By way of introduction, I’ve had the great privilege of managing divisions of three Fortune 500 companies in a business career that spanned 45 years… despite growing up in a family with a depression era mentality and only having a 12th grade education. I feel as though I learned so much over the course of my career on how to be successful and have now had the good fortune to read this book which perfectly captures it. Please allow me to explain why you need to buy this book for anyone for whom you wish success.

First of all, this book is motivational, exciting, honest, factual, and is filled with anecdotal stories that coincide with what Darin is teaching. I have never read a book that better described the simple steps anyone can take that will lead them directly to a life of fulfillment, success and what each of us wants more than anything … freedom. He has truly taken concepts that only the richest and most successful people learn over decades and put it in the simplest and understandable terms. Just as the title of the book suggests, these are things that no person can learn through formal education because none of this information is taught in our national school system. This is nothing short of a blueprint on how to succeed and live a life filled with passion, excitement and fulfillment.

As parents and grandparents, we all want what is best for our children. We give them everything that we are capable of in trying to help them succeed in life. A reality for so many of us, though, is we simply can’t teach what we don’t know. This book will help you bridge that gap for your children and grandchildren. And it is filled with concepts that you might not think would lead to success, but absolutely do. Concepts such as gratitude, charity, good manners, honesty and integrity. Perhaps most importantly, he holds a mirror up to the reader to demonstrate how fear controls most of our decisions and whether we know it or not, holds us back from becoming the greatest version of ourselves. One of the main reasons I wanted to write this Forward is because I know how right he is… I’ve lived it, which is to say that I benefited from the concepts in this book, and I can see looking back over my life where certain fears and insecurities held me back. If I had read this book as a young person, I feel like it would have helped me immeasurably.

As a young man I read a book by a legendary college coach, John Wooden, and unbeknownst to Coach Wooden, he became my mentor. I used those concepts throughout my career. I believe whole-heartedly that if you make the investment to buy this book for your child or grandchild that Darin will become their mentor and they will be better people for it.

There is a saying that I have always appreciated and drawn on when necessary: “Everything you ever wanted is one step outside of your comfort zone.” It is sayings such as these and the dozens of other concepts that Darin points out that will lead your child or grandchild—or anyone else for that matter—toward a life of happiness. To me, success means leaving a lasting influence, a positive impact and an honorable legacy. This book will help anyone who reads it to reach this ultimate level of success.