The $5 million decision

In 2023, my publisher offered me $5 million to write my next book.

I said no.

From 2016 to 2022, I was in full-blown author mode. Writing, touring, promoting. It felt like one never-ending deadline—and by the end of it, I was completely burnt out.

By 2022, I felt drawn back to entrepreneurship. The creator space had changed dramatically. AI was emerging. Everything was moving fast—and writing a book all of a sudden felt like the slowest, least relevant thing I could do.

The problem was, I was still on the hook for another book. A big one. With a massive payday.

I had an impossible decision to make: Turn down the money and work on what I want? Or take the money and spend the next year or two cashing the checks?

My agent warned me:
“If you don’t write this book, there’s a very good chance they’ll cancel the contract. You’ll lose the $5 million. And you’ll have to return the $1.25 million they already paid you.”

Let me tell you: It does not feel good to give $1.25 million back to somebody after they’ve given it to you.

But I knew the book wasn’t the move. By this point, I had learned the hard way: when you take money over meaning, you just burn yourself out and end up producing a worse result.

So this time, I listened to my gut.

I turned down the money.
I gave back the advance.

And eventually I started building what would become my new business: Purpose.

When you’re clear on what matters to you, decisions have a way of making themselves. And this was no different.

For me, that meant solving the problem I’d been obsessed with for years:
How do you make deep, personalized growth accessible to everyone—regardless of time, income, or access?

With Purpose, that’s what we built.

I’m sure I’ll write another book at some point. When it’s the right time. For the right reason. Hell—when I feel the purpose behind it.

But right now, building Purpose is what I actually give a sh*t about.
And I can’t ignore that.

You can still try Purpose for free. And if you like what I gave up $5 million and 52 weekends to work on, all you have to do is sign up annually by 11:59PM ET today to receive $149 worth of bonuses, including my Purpose, Solved Course and a live end-of-year webinar with me.

Click Here to Start Your 7-Day Free Trial

Then ask yourself: What’s one opportunity you already know you need to walk away from, even if it costs you?

See you Monday,
Mark Manson

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author
My Website – My Books – My YouTube Channel – My Podcast – My Community