Book excerpt: No one succeeds without sacrifice... can we all agree on that? The problem is that most every book on the subject of success misses the big picture by ignoring all the little pictures. Think about it; while there have been plenty of books that claim to help anyone achieve the near impossible - like wealth beyond their wildest dreams - the fact is that most everyone on the planet has their sights set on something a little more realistic (and way more rewarding). That is, their goal is simply to live a great life. Living a great life is the epitome of success... can we all agree on that? Great! Based on the two axioms we've all agreed on: Living a great life is what we all want, and living a great life takes sacrifice. The interesting thing about sacrifice is that it's not the huge, bold, public sacrifices one makes in life that drive the most success; but rather the small, seemingly insignificant sacrifices we make (or avoid) every single day that have the greatest positive (or negative) impact on our life and the lives of those around us. I call these shit sandwiches. All successful people ate shit sandwiches to get where they are today. In fact, the more successful they are the more shit sandwiches they ate. The funny thing about shit sandwiches, however, is that the more successful you become, the more shit sandwiches you have to eat to stay there. Shit sandwiches are those little sacrifices, hardships, or unpleasantness we undertake every day to achieve some common or personal good; and everyone who wants to succeed eats them. As you'll read in this book, great employees eat a lot of shit sandwiches. Great leaders eat a lot of shit sandwiches. Great husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, boyfriends and girlfriends all eat a lot of shit sandwiches. Successful people - in work or in play - all eat their share shit sandwiches. Are you ready to start eating your share?