March MINDness Bracket Reveal

a Selection Saturday special

Today is Selection Saturday, which is Christmas Eve for me.

I love competition: as a bored child, I used to host nightly tournaments for batteries rolling down a cardboard like they were Olympic skiers.

I love basketball: I treat March Madness and the NCAA tournament as the best annual event in America, better than Thanksgiving, New Year and the Pi Day combined.

I love personal development books: my Audible collection can dwarf the self-help sections of any Presidential libraries.

But today, my passion, obsession and nerdiness collide into this beautiful bracket that took 59 hours and counting.

To celebrate these self-help authors and their life-changing books, let me present you the first and only March MINDness.

64 authors who have written blockbuster books since 2011

4 regions - Stronger, Smarter, Happier and Richer

One month - 3/1 to 4/5

One champion to answer the…

One question: who has the best idea in 2026

Note: If you haven’t read these books? No worries. I will explain their main concept to you, the best way I can. In a way, you are reading 64 bestselling books in a month.

Criteria to entry: every author must have written a new book in the past 15 years. Also, the authors have to be known for their work in personal development. They can't be wildly famous people who happen to write self-help books. Michelle Obama, Oprah, Steven Bartlett and Matthew McConaughey don't qualify.

Seeding: the One-man Selection Committee (me) has combined their book sales and cultural cachet and made the seeding. Just like in any tournament, it’s not perfect.

Voting: starts tomorrow, 3/1, on both Substack and LinkedIn. (Tracy insists we also try IG and X too, but I think that might kill both of us). For the first three rounds, each matchup will last 72 hours. For the last three rounds, they will last only 24 hours.

Now, let’s go into each bracket:

The Stronger Region

1. James Clear - Atomic Habits

2. Mark Manson - The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

3. Jordan B Peterson - 12 Rules for Life

4. David Goggins - Can’t Hurt Me

5. Angela Duckworth - Grit

6. Ryan Holiday - The Obstacle Is the Way

7. Simon Sinek - Leaders Eat Last

8. William McRaven - Make Your Bed

9. Robin Sharma - The 5AM Club

10. Jocko Willink - Extreme Ownership

11. Dr Joe Dispenza - Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself

12. Cal Newport - Deep Work

13. Jen Sincero - You Are a Badass

14. Rachel Hollis - Girl, Wash Your Face

15. Gary John Bishop - Unfu*k Yourself

16. Hal Elrod - The Miracle Morning

The Stronger Region is not just the strongest region in name only, but literally. If you rank all 64 authors’ Amazon reviews, the top 4 are all in this region – James Clear, Mark Manson, Jordan Peterson and David Goggins. Is it fair? No. But that’s why these authors wrote these books – to hell with the unfairness of the world, let’s bust through them anyway.

Because of the strength of the field, this is also one of the most magical regions when it comes to matchups, as you will see.

Biggest omissions: not really. The next candidate for wildcard was Brendon Burchard and High Performance Habits, which is a pretty steep drop-off from the #16 seed Hal Elrod and The Miracle Morning.

Notable matchups:

1v16: Clear – Atomic Habits vs Elrod – The Miracle Morning: The Battle of Habits (Many Habits vs One Habit)

2v15: Manson – The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck vs Bishop – Unfu*k Yourself: The F**k Off (Logan Roy from Succession would be proud)

3v14: Peterson – 12 Rules for Life vs Hollis – Girl, Wash Your Face: 12 Rules vs 1 Rule

4v13: Goggins – Can’t Hurt Me vs Sincero – You Are a Badass: The Badass Off

8v9: McRaven – Make Your Bed vs Sharma – The 5AM Club: Battle of the Morning

7v10: Sinek – Leaders Eat Last vs Willink – Extreme Ownership: Leadership Theory vs Leader of Men

I CAN’T WAIT! Just reading these matchups is making my muscles bulge. Apple Watch says my heartbeat is at 111. Watches don’t lie!

The Richer Region

1. Morgan Housel – The Psychology of Money

2. Peter Thiel – Zero to One

3. Ray Dalio – Principles

4. Alex Hormozi – $100M Offers

5. Dave Ramsey – Total Money Makeover (2nd Edition)

6. Naval Ravikant – The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

7. Sheryl Sandberg – Lean In

8. Scott Galloway – The Algebra of Wealth

9. MJ DeMarco – The Millionaire Fastlane

10. Eric Ries – The Lean Startup

11. Ramit Sethi – I Will Teach You to Be Rich (2nd Edition)

12. Tony Robbins – Money: Master the Game

13. Grant Cardone – The 10X Rule

14. JL Collins – The Simple Path to Wealth

15. Bill Perkins – Die with Zero

16. Sahil Bloom – The 5 Types of Wealth

This is one of my favorite regions, because every author here talks about money and success, but they have wildly different views of wealth and how to get there. For seeding, I put Tony Robbins at #12. By influence, he might be #1. But his bestselling books were all pre-2011. The only recent notable one is Money: Master the Game, which didn’t clear 1M sold. That’s why he’s at 12. Scott Galloway’s The Algebra of Wealth is also below 1M. It’s new but on a great trajectory. He’s a powerhouse content creator though.

Notable omissions:

Ben Horowitz – The Hard Thing About Hard Things. John Doerr – Measure What Matters. Kim Scott – Radical Candor. Daniel Pink – To Sell Is Human. Dan Sullivan – 10X Is Easier Than 2X.

These are some of my favorite authors. Cutting them is like cutting off my own limbs. Just watching this list makes my heart bleed. Apple Watch now says my heart rate is at 45 and I might need to see a doctor.

Notable matchups:

2v15: Thiel – Zero to One vs Perkins – Die with Zero: Battle of the Zeros

4v13: Hormozi – $100M Offers vs Cardone – The 10X Rule: Battle of How Many Zeros

5v12: Ramsey – Total Money Makeover vs Robbins – Money: Master the Game: Battle of the Boomer OGs

7v10: Sandberg – Lean In vs Ries – The Lean Startup: Battle of the Leans

Now I’m pumped again! How many benjamins will burn on these battlefields of m(b)illionaires? How many eternal stare downs will happen between Ferrari drivers at red lights? Let the money fly and philosophies collide!

Apple watch says I came back alive!

The Happier Region

1. Brené Brown – Daring Greatly

2. Marie Kondo – The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

3. Bessel van der Kolk – The Body Keeps the Score

4. Mel Robbins – The Let Them Theory

5. Atul Gawande – Being Mortal

6. Lori Gottlieb – Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

7. Glennon Doyle – Untamed

8. Ichiro Kishimi – The Courage to Be Disliked

9. Lindsay Gibson – Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents

10. Jay Shetty – Think Like a Monk

11. Nicole LePera – How to Do the Work

12. Vex King – Good Vibes, Good Life

13. Gabby Bernstein – The Universe Has Your Back

14. Roxie Nafousi – Manifest

15. Brianna Wiest – The Mountain Is You

16. Julie Smith – Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before

This is the region I’m least familiar with, and honestly, that’s on me. While I was reading books about getting stronger and richer, millions of people were reading these books about healing, identity, and what it actually means to be well. These are some of the most culturally defining books of the past decade, and the matchups are vicious.

Notable omissions:

Joseph Nguyen – Don’t Believe Everything You Think.

Notable matchups:

3v14: van der Kolk – The Body Keeps the Score vs Nafousi – Manifest: Body Science vs Manifestation

2v15: Kondo – The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up vs Wiest – The Mountain Is You: The Battle of the Clean Ups (your closet vs your beliefs)

4v13: Robbins – The Let Them Theory vs Bernstein – The Universe Has Your Back: The Battle of the Let Go (let them or let the universe)

5v12: Gawande – Being Mortal vs King – Good Vibes, Good Life: The Battle of Up or Down (death confronting vs vibe maxxing)

6v11: Gottlieb – Maybe You Should Talk to Someone vs LePera – How to Do the Work: The Battle of the Therapist (someone else or yourself)

7v10: Doyle – Untamed vs Shetty – Think Like a Monk: Cheetah vs Monk (go wild or go quiet)

8v9: Kishimi – The Courage to Be Disliked vs Gibson – Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: The Battle of Psychologists (choose your future vs understand your past)

These are amazing clashes of life philosophies and practices. After these bloodbath matchups, will there be an ounce of happiness left? The winner of this region will be standing on top of 15 smiling skulls.

The Smarter Region

1. Daniel Kahneman – Thinking, Fast and Slow

2. Adam Grant – Think Again

3. Malcolm Gladwell – David and Goliath

4. Robert Greene – The Laws of Human Nature

5. Héctor García – Ikigai

6. Chris Voss – Never Split the Difference

7. Charles Duhigg – The Power of Habit

8. Carol Dweck – Mindset (2nd Edition)

9. Susan Cain – Quiet

10. Elizabeth Gilbert – Big Magic

11. Peter Attia – Outlive

12. Gary Keller – The ONE Thing

13. Matthew Walker – Why We Sleep

14. Thomas Erikson – Surrounded by Idiots

15. Greg McKeown – Essentialism

16. David Epstein – Range

Ok, after the epic battles for Happiness, let’s end on an intellectual note. Just reading these titles elevated my understanding of the world. I can now read your minds and see the Matrix at the same time.

For seeding, I put Daniel Kahneman in as #1. He’s the father of behavioral economics. He passed away in 2024 (RIP), but his influence is monumental.

Notable omissions:

Oh boy. Brutal cuts again. Johann Hari – Stolen Focus. Nassim Nicholas Taleb – Antifragile. Bill Burnett – Designing Your Life. Chip Heath – The Power of Moments. Oliver Burkeman – Four Thousand Weeks.

Feeling like I have committed intellectual massacre by not including them. But there are only 16 spots.

Notable matchups:

1v16: Kahneman – Thinking, Fast and Slow vs Epstein – Range: Battle of Mental Geometry (thinking deep vs thinking wide)

3v14: Gladwell – David and Goliath vs Erikson – Surrounded by Idiots: Battle of What Made Me (circumstances vs personalities)

5v12: García – Ikigai vs Keller – The ONE Thing: Battle of How Many Things (worry about 4 or 1)

6v11: Voss – Never Split the Difference vs Attia – Outlive: Battle of Masters (others vs yourself)

8v9: Dweck – Mindset vs Cain – Quiet: Battle of Yourself (change yourself or accept yourself)

These battles will be fought not with will, or money, or emotions. It will be pure brain off. Get ready for suits and ties, TED talks and hors d’oeuvres. May the smartest idea survive and advance!

There you have it. These are the regions. 64 authors. 32 first-round matchups, and 64 total matchups.

One question: who has the best idea in 2026?

The battle begins tomorrow, 3/1 at 10am ET. Your vote decides everything.

And let me check my watch again. 89 beats/min. Let’s get started already!