If I could sum up in one sentence what I want you to get from reading this book, I’d say that I want you to have “Aha!” moments.

Maybe they’ll come because you read one of my stories and caught a glimpse of wisdom or a lesson you had never considered. Better yet, I hope one or more of my stories jogs your own memory and your “aha!” will be, “I knew that, and now I remember that I knew that!” Best case scenario? You’ll internalize one or two or more lessons and take them with you into the world. I hope they have an impact. I want them to make your life better.

I don’t plan to bore you with the long drawn-out story of my life as a serial entrepreneur, but I will tell you the stories that matter – the ones that changed me, the ones I learned from, the ones I failed to learn from, and the ones that propelled me to success. Think of this as a business book with stories and lessons embedded in them.

I was young when I internalized my first lessons. What we learn in those early years sets the stage for the values we hold throughout our life, whether we learn from observing others or by what we are told directly by our parents or other influential adults. Sometimes the most impactful lessons show us what not to do.

My father was an egg wholesaler to supermarkets and restaurants. He would often add smaller eggs to cartons marked “large.” I knew it was wrong, and I swore I would never do that.

I promised myself I would be an honest person.

Honesty has always been my pole star.

A couple of years ago, I was talking with my friend, Ross Lewis, telling him some of my stories, probably including the one about the eggs. “You know,” he said, “you should write a book.”

I thought about that for a minute. “A book about my business?”

“No. A book about what you learned.”

Hmmm. Maybe. And then I wondered who would read it. As I thought about the idea, I began to recall the stories of my life and the lessons I had learned, from the failures of an Olympics-branded cheese to a wildly successful Italian food company. I realized I had anecdotes worth telling, both for entertainment value and for lessons learned.

I hope this book entertains you.

I hope it gives you “Aha!” moments.

I hope that when you put it down, you’ll be better equipped to live your life boldly and successfully.

I learned as much or more from my failures than I did from my successes. I have no agenda. There isn’t one single tenet for this book. I’m not going to tell you what you should glean from these pages, and I won’t tell you that the secret to success is dressing professionally, being able to speak well in public, or breaking your people into different kinds of teams. I don’t think there is one single answer to success. What works for you may not work for your neighbor.

I can tell you my stories, and hopefully, you’ll see something in them that you can take into your own life – something that will help you discover your own magic formula.

I was talking with a friend recently about John Krakauer’s book, Into thin Air, the true story of a twenty-four-hour period on Everest, when members of three separate expeditions were caught in a storm and faced a battle against hurricane-force winds, exposure, and the effects of altitude, which ended in the worst single-season death toll in the peak's history.

The book stuck with me, because it hinged on a series of small mistakes, one on top of another. The book is a lesson about making compromises. I’ve made those too in my career. My tragedies certainly never equaled those on Everest, but I learned that compromises can easily lead to failure.

One lesson I learned early in my career is that entrepreneurs make mistakes. Probably 70 percent of every new thing they try is a misstep. But successful entrepreneurs clean up those mistakes and move on.

I suspect you’ll be able to relate to a lot of my stories, In fact, I hope you identify with some of them strongly enough that they jog your memory and remind you of your own stories and what you learned along the way. Perhaps you’ll even make a life-changing choice for the better, or, at least, avoid the worst.

I hope my book encourages you to go on your journey of discovery. I’m not extraordinary. We all have led remarkable lives full of astonishing stories. I believe it was Oprah who once said, that every single person has a story worth telling.

I’m telling mine – or at least parts of mine. Perhaps this book will help you tell yours. You’ll be richer for remembering it. I want to invite you on this journey with me, in the hopes it will remind you of your own.

And if you are still near the beginning of your career and life trek, I hope the lessons I offer will help you make good choices. Life lessons are what you make of them.