Today, as I am writing this, I am amazed at how many people are needed to make such a project happen. This is to give them their deserved recognition.
There are three people who inspired this book and without whom the idea to write it would never have crossed my mind. There is Jack Canfield, whose “Cliff Young Story” brought me on the path of self-development. Then T. Harv Eker, whose book The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind made me realize that our wealth was the result of our mindset. And finally, there is Napoleon Hill, whose book Think and Grow Rich made me want to research the minds of the very best entrepreneurs, like he did, but on a global scale. I want to express my gratitude to these outstanding thinkers. Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
I want to thank all the people who believed in my vision for this book from its very inception and trusted it could be accomplished against all odds. Thank you to all those people who supported me in this long process that sometimes resembled an uphill battle against skeptics in the publishing industry. Forgive me for using their first names only; this is for data protection reasons. But you guys know who you are.
This book would have stayed only a crazy idea if not for the persuasive Marco, who was the first person I revealed this idea to and who made me believe it could be done and provoked me to actually take the first step.
Let me express my gratitude to my assistants Mario, Mine, and Archie, who took up the challenge to work with me on setting up billionaire interviews at a time when this project was in an embryonic state and seemed so unreal and scary. Thank you, guys, you are my heroes!
Let me thank all those wonderful people who believed in the book’s vision to the degree that they put me in contact with the entrepreneurs interviewed in this book and supported all my requests throughout the project: Andrzej, Ayla, Magnus, Pandu, Rainer, Carolin, Frederick, Ronnie, Mary, Thomas, Markus, Mari, Uta, Julia, Anna, Sabrina, Don, Carlo, Elizabeth, Tim, Dana, Sergei, Selmo, Jonathan, Andrew, Rebecca, Xiaojing, Xiaozhi, Jessie, Esther, Alice, Connie, Kathryn, Samantha, Andrea, Buster, Desley, Simon, and Karen. Without you I wouldn’t have been able to convince such extraordinary entrepreneurs to share their wisdom with us.
My thanks go to the protagonists of this book, the remarkable personalities who opened their hearts, souls, and minds to me so that you can benefit from their secrets. They are the modern-day business heroes who make the lives of millions easier through the products and services they provide. They belong to the greatest entrepreneurs of our times, the role models for every entrepreneur around the world. You will find their bios in the appendix and their stories on every page of this book. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for giving me this once-in-a-life-time opportunity. I am thankful for your hospitality, your openness, and the insights you’ve shared with my readers. I would like to give a special thanks to Jack Cowin, who opened many doors for me. Late in the project, he was for me what Andrew Carnegie was for Napoleon Hill—a connector, confidant, guide, and mentor, whose generosity I can’t stress enough. Thank you, Jack!
I would like to thank Melody and Mindy of Book Midwife, who helped me organize the material, crystallize my thoughts, and apply a massive amount of work to put all that on paper. Your great help can’t be underestimated.
Let’s not forget the industry veterans Gary, Grace, and Rick, who helped me find the way in the maze of the publishing industry. And Jack Canfield not only provided a great foreword but also shared his experience and gave me some decisive pieces of advice on how publishing works in the United States. Thank you!
Thank you to Nick, Greg, Angie, Christine, Brittany, Lindsey, and Mandy of DNA, who worked relentlessly on making my message heard in the world.
I want to thank Adi and Zoe for the best cappuccino in the world. It was the fuel that drove me for the long hours when I was working on this book. Your cafe is my second home.
My dear friends Albert, Andrea, Artur, Ingrid, Mike, and Monica found time in their busy lives to read through my imperfect manuscript and give me valuable feedback. Thank you for improving it considerably.
I want to thank my YouTube audience, all those kind people who were cheering me throughout this process for voicing their support and words of encouragement. Thank you! And I also want to express my gratitude to all the naysayers, who gave me many reasons to prove it could be done.
Let me use this opportunity to thank my dear employees, assistants, and freelancers Olaf, Silas, David, Greg, Kamil, Martin, Sebastian, and Tom for managing my companies and projects. Thank you, guys, for taking so much off my shoulders.
My greatest thanks go to my family and friends who had to endure without me through years of my travels and my work in solitude. Without your understanding and massive support, this project wouldn’t have been possible. Thank you for holding my back free, for your unshakable faith, for investing yourself in me.
At the end, I want to thank you, my dear reader, for taking your time to read this book. I did my best to make sure it’s worth it.