James Patterson and Patrick Leddin speaking on their new book, along with Bridget Chalk, Ph.D., who moderated the event. MARY HALEY / THE QUADRANGLE
Mary Haley, Marketing Chair/Asst. Features Editor
Bestselling author James Patterson returned to Manhattan University for his second event as a part of the James Patterson Honors Program (JPHP) on Monday, Sept. 29. This time, he was accompanied by Patrick Leddin, Ph.D., a Wall Street Journal bestseller, among other titles, to the event. Together, they wrote their newest book: “Disrupt Everything And Win: Take Control of Your Future,” a self-help-esque narrative teaching the importance of understanding one’s purpose and remaining adaptable in an increasingly unpredictable world.
With the book being officially released on Sept. 29, according to Patterson’s official Facebook page, this event marked the duo’s first discussion publicly of their work together.
According to Patterson and Leddin, disruption is completely inevitable, but it is up to us to garner the skills necessary to take advantage of disruption in our lives to live a good life. Their advice to students was to embrace uncertainty, lean into their strengths and view disruptions as potential catalysts for personal and professional transformation.
“We’re in the age of disruption,” Patterson said. “Whether we like it or don’t like it, [disruption is] happening every day we wake up and there’s something new…the book is about how to deal with negative disruptions. Like, if the government shuts down, how do you deal with that as a human being? What you know, and the book actually will get into some things that you can do, or you get fired from your job, that’s a negative disruption. Then the other side of it are positive disruptions, things you can do. You’re either going to manage disruption or disruption is going to manage you…So it’s important that at every level, people buy into the mission of this school and take it further and talk about it and make it better and better and better.”
Patterson explained to the packed crowd on the fifth floor of Kelly Commons that the book took three years to complete, having to navigate specific publishing expectations including being 300 pages. The authors also had other standards they set on their own terms – not wanting it to be a “boring business book,” Patterson said.
The author duo wanted to combine the importance of storytelling and narrative with advice on readers’ careers and life goals. Leddin, even with a background in business, explained that at the core of his work, he has a wholesome approach.
“I thought years ago about ‘what’s my purpose on earth?’,” Leddin said. “I provide ideas and insights to help people live their great purpose.”
The book urges readers to think about their own lives, with short workshops about assessing life, key behaviors and career, among other exercises. One of the workshops listed was for readers to create their “mission statement.”
Bridget Chalk, Ph.D., who moderated the event, asked Patterson about what MU’s mission statement meant to him. Patterson replied with a personal story.
“When I went here – this is between us – nobody in their right mind who’s accepted Manhattan would even consider Iona, Siena or Marist, it just wouldn’t happen,” Patterson said. “You would come here… and we need to go back to this notion of ‘this is the place to be.’ The reputation needs to [at] some extent, catch up with how good the school is.”
In the age of artificial intelligence, the concern of job-security and the threat to higher education and creativity persists. Patterson and Leddin made sure to address these concerns, especially to an audience largely made up of college students.
Chalk raised another question to the authors.
“We’re talking about being human,” Chalk said. “We’re talking about the importance of being human, of human relationships, of connection, of love. I think that kind of is in contrast to perhaps the biggest disruption that we’ve all been talking about, that 25% of CEOs are out there just openly admitting that much of their jobs are going to be taken over by AI. How do we use the tools that you’ve developed and disrupt everything to think about [artificial intelligence]?”
Chalk is a professor of English at MU and an author herself. In a separate interview with The Quadrangle, she voiced her opinion on AI from the perspective of a higher education administrator and a writer.
“I don’t think that creative things made by AI will ever have the same effect in the world as things created by humans, because humans know what it means to be human and to feel, perceive, think, to all of a sudden be overcome by a memory from 25 years ago that has literally nothing to do with this present moment,” Chalk said. “There’s a certain lived experience that humans have, that I think is worth really committing to. And I also think that the categories of joy and pleasure and beauty and the way those intersect with learning and living a good, fulfilling life. Only humans can have that.”
Chalk reflected on how the book’s themes of disruption directly relate to students’ futures. She noted that the uncertainty students face when choosing majors or planning for careers is both daunting and liberating.
Two JPHP mentors passing out books at the event. MARY HALEY / THE QUADRANGLE
“For our students, the jobs that they’re going to have in ten years, probably at least 50% of them haven’t been invented yet,” Chalk said. “When you’re trying to plan for your future, that can be scary because you don’t know what you should specialize in, what you should focus on, how you should prepare yourself. But I think it’s also quite exciting. It can instill an innovation mindset in our students and encourage them to prepare themselves across a range of different fields and areas of interest.”
Her comments echoed Patterson and Leddin’s call to embrace uncertainty as a pathway toward creativity and adaptability.
The event was a requirement for all mentors and mentees who are a part of the JPHP, but it was also highly attended by other students and faculty. Marina Stavrou, a junior mentor in the program, came to the event not knowing what the book was about, and said she left inspired.
“He [Patterson] has been giving back to the [Manhattan University] community,” Stavrou said. “He started this book release at this school, which he credits so much to making him the person that he is, and I think it’s great… It shows that we are regular people right now but we can be so successful, which is exactly what this book is about. Also, it’s not just any type of novel – it’s about how to better yourself and get through hardships.”
The event resonated with Stavrou not only in regards to his connection to the university, but also in her transition to MU after transferring from Binghamton University.
“The reason why I wanted to be a mentor is to help students, because I’m also a transfer student,” Stavrou said. “When I transferred last year, it was very hard for me to fit into this community, not because it’s not a great community, but because it’s just like starting new and later, it’s already so scary and hard. I just hope I can take James Patterson’s own advice and say ‘yeah, look guys, I’m qualified, disrupt your lives.’”
The JPHP has brought a new honors class to the university and events to mark on calendars. The funds from this program sponsored by Patterson go to staffing and infrastructure on campus, the James Patterson Speaker Series, other program events and YouTube videos showcasing alumni careers and professional experiences. Michele Saracino, Ph.D., director of the JPHP, wrote in an email to The Quadrangle what it meant to her to have the opportunity to spearhead this new initiative on campus.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this program,” Saracino wrote. “Working with Mr. Patterson, university stakeholders, and most of all the students at Manhattan, in developing initiatives that benefit the honors students and the entire campus community is both exciting and inspiring. My only hope is that the enthusiasm around the program and Manhattan University continues to grow, making our community better and better.”
The next event featured in the James Patterson speaker series will feature Meta’s Chief Marketing Officer Alex Shultz. The event, a part of his book tour, will be held on Thursday, Oct. 9 at noon in Smith Auditorium.