A common read about
what students
are capable of.
Most first-year students arrive believing something about their own ceiling that is not true. You Are Capable of More is a short, direct, ten-chapter book that gives them a shared language for ownership, discomfort, self-doubt, and finishing what they start. It is built to be read in a summer and discussed all year.
The details your
committee needs.
Written for the exact
moment they are in.
A first-year student is making the first decisions nobody is checking on. Whether to go to office hours. Whether to speak up in a section of two hundred. Whether to stay in a major that suddenly feels harder than high school did. This book is about the gap between what someone is capable of and what they actually do, and it does not moralize about it.
Chris Sund writes from his own record rather than from theory. He was cut from a job he had given everything to. He was in a boating accident as a teenager after ignoring a feeling that something was off. He went on to build and run national companies. The stories are ordinary enough that a nineteen-year-old can see themselves in them, which is the part that matters.
Short enough to actually be read
Ten chapters, 172 pages. Students finish it over a summer, and faculty can assign a chapter a week without displacing coursework.
Not a book they read in high school
Published August 2026. New to every incoming class, with no risk of overlap with a secondary school reading list.
Sustains a full year of discussion
Ten distinct themes, each strong enough to anchor its own seminar session, panel, residence hall program, or writing assignment.
The author comes to campus
Chris is a working executive and Maxwell Leadership Certified speaker who presents to national associations and health systems. He does convocations, classrooms, and signings.
The map for
the whole year.
Own It Every Day
Responsibility is where growth begins. What changes when a student stops explaining a result and starts owning it.
Time Is Your Edge
Life is built out of ordinary days rather than milestone moments. Where the semester actually goes.
The Comfort Ceiling
Growth starts where comfort stops. Why hesitation is a signal rather than a warning sign.
Train Your Inner Voice
The voice in your head will either push you forward or hold you back. Not every thought you have is true.
Relentless Improvement
Reflect, adjust, and move forward. The difference between learning from the past and living in it.
Seek Truth, Not Praise
The right people sharpen you rather than flatter you. Why chasing validation quietly slows growth.
Unlock Your Hidden Gear
What becomes available when you refuse to let comfort make the decision for you.
Lead Before You Are Asked
Leadership starts with how you lead yourself, long before anyone hands you a title.
Finish What You Start
Starting is common and finishing is rare. Most people do not fail, they leave too early.
Leave People Better
Success is what you achieve. Significance is who is better because of you.
The book closes with The Playbook, which turns all ten chapters into a repeatable exercise: a reminder, questions to reflect on, a decision to make, and one action to take. It works as a weekly written reflection for a seminar or as a personal habit for a student reading alone.
Every campus resource below is free. No form, no email, no purchase required.
Everything your
program needs.
Ten ready-to-run sessions, facilitator materials, a scored assessment, and printables. All free to download and reproduce for your students.
Faculty Discussion Guide
Ten sessions, one per chapter, each 30 to 45 minutes. Discussion questions, one deeper question with room to write, and a group challenge to carry into the week. Includes a five-session condensed track and a final gathering.
Download PDFThe Interactive Playbook
All ten principles on the phone. Students answer, save privately on their own device, and return to see what they wrote last time. No account and nothing sent anywhere.
Open the PlaybookThe Printable Playbook
The same ten principles as a printable workbook. One page per concept following Reminder, Reflect, Decide, and Act. Works as a weekly written reflection for a seminar.
Download PDFThe Comfort Ceiling Assessment
A scored self-assessment across work, relationships, personal growth, fear and risk, and identity. Students get a score out of 125 and a clear read on which area is holding them back most.
Download PDFPeer Mentor Session Guide
A ready-to-run session for peer mentors, RAs, coaches, and student leaders facilitating small group discussion on performance, mindset, and resilience.
Download PDFThe Goal Reset Worksheet
Four steps that take a student from a goal stuck in their head to the single next step they can take this week, with a written commitment and a name to tell.
Download PDFThe Framework
A one-page visual of all ten concepts, how they build on each other from foundation to purpose, and three daily questions. Built to print and keep visible.
Download PDFThe 30-Day Challenge
Three small wins a day across body, mind, and soul. Works as a first-semester campaign or an orientation week kickoff for an entire class.
Download PDFFrom Doubt to Done
Twelve reframes for self-doubt and fear of failure, designed to be printed and posted in residence halls, study spaces, and locker rooms.
Download PDFQuote Card Collection
Eleven shareable quote graphics for campus social accounts, digital signage, library displays, and orientation materials.
Download PDFThe Untapped Potential Report
Original survey research on what actually holds people back. A useful data anchor for a session, a panel, or a writing prompt.
View the ReportThe Untapped Potential Quiz
A short online quiz that tells a student which chapter to read first based on what is currently in their way. Good icebreaker for a first session.
Take the QuizThey are not
the only one.
We asked more than two hundred people what was really getting in their way. The answers were remarkably consistent, and they land hard with a first-year audience.
believe they are capable of more than they are currently doing
second guess themselves when it matters most
delay taking action on something they know they should start
fall short of their own expectations daily or weekly
More than a summer
reading assignment.
First-Year Seminar
One chapter per week for ten weeks using the Faculty Discussion Guide, with the matching Playbook exercise as the weekly written reflection.
Short on Time
The Discussion Guide includes a five-session track that pairs the chapters, for programs that cannot give it ten weeks.
Orientation and Welcome Week
Distribute at orientation, open with the Comfort Ceiling Assessment, and launch the 30-Day Challenge across the entire first-year class.
Peer Mentors and Residence Life
Train facilitators with the Peer Mentor Session Guide so residence hall floors and mentor groups run their own discussions.
Athletics
Chapters three, seven, and nine map onto training, competition, and finishing a season. Works well as a team read.
Career Services
Chapters six and eight anchor sessions on receiving feedback, self-leadership, and leading before you have the title.
TRIO and First-Generation Programs
The central argument is that circumstances do not decide outcomes. Chris did not follow a traditional credential path and writes about it plainly.
Writing Assignments
Ready prompts: What are you explaining instead of owning? Where is your comfort ceiling right now? Who made you better, and what specifically did they do?
Chris comes
to campus.
A visit is built around the convocation address, with the rest of the day arranged to reach the students who benefit most from a smaller room.
- A convocation or all-campus keynote for the incoming class
- Two to three classroom or seminar visits
- A session with student leaders, peer mentors, athletes, or a specific student population
- A book signing
- An optional faculty and staff session applying the same material to their own work
Format and length are built around what your program is trying to accomplish. Chris promotes the visit across his own channels before and after.
No class,
no group?
You do not need a seminar or a discussion group. Start with the Comfort Ceiling Assessment so you know where you actually are. Read a chapter a week and work that chapter in the Playbook before you move on. Ten weeks, about twenty minutes a week.
If you want a faster start, take the Untapped Potential Quiz. It tells you which chapter to read first based on what is currently in your way.
Wherever you are
in the process.
Most common read committees select six to twelve months ahead of the academic year. Chris is currently working with campuses on Fall 2027 selections, with limited Spring 2027 availability.
- Review copies for every member of your committee
- A one-page summary you can circulate before your meeting
- Bulk pricing for your incoming class in paperback, hardcover, or digital
- A short written statement from Chris on why this book fits first-year students, suitable for committee materials
- References from organizations that have already used the book with their teams
A copy in
every hand.
Most common read programs give a copy to every incoming student at orientation. Paperback, hardcover, and digital editions are all available, and pricing scales with quantity.
Signed bookplates and custom bookmarks can be included, and Chris can record a short welcome message for your orientation materials. Tell us your class size and distribution date and we will quote it alongside the campus visit as one package.
Let’s talk about
your class.
Tell us about your program, your incoming class size, and where you are in your selection timeline. You will get a straight answer on whether this is the right fit, and review copies on the way if it is.
Run this with your people.
Four ready-to-run formats built on the same ten concepts. Every one is free, every one comes with the words to say and the questions to ask, and you do not need Chris in the room to use any of them.
More, in your inbox.
Ownership, discipline, and growth, straight from Chris. Only when there is something genuinely worth sending. No fluff, unsubscribe anytime.