Introduction

It was 1981 in the state of Ohio and I was in college hanging outwith my buddies. I started college in 1980 and it was really the firsttime that I had been away from my hometown of Brooklyn, NY forany extended period of time. Come to think of it, the only time Iever left New York City was to go to work over in Jersey City, NewJersey. While in college, I gravitated towards all the East Coast type ofpeople since that was what I was used to. So my small circle of friendsincluded two cousins from Baltimore, Maryland and two other friendsfrom the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. We used to hang out atthe Eastside apartment of the two cousins, which at the time was theworst side of the city. At one point, I was actually on the President'sList for my high grade point average but unfortunately our circle'sextracurricular activity and lifestyle swiftly rescinded my invitationfrom that prestigious list.

Now to say that we were a little mischievous at times was really puttingit mildly. We had a lot of fun and got some attention in the city, andit wasn't always for the right reasons. The two cousins carried guns tocampus which I wasn't aware of at first. I really wished I had knownthat fact before I got into a fist fight with one of them at one point. Imay have had second thoughts about inviting him outside but I guessit turned out ok, but I digress.

I found out about the guns at a campus party we went to at anotherlocal University. We were in the rest room and one of the cousins gotinto an altercation. There were two major college football players in therestroom at the time. One of the footballers, who was about 6'5" andin excess of 300 pounds, wanted to break up the fight. It was at thatpoint I learned that one of the cousins was carrying a gun as he revealedit to the football player and said, "You are not breaking up anything."And the football player sort of agreed with that notion so the festivitiescontinued on. [I found out a few years ago, these two football playerseventually played in the NFL and both won a Super Bowl.]

One day after that altercation when we were back at the apartments, Iwanted to talk about that situation since I hadn't realized that they werecarrying guns. We had that conversation and it was clear I was expectedto just deal with his intention to keep carrying the gun. Unfortunatelyfor me, coming from Brooklyn, this was not really that unusual of anoccurrence. I had seen a lot of violent situations by that early point inmy life.

A few weeks later, one of the cousins snuck up behind me, grabbed mein a choke hold and put the gun up to my temple. I closed my eyes andsaid a quick prayer to myself. Before I could say or do a thing, I heardthe click as he pulled the trigger. When I opened my eyes and saw thatI was still in that same raggedy apartment, I blurted out a full line ofexpletives towards him and basically told him that he had better notever do that to me again. He only laughed and put the gun to his ownhead, pulled the trigger again and said, "See, it wasn't even loaded".

The next time we were all together, he did the same crazy thing toanother one of my friends. I thought to myself that this person wasa little bit off. He probably was going through some issues, but deepdown, I felt he was really a good guy and I liked him. We had a lot offun together and I had a lot of respect for other aspects of him.

I have always had this mental compass that guides me and tells me attimes to move to another location. This compass has never failed meand it has moved me out of harm's way on many occasions. Besides, Ireally had not come to college for this sort of turmoil. I wanted to getan education.

So the next time we were all together, I went next door where a groupof girls from the apartment building were just hanging out. I wasprobably over there for about twenty minutes before we all heard agunshot. The mother of one of the girls called 911, but I had to see whatwas going on. When I got back to the apartment and saw the looks onmy three friends' faces, I knew what had happened. This cousin hadput the gun to his head again but had not remembered to empty out thechamber. There was one round left in the gun. It was a terrible tragedyand a loss of life that I will never ever forget.

I truly hope that I have not offended anyone by relaying these experiencesas I begin this book. This was one of three very unfortunate situationsin my life that have left very emotional scars in my memory. At thesame time, these situations were also a positive catalyst for change in mylife. The terrible loss of my friend was the significant event that trulymotivated me to take more positive steps in my life. College is supposedto signify the beginning of one's adult life and career but for my friendit turned out to be the end.

At that point, I sat down and put a plan together to take more positivesteps in my life that would hopefully propel me into situations thatwould be more beneficial and rewarding to me. Those steps includedthe military and seeking a more spiritual base to ground me in mylife. I wanted to surround myself with positive and success seekingindividuals.

So while preparing to write this book, my mind drifted back to that lowpoint to illustrate for me why I now have this great opportunity beforeme. It was that moment that provided the emphasis for me to plan anew life for myself which truly propelled me to this point.

I am very glad and thankful that you decided to pick up this book and Idefinitely appreciate you for that. I feel that all of my experiences in lifehave strengthened me and provided me the knowledge and experiencenecessary to assist you in becoming very successful with your pendingbusiness venture. Incidents like the ones I described earlier are whatmotivated me to get my life in order, but I have always felt like I hadso much more to offer of myself than what I was giving at that time.

Shortly after that tragic situation, I signed up for the U.S. Navy whichwas the first step of my plan. It was the best decision I have ever made inmy life. While in the Navy, I rose in rank very quickly and won manyprestigious awards and accolades during my career. The Navy providedme with the discipline and self respect I needed to shape the rest of mylife. All told, it has been a heck of a journey but I am here now and Iam so happy to be in this position to share some of what I have learnedabout business and life in general.

I may not have taken the path best traveled but I am truly here now! Istand toe to toe with my peers in this business and I am very effectiveat the job that I do. I vividly remember standing in front of a roomof about eighty...