Book excerpt: Have you ever dreamed about owning your own business? Maybe becoming a market disruptor? Would you know where to start? Do you have a coach, a mentor, or a teacher who can show you how? Well, now you do. If we are lucky, we have been taught to dream since the time we were very young. If we are luckier still, we have also been taught to establish a sturdy foundation for those dreams to stand upon. When building the business you’ve always dreamed of, you must first establish a rock-solid foundation, something I’ve learned from many years of experience as a Rugged Entrepreneur. What is a “Rugged Entrepreneur”? It’s what I call a special breed of entrepreneur. Ruggeds make the leap toward success in a way that separates them from the millions who fall short because they invest the time and effort to develop and hone the specific set of powerful skills you’ll discover in these pages. I’ve identified four elements to becoming a Rugged Entrepreneur. These elements can be developed by anyone and are helpful to every type of entrepreneur. But all four of them are necessary to do the job well. The Four Foundational Elements of being a Rugged Entrepreneur are: A fervent work ethic A humble and healthy pride (what I call “Rugged Pride”) Fortitudo mentis (aka, mental toughness) Faith The Rugged Entrepreneur provides a roadmap to your journey of lasting self-discovery. It’s about identifying and acquiring the skills to achieve sustained success and to build on top of that success. It’s about passionately pursuing a productive business life for yourself and your family using the economic engines accessible to us all. But be warned: do not read this book if you do not want to be challenged.