Ever since I can remember, my family lovingly embraced a specific phrase about trying to do too much:
“We’re trying to fit 10 pounds of sh** into a 5-pound bag!”
It could be about an overstuffed suitcase, a cluttered house, or a jam-packed schedule.
It creates the perfect mental image, and it makes me laugh every time I hear it.
I have been thinking about this phrase a lot lately. Specifically because my last three weeks felt like trying to cram 15 pounds of sh** into a 5 pound bag!
Fortunately, it was all for exciting reasons.
I survived, and wanted to fill you in.
I finally announced my secret project!
Two weeks ago, I finally announced my secret 3-year project, How to Try Again.
I legitimately get giddy every time I look at my book cover, because it is perfectly STEVE. Fun, colorful, funny, helpful.
And also, it tells you exactly what kind of book you’re going to get.
To say I’ve been overwhelmed by the response is an understatement.
I have received hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of emails and comments and replies from people who have pre-ordered the book and said really nice things about how my writing has helped them.
(I cried. A lot. If you were one of the emails or the comments, thank you. I read every one of them).
Real talk: I started seeing a new therapist lately, and one of the things I’m working on is learning to accept compliments. So, thanks for so many opportunities, ha!
In case you missed my announcement, and/or want to see some really nice things from amazing people, just read the comments on any of the posts below:
- I published a YouTube Video explaining my 3-year journey about the book.
- I shared it on Instagram.
- I also wrote about it on Threads.
It was strange waking up for the first morning in 3+ years without needing to keep this a secret any longer!
I celebrated with my friends and my parents (who were in town visiting), but then it was right back to work.
Then, I gave my first talk in 5+ years!
I get incredibly nervous giving prepared talks (another topic I’m working through with my therapist!).
However, I’m willing to give talks in service of the ideas from How to Try Again. I think my work can help people forgive themselves for being human.
So, when I was invited by my friend Ramit Sethi to give a virtual talk to his audience about navigating failure and creating hope, I said YES quickly before I gave my brain a chance to say “No.”
Of course, then I panicked and spent weeks over-preparing.
I imagine this will be the first talk of many I get to give this year, so I’m glad to report back:
I did it, and it wasn’t the worst thing in the world! And I think I did pretty well!
Creating hope is one of the key concepts from a later chapter in How to Try Again, so it was cool to get to share my research and stories and get people to take immediate action!
As soon as I had finished giving that talk, I allowed myself to celebrate, but immediately had to cram 10 more pounds of sh** into my poor little 5 pound bag!
Then, I recorded the audiobook for How to Try Again
Over the last 10 days, I had two time-sensitive tasks to complete:
Big Task #1: I had 72 hours to complete my final pass of my book (and yes, my coffee mug bonsai is thriving)
The “final pass” is the nearly-complete version of the book that I’m allowed to read one final time to make any tiny fixes. I printed the manuscript, read it out loud, and noted any final typos or grammar fixes.
Which means my book is officially “done.” My perfectionist brain is no longer allowed to tinker with sentences or specific words. It’s out of my hands.
I emailed the book back to my publisher, and it was on to…
Big Task #2: Go to a studio in Nashville for my weeklong audiobook recording session of How to Try Again!
Let me set the stage: a studio with an audio engineer (hey Craig!), an audiobook director in my headphones providing direction (thanks Oliver!) and me suddenly forgetting how to pronounce basic words and phrases.
For about six hours a day.
It was exhausting and strange…to start.
But by day two, I found my groove and really enjoyed the experience. (Okay I had an anxiety attack the first night, but I worked through that too. The rest of the week went well!)
I am SO PROUD of how this audiobook turned out.
I didn’t get to read the audiobook for Level Up Your Life, so I’m glad I got to read my own words in my own voice for How to Try Again.
I promise, you’ll be able to hear me smiling as I read the bad jokes in the book.
Nerd’s honor.
Questions & Attempted Answers!
I received a lot of questions (including a lot from international readers!) over the past few weeks about How to Try Again, and I wanted to answer as many of those questions as possible!
QUESTION: “Steve, where should I order the book that helps you out the most?”
This was the question that caught me off guard, and one that I got from dozens of people. Seriously, this means the world to me, and I’m so appreciative.
Here are my thoughts:
Buy it in whatever way is easiest for you. If you like audiobooks, great! If you like to read on a Kindle, great! I think the hardcover looks great, personally!
QUESTION: “But really Steve, what helps you the most!?”
Okay FINE! I suppose it would be pre-ordering a hardcover copy of my book from your favorite local independent bookstores (which you can find on BookShop.org) or a store like Barnes & Noble or whatever bookstore in your country)
(Why does this help the most? In addition to supporting local bookstores, hardcover books purchased from independent book “count more” towards hitting the bestseller lists!)
QUESTION: “Steve, can I buy a signed copy?”
Hopefully…yes? But I don’t have this sorted yet!
Now that I got through my three weeks of chaos, I can turn some attention to this! Once I get this sorted out as an option, I’ll share all the details here in this newsletter.
QUESTION: “Steve, I live in Ireland / the UK – will it be in bookstores here?”
Yes! My book has been acquired by MacMillan in the UK and will be out June 18th! The UK cover is a bit more traditional, but I promise it’s the same book full of heart and helpful stories.
If you want to order online, you can do so at MacMillan UK’s website and click on the “pre-order now” to see the drop down of all the places that are listed there.
In addition to Amazon, you should be able to go to your favorite bookstore in the UK or Ireland to buy it!
Despite my repeated offerings…the publisher did not need me to re-record the audiobook with a bad British or Irish accent. Damn.
QUESTION: “Steve, I live in Australia / New Zealand, will your book be available here?”
Yes! It’s going to be in bookstores throughout Australia and New Zealand too!
If you go to MacMillan Australia’s site, you can click on “pre-order” and see all the different locations that you can pre-order from!
(Please disregard the summary on my book page – the publisher is aware of the glitch!)
Treading Water, Trying Not to Lose.
If you’ve already pre-ordered my book, thank you so much.
IF YOU HAVEN’T PREORDERED yet…
I really think this will be the best $20-30ish dollars you spend in 2026.
(Note: I am slightly biased.)
It helps show my publisher that I have a lot of supportive fans, and this encourages them to print more copies and distribute them to more bookstores around the world.
You can read about the book over on HowtoTryAgain.com and pre-order the book in whatever format, from whatever store, in whatever country is easiest for you.
People who pre-order the book get added to my secret “Steve’s pre-order superheroes” list and get something cool!
Simply forward your receipt email to 1book@stevekamb.com.
Later this week, I’ll send pre-order superheroes the Intro & first 2 chapters of my book (SHHHH), which you get to read before the rest of the world.
So, how did I navigate these last three weeks?
With acceptance:
I told myself, “These three weeks are going to be crazy, and that’s okay.” Sometimes, life requires you to deal with 10 lb. of sh** and you only have a 5 lb. bag. I’m fortunate that my jam-packed schedule was for exciting reasons.
After acceptance, here’s what I did:
I scaled my expectations for any other part of my life, including my workouts, way down.
I know skipping the gym for three weeks would make it even harder to get back to exercising this week. I also knew not exercising for three weeks would wreck my mental health.
So I did my “tread water” workout routine: Three days per week, I went to the gym and did 1-2 big exercises from the list below:
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Pull-ups
- Presses
As long as I did those two exercises, great. I didn’t care if I missed a day. I just did the workout the next day. I just focused on “not losing.”
I made sure I went for my little mental health walk, just like Panchi the Monkey (who took over the internet):
I wasn’t trying to make progress. I wasn’t trying to win or build muscle. I didn’t have goals to advance.
I was just trying to “not lose.” I was perfectly content treading water for most of my life for three weeks.
And now, I can get back to writing these weekly essays for you!
I have a great one coming next week on beliefs.
Until next Monday!
-Steve
PS: My last three weeks have been crazy after announcing How to Try Again. It will be available on June 16th, 2026. If you pre-order now, you’ll be my hero and I’ll send you some free bonuses soon!