This book, like my other books, required the commitment, sacrifice, and hard work of many.

I want to thank my incredible wife of forty-one years, Gayle, who has stood by me every step of the way. Gayle is the most courageous individual I have ever known. She is a two-time breast cancer survivor who never gave up on life, who persevered and continues to persevere to help others through her work as a senior registered nurse at the University of Central Florida. Gayle is a remarkable role model for our entire family and the world. Gayle, I love you.

Our four children and their loved ones—Jared, Nicholas, Kristina and Darrin, and Matthew and Cassee—and our four grandchildren—Luke Dominic Mattone, Dylan John DiBisceglie, Easton Matthew Mattone, and Ava Lorraine DiBisceglie. Your love is my strength. I love you. I want to thank my late parents, Dominic and Jane Mattone, and my late father- and mother-in-law, Bill and Jean O’Halloran. We are comforted and strengthened knowing that you look down upon us each and every day. We go forward every day with pride, honor, and confidence beneath our wings.

I want to thank all my clients who have attended my speeches, executive retreats, workshops, and programs, and those whom I have had the privilege to coach and consult with throughout the years. I have learned so much from you, and I thank you for your contributions to this book. I especially want to thank my close advisor and friend, Joel Pitney, who worked tirelessly with me for well over a year on this book. Thank you, Joel, for your wisdom, creativity, and for your undying commitment to me and this project. I’d also like to thank his wife, Laura Pitney, whose careful editing helped bring the manuscript to the next level.

I want to thank my incredible team at John Mattone Global, Inc.: my sons Nicholas Mattone, our Chief Relationship Officer, and Matthew Mattone, our Chief Operations Officer; Trevor Maloney, our Chief Development Officer; and Sean Ryan, our Chief Strategy Officer. I’d like to thank our marketing team, led by Manny Janero, Gonzalo Montes de Oca, and Launch My Book, Inc.; our finance and administrative team, led by Lauryn Charles, Kristina DiBisceglie, and Cassee Zopp; and our legal counsel, Jeffrey Garber, Esq., and Carl Spagnuolo, Esq. Thank you to our friend, colleague, and advisor Paul Cortissoz.

I want to thank our outstanding training team: Susan Ryan, our Director of IL Advanced Training and Master IL Trainer; Kalpana Shanmugham, PhD, Master IL Trainer; and Lori Raggio, Master IL Trainer. I would like to thank our over 450 certified Intelligent Leadership (IL) Executive Coaches who represent 52 different countries around the world. I would like to extend a special thanks to my friend Terry Powell, founder of Franchise Source Brands, the Entrepreneurs Source, and AdviCoach Franchise, who shared my vision for co-creating and launching the AdviCoach-Intelligent Leadership Coaching Franchise Brand to provide entrepreneurial opportunities to leaders all over the world who want to start and grow their own coaching firms.

I want to thank our friend, colleague, and valued business partner Monir Fady of Doha Business Solutions (DBS) and the DBS leadership team for their support of my work throughout the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. I want to thank Taha Farhan and the team from Global Gurus for their support, and I want to extend a special thanks to Des Dearlove and Stuart Crainer from the Thinkers50 for their belief in me and my work. And, of course, I want to thank all our event partners and global speaker bureau partners for their support as well.

I want to extend a special thank you to my friends and colleagues at the University of Central Florida (UCF): Dr. Michael Johnson, Dean of the College of Sciences; Dr. Florian Jentsch, Chair, Department of Psychology; Dr. Steven Jex, Director of the Ph.D. Program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology; Dr. Victoria Pace, Director of the Master’s Program in I/O Psychology; and Millie Erichsen, Senior Director of Advancement, Department of Sciences. I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to the Master’s and Ph.D. students in I/O Psychology at UCF and to thank all my executive MBA students at Florida Atlantic University. The world of academia and business will only get better as soon as you enter the workforce. You have had great mentors and teachers along the way.

I want to thank my early mentor Dr. Joseph Weintraub, Professor of Management at Babson College, who introduced me to the field of industrial/organizational psychology and who inspired me to continue onto graduate school. I want to thank Dr. Wayne Burroughs, formerly Director of the I/O Psychology Department at UCF, who mentored and challenged me to reach my potential. And I want to thank my first corporate mentor, the late Lou Larsen, who believed in me even more than I believed in myself.

I want to thank my colleagues and friends from AlignMark—Cabot Jaffee Sr., Cabot Jaffee, Glen Jaffee, Mike Struth—for what I learned from you and for providing me the wisdom and passion to do what I do today. I also want to thank Bonnie Hagemann, CEO of Executive Development Associates, and the entire team at EDA for being great business partners.

My acknowledgments would not be complete if I didn’t mention those in the field of leadership and coaching who have inspired and had a tremendous impact on me and my career. I begin with Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, to whom I have dedicated this book. I also want to thank Tony Robbins, John Maxwell, Ken Blanchard, and the late Steven Covey for all that you have done to inspire me. There are so many others who have helped me, guided me, coached me—I apologize if I didn’t mention you. Thank you for helping me along the way!

Finally, this project would not have been possible without the support of Matthew Holt, publisher, and the outstanding efforts of senior editor Jeanenne Ray and her team at John Wiley & Sons, Inc., as well as the editing of Vicki Adang. Thank you very much for all of your excellent work.