It’s good to hear there’s some good that comes from the internet too every once in a while.
This weekend, a TikTok video captured hearts across the internet. It showed an author sitting alone at a Barnes & Noble, surrounded by stacks of his own books, patiently waiting for readers to approach—with not a single person showing up.
@taymaed♬ sonido original – PMusik21
The moment struck a chord with millions of people, with the video having 36 million views and 5.5 million likes and many comments from empaths who couldn’t handle it:
“Not to be dramatic but I’d actually die for him”
“I wish I never saw this”
“This actually makes me want to cry like stop”
“Buying immediately”
“I can’t handle these situations. It seriously breaks my heart.”
“I’d genuinely start sobbing if I saw this first hand. I’d go up and have an in depth conversation about the book”
“This is an empaths worst nightmare”
If you’re like me, you might have seen it, thought that it was sad, then went along with your day. But this was not the case for many, who went out of their way to find out who this man is, and make his day a little better.
The video is of Johnathan Stanley, a first-time author who lives in Pennsylvania. His book that he was signing copies of is called Purposeful Performance: The Secret Mix of Connecting, Leading, and Succeeding. Many people from around the world immediately found the book and purchased it, or found the author and gave him a follow and message of encouragement. And now, in less than a day, his platform grew to 200 thousand followers, and his book fully sold out on amazon, and became an amazon bestseller in every category.
Stanley himself found the video and left this comment:
“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude—thank you all from the bottom of my heart. After losing my job, I poured everything into writing a book with one hope: to make a difference in someone’s life. Just one.”
And just an hour ago, on his TikTok account he posted an emotional message thanking the TikTok community for the support that his book has gotten:
“Yesterday, my life changed. After my book signing at Barnes & Noble, something unexpected happened. A single TikTok video went viral—30 million views and over 4.1 million likes, and my account grew from 1 follower to over 208,000 in less than 24 hours. My first video has already passed 1 million views. And then the unthinkable: My book soared to the top of the Amazon bestseller lists in multiple categories.
But it wasn’t the numbers that moved me to tears yesterday. It was you. I’ve received thousands of messages—so many I can’t keep up. Words of encouragement. Stories of hope. Notes from people who said the book changed their perspective… helped them become better leaders… and reminded them of the importance of bringing humanity back into the workplace. When I wrote this book, I had a straightforward hope: That it would help just one person. That someone, somewhere, might read it and realize they’re not alone. That caring, compassionate leadership isn’t soft—it’s powerful. As leaders, our responsibility isn’t just managing outcomes; it’s uplifting those who make those outcomes possible.
I never imagined this kind of response. And in a world that can often feel lonely, especially as a first-time author… You made me feel seen. You changed my life. And I’ll never forget it. To everyone who has read the book, left a comment, shared a kind word, or reached out with a story— Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am humbled. I am overwhelmed. I am so incredibly grateful.”
@purposefulperformance Yesterday, my life changed. After my book signing at Barnes & Noble, something unexpected happened. A single TikTok video went viral—30 million views and over 4.1 million likes, and my account grew from 1 follower to over 208,000 in less than 24 hours. My first video has already passed 1 million views. And then the unthinkable: My book soared to the top of the Amazon bestseller lists in multiple categories. But it wasn’t the numbers that moved me to tears yesterday. It was you. I’ve received thousands of messages—so many I can’t keep up. Words of encouragement. Stories of hope. Notes from people who said the book changed their perspective… helped them become better leaders… and reminded them of the importance of bringing humanity back into the workplace. When I wrote this book, I had a straightforward hope: That it would help just one person. That someone, somewhere, might read it and realize they’re not alone. That caring, compassionate leadership isn’t soft—it’s powerful. As leaders, our responsibility isn’t just managing outcomes; it’s uplifting those who make those outcomes possible. I never imagined this kind of response. And in a world that can often feel lonely, especially as a first-time author… You made me feel seen. You changed my life. And I’ll never forget it. To everyone who has read the book, left a comment, shared a kind word, or reached out with a story— Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am humbled. I am overwhelmed. I am so incredibly grateful. #thankyou #gratitude #purposefulperformance #viralvideo #humanatwork #tiktokcommunity ♬ original sound – Jonathan Stanley
It looks like we found the right guy, and even companies like LinkedIn and Zillow are commenting on the post thanking him for his message. It’s not often we get to see good things like this spread from TikTok, which is why it’s good the app didn’t leave for good.
“You deserve it!!Love from Kenya”
“It has now reached Germany. Greetings and hugs from Germany. I will buy your book. Keep writing”
“Sending love from South Africa”
“I just ordered his book. I’m from South Africa”
“I’m in charge of the budget of my school’s library. I’ll order some books right now./ Teacher in Sweden”
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The post First-Time Author Soars To Top Of Best Seller List After Video Of Empty Book Signing Goes Insanely Viral: “Moved Me To Tears” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.