Almost a decade before this book was born, I left the house one morning for what I would come to think of as my “slap in the face.”
Life, for me, was going well. I’d built a successful real estate investment business and along the way had the privilege of spending time with some extraordinary men- tors. We’d take what we euphemistically called “Board Meetings”—surf trips where we worked on personal and business development but also spent a lot of time on the ocean doing what we loved.
I’d learned an incredible amount from those retreats. I was able to watch as accomplished business people deftly balanced the enormous demands on their time and energy with the even more important demands of raising families and maintaining the bonds of friendship. It was inspirational, and it was educational; I was truly fortunate.
From those early board meetings, I’d begun to help other entrepreneurs—a practice that developed into informal retreats, and then a full-fledged program of helping parents reconnect with their children, against the backdrop of ocean-based activities like surfing. I loved the work, I loved the results, and I loved making a difference.
What I was about to see that day was the other side of the equation.
That morning, I accompanied a good friend to a detox clinic—an important step in his battle with alcoholism. As part of the program, each addict had to bring one friend or family member to the clinic for support; my friend had chosen me. With us were five other addicts, each accompanied by a loved one. I was, however, the only friend in the support group—everyone else had brought a parent.
As we settled in and got to know one another, people began to gradually open up. With the support of trained counselors, our discussion deepened.
At some point, I sat upright. Something was up. It was as if a red flag was waving in my mind. There’s some- thing important here, I thought.
Then it hit me: as the stories unfolded, I realized that all five parents in the room were successful entrepreneurs. At first, I dismissed it as coincidence, but then I reflected that my friend's parents were also entrepreneurs. That was the red flag, waving in my mind: for every busy, business-owning parent in the room, there was also an addict.