Acknowledgments

A lot went into the writing of this book, and not just from me. As such, I’d like to thank a few people, starting with the two special women in my life.

To my beautiful wife, Laurie. Thank you for being so patient throughout the writing of this book, and with me, in general. All this time, you’ve somehow been able to put up with all my quirks, which is a feat in and of itself. You’ve always believed in me, even if, at times, I didn’t believe in myself. Thank you for always challenging me and never letting me be complacent. Without you, this book would have never been possible.

To my amazing mother, you taught me how to be a good person by instilling in me the values one needs to be successful in life. Your strength of character and resilience to life’s challenges have served as inspirations to me. You’ve always been there for me, no matter how hard the times got. For this, I am eternally grateful.

Lastly, I’d like to thank my very first mentor, Dan Gallagher. I learned so much from you during our time together. Who knows how my career would have ended up if you weren’t there in the beginning to screw my head on straight. I appreciate the enormous amount of patience that must have gone into dealing with me way back then. Thank you so much for starting my career down the right path to where I am today.