In these pages, California businessman and father of three Jamie Hepp offers advice on a smattering of topics, including time management and setting values. Noting that this work was drafted over “fourteen years” with his progeny in mind, he’s divvied his “key takeaways” into anecdotal, mini chapters.
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Beginning with a flashback to growing up in Saskatchewan (“we would see beautiful butterflies every summer”), Hepp underscores the importance of not sheltering oneself and others from life’s struggles. “I believe growth occurs when we endure through pain,” he opines, adding that boxer Muhammad Ali “only started counting his reps during workouts when he was in pain.”

Hepp recalls his entry into the working world and how he overcame doubts about future success by focusing on “growth, communication and commitment.” He elaborates on this mantra while emphasizing the importance of making good life decisions and sticking with them. Discussing his marriage, he reveals that he was discouraged by statistics showing “40-50 percent” of marriages fail, until he realized: “Either I was going to decide to make it, or I was going to decide to quit.” (Tellingly, the book is dedicated to his wife and their children.)

These vignettes paint a clear picture of a self-made man who has taken guidance from the Oprah Winfrey Show, numerous motivational seminars and self-help books. Women might take issue with the fact that (Oprah notwithstanding) Hepp references mostly men (Tony Robbins, Steven R. Covey, etc.), and those who aren’t religious should know that he mentions God numerous times, although he’s never preachy.

Readers will also find that his prose style can be clunky: “It’s easy for us to take the short lives of caterpillars or butterflies and have the wisdom to know that their struggles are part of God’s plan for these little creatures to grow…”

There isn’t anything new or earth-shattering in this volume, but Hepp writes openly and in earnest, and many readers will appreciate his perspective.

Also available as an ebook.