ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I feel incredibly lucky that this book became a reality. And it’s not lost on me that behind every instance of luck is someone who made it happen—someone who took a chance on me or gave me a lucky break even when they had no reason to do so. I am indebted to those who set me on a path of luck following luck following luck:

To all those who generously shared and entrusted me with your stories. I will be eternally grateful for your vulnerability, wisdom, and perceptiveness. You’ve given me dimensionality, purpose, and a calling.

To my agent, Faith Hamlin. You were the one who took a closer look and made this possible. Thank you for believing in me from day one.

To everyone on the Portfolio team, especially my editor, Merry Sun. Thank you for being the embodiment of someone who shrugs off obstacles, keeps calm, and carries on. Without you, I’d be in a fortress rather than an amusement park. Thanks also to the ever astute Adrian Zackheim, and the entire team of Tara Gilbride, Will Weisser, Margot Stamas, Jessica Regione, Daniel Lagin, and Meighan Cavanaugh; Kym Surridge and Katie Hurley for their keen eyes in the production process; Marisol Salaman, Mary Kate Skehan, and Nicole Dewey for publicity and marketing, who together were able to polish rocks into diamonds; Pete Garceau for an edgier cover design than I could have ever imagined and Chris Sergio for believing that I could pull off something that edgy and indulging me in the artistic process; and Eric Nelson, for giving me entrée into this world.

To those who provided suggestions and feedback, from big things to small, from reading excerpts to vetting cover designs to agonizing with me over subtitles. Lizz Jiang and Libby Quinn, I marvel at my good fortune in working with you both, and value your support more than you know. Thanks also to Ana Homayoun, Katie Barron, Greg Autry, Garrett Neiman, Arlan Hamilton, Scott Barry Kaufman, Katy Milkman, Dolly Chugh, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, Tracy Chou, Tiffany Chou, Yee Ling Chang, Charles Yao and the entire Lavin team, and Kent Smetters, for your encouragement, advice, and guidance during this process.

To my phenomenal community of collaborators and coauthors—each of you has helped me see the world differently, and none of this is my work alone—it is our work.

To my amazing colleagues at Harvard Business School—it is a blessing to work among your brilliant minds and I am so grateful for your encouragement and support—and to those former colleagues at the Wharton School who embraced me and have remained inspirations.

To Jone Pearce, Raffi Amit, Ian MacMillan, Carrie Knerr O’Brien, Georgia Lazana, Fen Kung, and Chi Chang, for having confidence in me, and allowing me to stand on the shoulders of giants.

And to my faithful family and friends—especially Mama and Baba, for your strength, savvy, and sacrifice; Chrissy, for thankfully imparting on me some of your wit and charm; and Ant, for the real, the imagined, and all the curiosities in between—you are all my steady reminders to keep the main thing the main thing and to devotedly fight for what’s worth fighting for.