Jim's Acknowledgments

My first and most important teachers of decision‐making were my parents, Mary and Con. It is my sincere hope that I would be for my three sons, Michael, Patrick, and Jeffrey, what my parents were for me. Other powerful influencers are my sister, Jane (Sister Margaret Mary), and my brother, Tom. I am immensely grateful to all of these teachers, as I still have much to learn.

To Sheila Ohlsson, you have been a joy to collaborate with and a treasure trove of insights in writing this book. You are authentic, innovative, humble, and brilliant.

To my longtime friend and business partner for over 30 years, Dr. Jack Groppel, thank you!

To Pat Loehr, John Collingwood, Caren Kenney, and Peter Scaturro, for their help with this manuscript.

To Dan Ritchie, for preparing such an extraordinary foreword.

To Sally Baker, Debbie Schindler, Amy Handy, and all the Wiley support staff who helped make this book possible. It has been a joy working with you all.

To all the current and former Human Performance Institute staff, of whom I am so proud, especially Sandy Friedrich, Chris Osorio, Fred Harburg, Chris Jordan, Bill McAlpine, Jenny Susser, Theresa Robinson, Jenn George, Lynn Seth, Jill Sharp, Cindy Heroux, Jenny Evans, Renate Gaisser, Stacey Sullivan, Phil Black, Tara Collingwood, Raphaela O'Day, Paul Wylie, Chris and Kara Mohr, Phil Burton, Natalie Johnson, Bob Carr, Bill Donovan, Steve Page, Lorenzo Beltrame, Raquel Garzon, Caroline Rivera, Becky Hoholski, Mike Florence, Greg Lieberman, Kevin Morris, Joy Norton, Sharon Helgerud, Dwayne Wright, Rhonda Waters, Steve and Jessalaynn Bush, Diane Nisbett, Tim Walker, Melissa Scott, Greg Grazen, Jenn Lea, Brenda Ranero, Chris Allredge, Emily Lewinger, Aileen Teira, Bruce Highfield, Lesandra Hale, Sarah Wallgren, Brian Ballay, Ashley Meyers, Cheryl Branciforte, Kirsten Westlund, Jennifer Turgiss, Francene Mitchell, Jennifer Bruno, Cat and Jessica Bradu, Lindsey Brooks, Ignacio Monsalve, Ignacio and Elizabeth Esperanza, and Taisha Ramseur.

To all the clients who have touched my life and helped form the basis of my thinking, and to the countless thought leaders and researchers who have inspired this work.

To Tom and Shaun Gulliksen, Coach Guy Gibbs, Barbara Schulte, Chip Bergh, George Dom, Ray Smith, Tom Davin, David and Kelly Leadbetter, Jim and Susanna Courier, Brian Park, Peter Fasolo, Kevin Wildenhaus, Vic Strecher, Dan and Karen Jansen, Pat Van der Meer, Dan Santorum, Jorge Andrew, Julie Jilly, Louie and Helma Cap, Roy Barth, John Evert, Kirk Spahn, Monica Seles, Jay Senter, Mike Mackinzie, Chris Abate, John Embree, Doug MacCurdy, Renee Heckler, Lee DeYoung, Luis Mediero, Emilio Sanchez, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Tore and Eddie Rasavage, Anni Miller, Paul and Penny Hancock, Maggie Borer, Paul and Kathy Lubbers, Randy Gerber, Carey and Helen Bos, Matt Turner, Bill and Mary Rompf, Amy Wishingrad, Coach Billy Donovan, Brett Ledbetter, Jeff and Sherri Sklar, Fritz Nau, Walker and Ray Sahag, Tom Prichard, Stephen M.R. Covey, Lester Gruda, Gloria Caulfield, Virginia Savage, Cheryl Jenson, Meggan Hill‐McQueeney, Brett Hobden, Amy Vest, Ethan Lin, Mike Wang, and Kelsey Abergel, for your friendship and unwavering support.

To Pat Loehr, for his creative illustrations and tireless work with the manuscript of this book, and to Jennifer Loehr, Christy Loehr, Keli Loehr, and C J Loehr for being such extraordinary mothers.

Finally, and most importantly, to four extraordinary human beings, Vickie Zoellner, Gordon Uehling, Michael Rouse, and Walter Buckley, for continuing to inspire me to pursue my dream.

Sheila's Acknowledgments

Thank you to my father, the late Dr. John Ohlsson, from whom I inherited a fascination with biological science, a lifelong love of learning, and an endless curiosity about how people develop into who they are. And to my mother, Mariza Ohlsson, who showed me what grit, perseverance, and resilience look like, and who taught me the importance of prioritizing health and wellness, which has served as the bedrock for all I've been able to do in life.

Jack, Charlie, and Wyatt, you are the center of my universe. I love you to the moon and back, and always will! I hope our book provides you with hope, inspiration, and a roadmap to live your healthiest, happiest, and most meaningful lives. To Willy, thank you for being a wonderful father to our boys, and for the decisions you've made across time to challenge yourself and nurture your own personal growth. And to my amazing parents‐in‐law, Diana and Mallory Walker, you've been there for me through thick and thin, and I am grateful for you!

I'd like to thank my extraordinary co‐author Dr. Jim Loehr, whose friendship, mentorship, wisdom, humility, generosity, kindness, and wry, clever and downright nutty sense of humor have helped me grow both personally and professionally in ways words can't describe. Suffice to say, writing this book with you was a transformative life experience and an indescribable gift! Thanks too to Pat Loehr, whose brilliance in graphic design helped bring our ideas to life. Thinking and creating with you two was a rich off‐road adventure of epic proportions!

To Dan Ritchie, you are a soul mate friend and true hero to me. You embody what wise decision‐making looks like in real life, how health comes first 24/7 and 365 days a year. You are a living example of our shared Y.O.D.A. code of Kindness, Gratitude, Generosity, Integrity, Humility, and Courage. Thank you for believing in me, and for always, always showing up. You inspire me and are my True North for who I want to be when I grow up.

To Sally Baker, Debbie Schindler, Amy Handy, and the fabulous team at Wiley—thank you for making our book possible. It has been a joy and an honor to work with you!

Thank you to the wonderful friends and colleagues who provided thoughtful feedback on the manuscript: Dr. Marc Brackett, Dr. Mary Helen Immordino‐Yang, Dr. Bill Stixrud, Ned Johnson, David Thomson, Dr. Ethan Kross, Kaja Perina, Jim Courier, Dr. Shelly Smith‐Acuna, Dr. Brian Gearity, Priscilla Scobie, Dr. Rand Harrington, Glenn Whitman, and Gary Makar.

To my amazing high school and college‐aged reviewers, Jack Walker, Charlie Walker, Annalee Miner, Lily D'Hondt, Ike Eastman, and Matthew Gettachew. In the end, this book is for you, intended to support you in living your best possible lives, setting the stage to make the kinds of thoughtful and wise decisions that help you flourish and achieve your dreams. Activate your Y.O.D.A. code early in life and go shine your extraordinary light into our world!

My deepest gratitude for the magnificent human beings who, across time, have provided the inspiration, ideas, belief, kindness, and support that have both sustained me and helped make the seemingly impossible feel legitimately possible. Thank you to Jamie Lee Curtis, Justin Sherman, Jackie Merrill, Katharine Weymouth, Dr. Joan Borysenko, Pirie Jones Grossman, Dr. Sasha Heinz, Stephanie Perenchio, Diana Kapp, Jan Aronson, Shirley Turteltaub, Rhea Turteltaub, Jennifer Noland, Allyn Stewart, Tim Wolff, Drew Daly, Mary Murphy, Dr. Joe Belanoff, Claire Shipman, Heather Mulvihill, Merrell Cherouny, Dr. Maxine Isaacs, Colleen Daly, Susan LaSalla, Carrie Trinh, Neal and Chie Ohlsson, Karen Ehrman, Dr. Paula Grissom, Helen Thorpe, Mary Clark, Dr. Jeremy Haefner, Mark Nealon, Dr. Joanne Steinwachs, Deb Mahan, Dr. Suzanne Schimmel, Dr. Annie Moore, Dr. Sona Dimidjian, Chris Davenport, George Karl, Brett Goldberg, Oyvind Gulbrandson, Kristin McKissick, Melissa Thomas, Sarah Hirshland, Charlie Huebner, Dr. Chip Benight, Barb Grogan, Lauren Casteel, Jim Collins, Mel Rutty, Lynn Hill, Sara Gebre, Gruffie Clough, Darcey Brown, Dr. Norma Brooks, the late Dr. David Hamburg, Anna Deavere Smith, Gail Larsen, Linda Smith, Dr. Maria Velleca Donoghue, Dr. Carol Ludwig, Dr. Pam Cantor, Bethany Little, Dr. Lee Savio Beers, Laura Slover, Gina Coburn, Kirtsten Lodal, Michele Jolin, the late Marilyn Glosserman, Mike Glosserman, Rocio Sallum Speets, Katherine Bradley, Jen Klein, Linda Potter, Dr. Tim Shriver, Alfred Moses, Dr. Susan Wechsler, Carole Ranney, Lou Stovall, Jennifer Brown Lerner, Tom Farrey, Val Kondos‐Field, Paul Tough, Leela Rao Ellis, Liza and Raz Ingrasci, Michael Gervais, Dr. Andrea Ettekal, Dr. Jen Agans, Dr. Mary Arnold, Dr. Amanda Visek, Joseph Itaya, Dr. Robin Stern, Helen Churko, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., Paul Carttar, Vesa Ponkka, Ron Smarr, Jan Shelburne, Simmy Pell, Shelagh Meehan, Andrea Rice, Pat Delaney, Diana Kitt, Jeanne Swiacki, Louise Gengler, Caryn Krasner, Rhona Kaczmarek, Diane Schayes, Fritz and Mary Lynn Garger, Dan Levin, Sherrie Farris, and the beautiful Bonnie Gibson.

Each of you, in your own right, is a model of wise decision‐making, kindness, humanity, and humility. Friendship is the medicine of life, and I draw upon experiences over the years from each of you. Whether hitting tennis balls, climbing mountains, dreaming about big ideas, or engaged in free‐flow conversation sharing the details of our lives, I simply can't say how grateful I am for your presence and unwavering support.

To the generous mentors who supported my nonlinear pivot out of finance and into academia: Dr. Robert Plomin at King's College London at the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre; Dr. Deborah Phillips at Georgetown University; Dr. Xiaobin Wang and Dr. Bob Blum at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Dr. Mariale Hardiman at the Johns Hopkins School of Education; Dr. Doug Granger at the University of California, Irvine; and Dr. Rich Lerner at Tufts University. As well, my gratitude to the amazing Dr. Sachiko Kuno for honoring me with a fellowship that marked the official start of the chapter I'm in now: making complex biosocial science understandable and practical, to help people live their healthiest and best possible lives. I count my lucky stars to have found each and every one of you, brought together by inexplicable synchronicity. I strive daily to make you proud for having taken a chance on me.

To the team at the Youth Performance Institute, you inspire me and I'm deeply grateful to be a part of the family. Thank you to Vickie Zoellner, Gordon Uehling, Buck Buckley, Michael Rouse, Amy Vest, Ethan Lin, Mike Wang, and Kelsey Abergel. May we go out and make our world a healthier, kinder, more purposeful and loving place for all!

Finally, to my Y.O.D.A. advisory board: You know who you are. Your names are scattered throughout this section, and I simply cannot imagine my life journey without you. Thank you for always making me feel seen, heard, valued, and understood, no matter what the circumstances. The African term Ubuntu, loosely translated, means “I am me because you are you,” and it is solely because of you, and who I get to be when I am with you, that my contribution to this book was possible.