Acknowledgements
“DIY” and “self-publishing” are complete misnomers.
I could not have done this by myself.
Neither can you.
Rather than having my acknowledgements section be a pointless ramble that you’ll surely skip over, I thought it might be instructive to point out how many people I owe my gratitude to and why, so you can understand that Thought Leadership (and entrepreneurship and success and all those wonderful things) is really about people and relationships. If you can only do one thing today to put yourself on the path toward success, you should become more open to the people who can help you.
Here are a few of the ones who have helped me.
A great number of people over the last few years have set me on the path of entrepreneurship and writing. As I sit to write this, I realize how ridiculous it would be to thank everyone from my elementary school English teacher to my first sales manager and all the random people along the way who have influenced me. The list of people who have contributed to this is incredibly long, and most of them will never know how much of an impact they have had on my life or how grateful I am to have known them.
A few particular thanks, though, seem to be in order.
I’ll start with those furthest from me and work my way back.
The people and organizations who have created the tools that allow me to do what I do are incredible.
I don’t know why someone would spend years working on open source software they plan to give away for free.
I can’t imagine being creative and forward-thinking enough to invent new technology, new media, and new business models.
I wish I was awesome enough to be one of the “early-adopter” types who forge ahead, experiment, and then write books for the rest of us to read.
From this crowd of people I have (mostly) never met, and who will (mostly) never read this book, I thank:
- Matt Mullenweg and Automattic (creators of WordPress)
- Flynn, Bytes for All, and everyone involved with the Atahualpa Theme
- The community of WP-Plugin developers who are constantly creating everything I suddenly realize I need
- David Meerman Scott (who I did get to meet!), whose book New Rules of Marketing and PR laid the groundwork for what Social Bootstrap is and does
- Whatever brilliant genius at Amazon came up with the CreateSpace self-publishing service
- Tim Ferris, who I only like about 14% of the time, and who made me realize what was possible
- Jim Rohn, who I only dislike about 14% of the time, and who convinced me I could actually take control
I’ve had a few professional relationships along the way that have made all the difference in the world.
The one that stands out the most is Larry McGlaughlin, who hired me, taught me how to sell, and introduced me to the world of personal development and entrepreneurship.
Debra Gorham, who was my immediate manager at the time, was also an incredible teacher and cheerleader.
Everyone thinking about becoming an entrepreneur should spend a year in sales.
Networking has been an incredible realm of opportunity for me, and the Boston community of entrepreneurs, service providers, sales people, and complete wackos has provided me with dozens of new friends, new ideas, and new information.
- Exemplar Law, Revolve Nation, Chris Marston, and Jessica Manganello (good luck on your transition!); I can’t say enough about this amazing juggernaut of awesomeness
- Kelle Sparta and Stephen Labuda, both awesome in their own right, who have each done an amazing job of building a welcoming network in Boston
- WorkBar Boston and Evona Niewiadomska, the coolest co-working space ever and its awesome office-manager/marketing-goddess (I’m not sure of her actual title); they have given me a fantastic platform/arena for my ideas
- Mark McCurdy and Monique Morimoto Flaherty, who have both helped me stick my toe in the nonprofit ocean
- The dozens of law firms, universities, incubators, nonprofits, government agencies, corporations, venue owners, and other entities who think that giving away knowledge, time, and space is a worthwhile thing to do; I am constantly amazed at how much you can learn and who you can meet just by showing up. The list of these is long, but a few highlights: Foley & Lardner, The Emerging Enterprise Center at Foley Hoag, The Enterprise Center at Salem State, Northeastern University, Vlora’s restaurant (try the watermelon-feta tidbits!), Indigo Venture Law, the Massachusetts Society of CPAs, The Boston Lawyers Network, Microsoft Cambridge, MIT…
My incredible church family has provided an amazing amount of love, support, and guidance. Besides the emotional and spiritual support, they have told my wife and me over and over that if we go broke they will help out. It’s much easier to go out on a limb when you have a safety net in place.
The other part of that safety net is my parents, who have also offered to “help out” with everything from money to “well, you could always move back in…” So far we haven’t needed either, but it’s good to know we won’t starve or be homeless.
My wife.
My partner in life, love, and business.
I (quite literally) wouldn’t be able to do any of this without her.
And I wouldn’t want to.
God.
