I always wanted to write a book. And up until now, it was one of the list of things that I’ve always wanted to do but somehow never got around to doing, like writing a song and hiking (some of) the Appalachian Trail.

Starting a business was also one of these life to-do list items which I spent a lot of time reading about and thinking about but never doing. Countless issues of Inc. magazine later, it was only after I found myself without a job for the second time, with a new house and a new baby, that I started The Ignition Group.

You can probably detect the trend at this point. I have a life to-do list, but it takes a significant external impetus to get me going. So my first acknowledgement goes to Sholom Weinfeld. About a year ago, he asked me to read and comment on a first draft of his memoirs, which I was happy to do. As I was reading, two thoughts entered my mind. First, I realized that I could write a book, and second, that I needed to get started.  It’s the second part I tend to have trouble with.  Enter the external impetus.

At the annual dinner for my company last year, I made a commitment that I was going to write this book by the next annual dinner. Since then, I sat down to write every so often and had a few chapters going.  When one of my employees – Allan Niskanen – asked me about my book a few weeks ago, I realized that at least one person remembered my commitment and wasn’t going to let me off the hook.  Thank you, Allan.

I also want to thank my wife Randy. She’s my personal editor, grammarian, and creative consultant.  She’s always bringing new and interesting books into the house.  She introduced me to Bill Bryson’s I’m A Stranger Here Myself and Mary Roach’s My Planet, and I’ve chosen to use a compilation style similar to theirs for this book.

Finally, I want to thank my children – Yona, Zachary, Daniel, and Bryna – for providing the content. When I finally decided to write a book, I didn’t know how or where to start. My first inclination is always to Google it, relying on the Internet to answer all of my pressing questions. And of course I found what I was looking for, and then some.  There were plenty of “how-to” guides, and they all had helpful hints like start small, have an outline, have a regular time and place to write, etc. Where I was getting stuck was at the very beginning – the short topic sentence. You know – what the book would be about.  No small hurdle.

Then it hit me – write what you know about. This is where my experience as a parent came into play. It’s what I’ve spent many hours doing over the last 22 years. Yes, I’ve embellished the vignettes quite a bit. And yes, some of the content comes from my own childhood.  Let’s just call this creative license.

I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it.