plans to reprint them. (Because I'll be making new ones instead!) That being said, supplies are extremely limited -- especially for certain designs and sizes -- so act fast! …
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10 Reasons You Should Attend The Escape Adulthood Summit
Last year's Escape Adulthood Summit was really something special. Over 40 like-minded individuals from 8 different states came together in Madison for a life-changing weekend of fun, inspiration, and magic. It was, in a word, awesome. This year, our goal is to make it awesomer. There are 70 Golden Tickets available, but 50 are already gone, many claimed by people who've attended a previous Summit. Here are 10 reasons why you should consider joining their ranks: 1) The community. It can be terribly lonely when you feel like you’re the only one who sees the value in silliness, the …
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Let’s Be Young
A few years ago, Kim and I took a plunge. For years, we had dreamed about hosting some sort of live event for the kind of people who get giddy about making Adultitis all hot and bothered. The Escape Adulthood Summit was born, and it exceeded our wildest expectations. Last year, we did another one, and that one was even better. Number three is six months away, and -- BAM! -- we're determined to kick it up another notch. This year we have live butterflies on our team. Oh yeah, baby. The Escape Adulthood Summit is a multi-day event based on four cornerstones: Community, Inspiration, Magic, …
