This book is written for young people in the United States, as a handbook for success in everyday life. It presents time-tested people skills and other key life skills. It covers a refresher in American civics, geography, U.S. history, and some classic works like Teddy Roosevelt's The Man in the Arena.1 The opportunity to pay for one's college through national service is presented.
This book is based on my experience over a 50 year period in several capacities, including being a college adjunct lecturer, U.S. Navy Captain, international trade businessman over three decades, and as an Arizona State Senator. I was a candidate for Governor of Arizona during an 18-month campaign for that high office. I continue to teach college-level business, management, and logistics courses online and in the classroom. I own an international logistics consulting LLC, American Quality International Consulting (www.ameri-qic.com.) It is now in its 16th year.
The method of this book is to put forward many important things that can make one's life very successful. We learn by doing and, unfortunately, that is often doing things the hard way. Sometimes we get lucky, and we receive some great advice that can help us in our lives. One of the most important things that I have learned is the importance of people skills.
About ten years ago, I was teaching an evening class in logistics as an adjunct teacher at the University of Arizona South. During a break, one of the students mentioned to a group of students and teachers that she had read that one's people skills account for 80% of one's success in life, regardless if a person is a brain surgeon, astronaut, or international banker. At first, for me, it did not sink in, but the more that I thought about it, I came around to agreeing. Over the ensuing years, I have asked many people if they agree with this key statement, and I have never come across anyone that did not agree.
