Every time I sit down to write a book, I think, “Oh, this will be easy. I’ve done it enough times before.”

Inevitably, that is rarely the case. Starting a book is a lot like going to the gym. After a long time off, say for several years after relocating to Dallas, getting back to the gym took forever. As in over a year. That’s because no one wants to go to the gym for the first time.

But once I’m in, I transform into a beast. I can’t get enough. I have to literally put up a fight with myself to keep from going to the gym too often, which would result in overtraining. (I’m going there as soon as I put this down.)

With a book, it’s the same. Once I can get myself to sit down and just do it, it begins to flow. And pretty soon it’s like the gym; thoughts will pop into my mind and make me want to drop everything I’m doing and get back to writing, which usually isn’t possible. Thankfully I learned a great trick from the great Jeffrey Gitomer: I simply text those ideas to myself. That way they cannot get lost.

It was a thrill to work, once again, with the same one-two team who hand-held me through my first published book and its subsequent follow-ups: Matt Holt and Shannon Vargo at John Wiley & Sons. And just as many thanks go to Kelly Martin, who is now a part of that team (a trio?) and has been tremendously kind and helpful. The crew at Wiley truly are a pleasure to work with, in a world where problems and stress never seem to stop coming at us from all directions. At one time I shopped publishers and thought about making a move, but the people at Wiley are quintessential professionals and so easy to work with that I wisely decided to stay with them. It’s like my publishing “home.” And they’re less than 30 minutes away from where I grew up—what a small world, considering my first book was written while living in Phoenix, Arizona!

I’d like to thank my ankle surgeon, Dr. Carr Vineyard, MD, at the Carrell Clinic in Dallas, Texas, for giving me my life back. I lived in chronic pain for over ten years all thanks to an old running injury and walked like someone twice my age, right down to using a cane toward the end. (Although it made me feel like Dr. Gregory House, which was cool. I even got the same cane with flames on it. “It looks like it’s going fast!”) Ever since Dr. Vineyard installed a shiny new German-made ankle in my left foot, I get to live pain-free and also free of the impediments that stunted my love of public speaking for a very long time. To him I will be forever grateful, though he’d say he was just doing his job. Thanks also go to Dr. Andrew Gerken, MD, at Newport Beach Orthopedic Institute, who performed a minor surgery way back in 2008 that was beyond successful and lasted double the amount of time of its prognosis, which was only five years tops, and his operation is what allowed me to get a new ankle in the first place. He’s another who’d say he was just doing his job.

If I had not been able to heal and get on with my life, this book might very well not have happened.

Speaking of true heroes who will also claim, “I was just doing my job,” I can never give enough respect and gratitude to the men and women of our Armed Forces and those of armed forces throughout the free world. This wonderful, free nation that was born in the minds of only 56 men who affixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence has been preserved by the spilled blood of America’s fighting men and women down through the centuries. I never truly understood their sacrifice until I met my wife and then found myself part of a largely military family. (Police too—that’d be my brother-in-law, bravely patrolling one of the worst parts of New York City on a daily basis.) I sincerely thank every member and every veteran of our armed services and also appreciate the great work being done by so many for the benefit of veterans, such as local resident George W. Bush’s ongoing, tireless dedication to helping disabled veterans of war that I see right before my eyes here in Dallas.

Likewise, I never appreciated what our police and firefighters go through until I joined Dallas’s CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). Our job is to go in and cover for police, fire, and medical until they arrive, and then to be their force multiplier once they’re on scene. The amount of knowledge and skills required to become a CERT is vast, from emergency medical ops to search and rescue to firefighting to you name it. Our emergency personnel do a lot more than put out fires and respond to police calls. Most of what they do is behind the scenes and out of the news media’s public eye, and is far more diversified than any of us can imagine. And I’m fortunate to live in a city where the police smile and wave when they see you, the way I remember as a kid. It’s largely thanks to them that I’m afforded the safety to comfortably live and work and write these books knowing someone always has my back.

The most important thanks go to my family. First to my parents for bringing me into this world in the first place. Although I may have had my share of fights with them growing up, looking back, I can see now as a parent myself that they tried their hardest and did the best job they possibly could for me. (Pretty good result too, eh?) I’m fortunate to have three living grandparents at my age, which means my kids have three living great-grandparents, something I never got to experience. And as you saw in the dedication, my maternal grandmother, Nannie Bea, has always been like a mother to me. We’ve enjoyed a special bond since the day I came into this world that will last long after she’s passed on into the next world.

My wife, Dana, gets a special thanks, especially for enduring and sticking around for what can be a roller-coaster ride of a serial entrepreneur’s life. Her love is never-ending and, on days when I have the kids all to myself and they drive me crazy, I have a very special appreciation for all that she does for our family! She is the most grounded, down-to-earth, and intelligent woman I’ve ever known and I consider myself blessed and very fortunate to be her husband.

I’d especially like to thank Dana’s parents, Patty and Kevin, for bringing her into the world. I never understand why anyone complains about seeing their in-laws, because I love mine.

And of course, last but definitely not least—not even remotely—are my two beautiful daughters, Agnes and Maeve. As much as I hate to see you grow up and eventually leave us someday, it has been the most precious experience of my life watching you grow. Most parents wish their kids would stay little forever, but watching you grow and develop is the single greatest thrill I get from life. It’s hard for me to believe that I was never sure if I really wanted kids, and yet, if I had to live life all over again without you, I simply wouldn’t. You’re only five and seven years old, so please enjoy every minute of your childhood naïveté to the fullest. The world will have enough problems waiting for you when you grow up, so let’s just play for now. I know I could spend my life living in airplanes and hotel rooms and on endless stages in the name of money, but I’d rather stay home and spend that time with you. For that will be worth far more to you when you’re grown up than any amount of money I could possibly give you.

Having said that, you can make your lives anything you want them to be. There will be problems and challenges and defeats along the way. There are lots of them for all of us, but I know that what I’m trying hard to instill into your minds now will help you overcome all that and hopefully make your adulthood just as fun-filled as your childhood is right now. And remember that no matter what happens, your mommy and daddy will be right here, always ready to offer a helping hand, to give our support, and most important of all, to always, always love you unconditionally and for you to know that even when the time comes for you to be grown adults and have to leave us, our door and our hearts will forever be open to you.

May you both grow into Sales Badasses regardless of your career choices, for sales skills are universal life skills. And I’ll be damned if I’m not going to give you every possible tool you’ll need in order to make your marks on the world. As Journey said, “Only the young can say they’re free to fly away.” So spread your wings and fly!