I believe that we reach our full potential and the level of life we desire by taking in information and gaining knowledge through experience, failure, and success. We evolve exponentially when we take action in the world, and all that knowledge and information becomes deeply embedded wisdom and gut instinct. At the start of this book, I dedicated it to my dear friends, Tony Robbins, Joe Polish, and Dan Sullivan, because of the positive impact and shortcuts to success they have given me. But I also appreciate them for their journey, for their bravery of taking that knowledge, discovering the wisdom behind all of it, and then selflessly sharing it with the world.
I’ve learned from great teachers like them, as well as Dale Carnegie, Earl Nightingale, and Napoleon Hill. To that list I would add Eckhart Tolle, Wayne Dyer, Michael Singer, Brendon Burchard, David Bach—I could add many more names, but there isn’t space enough to include all of them. Their transformative words, once absorbed into your very soul, make it difficult to determine where their ideas end and yours start. As I wrote this book, as I wrote certain sections, I asked the question, Where did this come from? Did I discover this through my own trial and error, through my failures, through my own success, or did I adopt it from others who’ve trod that path before me?
And at the end of the day, you realize that’s what true deliverers of wisdom want. They’re delivering you the road map to allow you to go faster once you integrate them in your own life. And I want that same for you. I did my absolute best throughout the book to share when I knew for sure where a given piece of wisdom or an exercise came from. I’m sure I missed acknowledging the source of some concepts, so here I’d like everyone who’s been a part of mentoring me, from past business partners, authors, friends, and loved ones, to someone on the street who shared a good thought, to know that it’s the cumulative efforts of all of you that allow us to achieve success faster instead of trying to figure it out more slowly on our own.
I also want to acknowledge the people who helped me put this book together. When running multiple companies, trying to be the best dad in the world, doing real estate deals, traveling the country speaking and doing masterminds while still coaching Little League and softball, time can be in short supply. Without my nephew, Tanner Sheldon, helping me put this book together and coordinating a lot of the pieces; without Bruce Wexler helping me create clarity in each chapter and ensuring that the material flowed together; without my team in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Jeremy Gabbert, who’s my right-hand man, I could not have produced as good a book as I believe this to be. To Nick Savocchia, my CFO and friend, and to all the people who work with me on a daily basis to allow me to shine, to allow me to live in my unique ability, to allow me to practice the success habits that can make me rise to my full potential, I give thanks. I could never do it without them.
In one of my earlier books, I quoted the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well, it takes a village and a family to write a successful book and market it, promote it, and get it in the hands of the people who need it the most. Lastly, and most importantly, I acknowledge and appreciate the amazing family I have with my daughter, Breana, and my son, Brody. You are the light of my life. You are the reason I thrive, the reason I love, the reason I want to always evolve, to be a better man. No love could match what a father feels for his children. Thank you for the gift of being my kids.