When I was a kid, I was certain that my life would go in a set, clear path. I was certain that my life was going to look a certain way, feel a certain way. I was going to be a rockstar and a billionaire, before I was 30.

When I was a kid, I had no idea about how the world worked, and what made it tick. Looking back now, I don’t see myself as being naive, I don’t see myself as being a clueless dreamer. I see a kid who had a lot to learn, and didn’t yet realize that the only way to learn it was by jumping into the wilderness and letting life happen, time and time again, with an open mind and a willingness to get the shit kicked out of him.

I’ve been on a journey, ever since then, ever since I was 18. Ever since I walked off a job on the grill at McDonald’s and started my first company, a venture that would one day end in total failure. I’ve been on a journey to uncover what makes me who I am, and what makes failure so integral to my own personality and growth.

A part of that journey has been writing, constantly, every single day. Writing has helped me to translate the lessons I’ve learned about myself, about success, about entrepreneurship and about people and how they fail and get back up again.

A part of that journey has been learning to help the people who read my work - the people who are struggling with their own problems and their own challenges. The people who are desperate for change or for a win or for a lucky break.

Those people often ask me if they can read my work in a book, something to return to time and time again. Well, that’s what this is.

This is what I’ve learned so far.