Start with why

parts. Thank you to Kendra Coppey, who helped me out of the hole in late 2005
and to Mark Levy, who pointed me in the right direction. Thanks to Peter
Whybrow, who saw a problem in America and helped me to understand the
neuroscience of it all. Kirt Gunn, whose brilliant storytelling mind inspired the
split. Every conversation with Brian Collins illuminated something new. Thank
you to Jorelle Laakso, who taught me to reach for the things I believe in. To
William Ury, who showed me a path to follow, and Lt. Gen. David Deptula, who

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is probably the smartest person I know and gave me a new perspective for
solving highly complex problems.
My understanding of the WHY would be incomplete without the
conversations, help and support of Nic Askew, Richard Baltimore, Christopher
Bennett, Christine Betts, Ariane de Bonvoisin, Scott Bornstein, Tony Conza,
Vimal Duggal, Douglas Fiersetin, Nathan Frankel, JiNan Glasgow, Cameron
Herold, John Hittler, Maurice Kaspy, Peter Laughter, Kevin Langley, Niki
Lemon, Seth Lloyd, Bruce Lowe, Cory Luker, Karl and Agi Mallory, Peter
Martins, Brad Meltzer, Nell Merlino, Ally Miller, Jeff Morgan, Alan Remer,
Pamela and Nick Roditi, Ellen Rohr, Lance Platt, Jeff Rothstein, Brian
Scudamore, Andy Siegel, John Stepleton, Rudy Vidal, the 2007 and 2008 classes
of the Gathering of Titans, and the one and only Ball of Mystery.
To my late grandfather, Imre Klaber, who showed me that it is more fun to be
slightly eccentric than to be completely normal. To my parents, Steve and Susan
Sinek, who always encouraged me to follow the beat of my own drum. And to
Sara, my remarkable, remarkable sister, who appreciates that I keep my head in
the clouds but makes sure I keep my feet on the ground.
There are a few books and authors that have, over the years, inspired me,
spurred ideas and offered me new perspectives: the works of Ken Blanchard, of
Tom Friedman and of Seth Godin, 
The Starfish and the Spider
by Ori Brafman
and Rod Beckstrom, 
First, Break All the Rules
by Marcus Buckingham, 
Good to
Great
by Jim Collins, 
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
by Stephen
Covey, 
The 4-Hour Workweek
by Tim Ferriss, 
Never Eat Alone
by Keith
Ferrazzi, 
E-Myth
by Michael Gerber, 
The Tipping Point
and 
Outliers
by
Malcolm Gladwell, 
Chaos
by James Gleick, 
Emotional Intelligence
by Daniel
Goleman, 
Made to Stick
by Chip and Dan Heath, 
Who Moved My Cheese?
by
Spencer Johnson, M.D., 
The Monk and the Riddle
by Randy Komisar, 
The Five
Dysfunctions of a Team
by Patrick Lencioni, 
Freakanomics
by Steven D. Levitt
and Stephen J. Dubner, 
FISH!
By Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, John Christensen
and Ken Blanchard, 
The Naked Brain
by Richard Restack, 
Authentic Happiness
by Martin Seligman, 
The Wisdom of Crowds
by James Surowiecki, 
The Black
Swan
by Nicholas Taleb, 
American Mania
by Peter Whybrow, M.D., and the
single most important book everyone should read, the book that teaches us that
we cannot control the circumstances around us, all we can control is our attitude
—
Man’s Search for Meaning
by Viktor Frankel.
I want to especially thank all those people who have joined this cause and
actively work to inspire those around you. I am grateful for all the e-mails and
notes you send me, I save them all as a reminder that it takes lots and lots of
people, standing shoulder to shoulder, to have a real impact.

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And finally, to all those who read this book and pass it on to someone you
believe it will inspire, thank you. I know that if enough of us learn about the
existence of the WHY and work hard to start everything we do with WHY, we
can and will change the world.

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