Many people’s advice and mentoring have played a huge part in my entrepreneurial development. Their words and advice still echo in my head on an almost daily basis:

1. Joel Salatin: Author, Visionary, Entrepreneur, Sustainable agriculture guru. I spent 2.5 years with him and his family as his first apprentice. Probably the single most influential person in my life. Taught me work ethic, efficiency, risk taking, operational structure, how to mimic natural biological systems, and the true entrepreneurial mindset.

2. The Amish: Farmers, Entrepreneurs, Ethical and compassionate people. In my early 20's I spent over 2 years living with several different Old Order Amish and Mennonite communities in the USA. My experience was part spiritual quest, part sociological adventure. Their down-to-earth, grass roots approach to life, self-employment, work ethic, and community has carried over into my life and business philosophy.

3. Allan Nation: Genius, Author, Editor, Storyteller, Speaker, Guru. Probably the most fascinating person I've ever been around. With his photographic memory he reads and remembers a book each morning on just about every subject imaginable. Full of tremendous wisdom on an amazing array of eclectic topics. Travels over 100k miles per year in search of knowledge and tips from top entrepreneurs. Got me focused on tracking down the top entrepreneurs in the world and duplicating their techniques. In his words, “I’ve never had an original idea in my life. I just go to successful people and copy them”. That is an understatement of his talents but his point has always stayed with me.

4. Jon Dewar: Business partner, Money guru, Friend. Meeting and learning Jon was one of the keys to my 'crossing the chasm' from startup to more established business man. Extremely savvy with money, he taught me to temper my aggressive, risk taking nature with prudence and frugality.

5. Michael Murphy: Investor, Dairy farmer, Innovator. I was lucky enough to spend a little time around him in my early 20's. Huge effect on me in a short time. Taught me to think big, learn about money, begin dreaming about being a venture capitalist, focus on return on investment, and to refine new business plans into concise, simple concepts. Reminded me to  forget about  titles and focus on whether something or somebody was 'worth a  damn'.

6. Dr. Gordon Hazard: Doctor, Veteran, Author, Rancher, Self-made man. Another example of someone who's limited time with me had a big impact. Showed me the value of not investing in things that 'rust, rot, or depreciate' and the power of using 'guerilla', non-conventional techniques to blow by the entrenched competition.  

7. Marianne: Anthropologist, Grandmother. Her life's example of fleeing Nazi Germany and coming to the USA before age 20 alone, without knowing a soul, taught me the value of risk taking. 

8. Dr. German Garcia-Fresco: Neuro-biologist, Best friend, Business partner. Reminds me that there is more to life than business and making money.

9. Martin and Charles: My two grandfathers, Chemist, Astrophysicist, Marine Biologist, Linguist, Historian, Chess Master. Never quenched my curiosity even as a hyperactive little boy, instilled a tremendous respect for knowledge and learning, showed me the value of reading from their 20,000 book personal library,  taught me to play chess. 

10. Gary Townsend: Innovator, Harvard MBA, New Zealand and US Rancher. Made me remember his saying, "You don’t get rich working for other people, you don't get rich working for yourself, you only get rich when other people work for you".

11. Andrea: Mother. The ultimate Aquarius, she taught me to focus on the new ideas that were pushing the envelope of conventional wisdom 

12. Bill: My Uncle, Entrepreneur, Master salesman, Philosopher. Taught me the art of persuasion, how to pick my sales battles, and to always hire salespeople who have a personal life that demands they make a lot of money to incentivize a strong work ethic. 

13. Mike Stainback and Alton Howell: They believed in me before I had any proof that I could be a success. Taught me that investing and believing in others who are still unproven can bring big rewards.