They had career interests but few clear goals. They anted to find work that would be both financially rewarding and personally fulfilling, but they didn't know how. And they had to overcome all the uncertainty and obstacles of being a Nobody.

Meny success people were once iust ordinary twentysomethlngs hey had talents but little or no experience. They had career interests but few clear goals. They anted to find work that would be both financially rewarding and personally fulfilling, but they didn't know how. And they had to overcome all the uncertainty and obstacles of being a Nobody.Entrepreneur and writer Peter Han became fascinated by how others found their true calling and made the iourney from Nobodies to Somebodies. In search of the wisdom that comes from life experience, he interviewed 100 highly accomplished leaders in a wide range of fields about how they got their starts. Han's interviewees included everyone from actors (lohn Lithgow) to CEOs (Craig Sturken) to senators (Bill Bradley) to scientists (Peter Agre) to nonprofit heads (Wend), Kopp). They shared with him the paths they traveled, the hard choices they made,and the lessons they learned along the way.

Introduction

WHAT THE 100 LEADERS LEARNED WHILE STARTING THEIR CAREERS

BASICS: FINDING ONE'S CALLING

Lesson 1. Ride the Rocket: Five Paths to Enlightenment

Lesson 2. Run Toward Yourself, Not Away

Lesson 3. Pay the Rent First, Conquer the World Later

Lesson 4. Become the Big Fish by Mastering the Small Pond

KEYS: CHASING THE DREAM

Lesson S. Learn When to Stay and When to Go

Lesson 6. Learn How to Stay and How to Go

Lesson 7. Don't Let Old Plans Get in the Way of New Opportunities-- or Luck

Lesson 8. Work Hard, Work Smart, and Work Some More

Lesson 9. Be Productively Competitive

Lesson 10. Find the Social Animal Within

END GAME: USING A LITTLE MAGIC

Lesson 11. Keep Learning, No Matter Who the Teacher Is

Lesson 12. Go Crazy in the Office, but Stay Sane at Home

Lesson 13. If There's Magic in Success, It Lies in Willpower and Passion

Lesson 14. Things Don't Have to End WhereThey Begin

Closing Thoughts

Afterword:The Ending to the Story (for Now)

Appendix A. Capsule Biographies of the 100 Leaders

Appendix B. Basic Question Guide for Interviews with Leaders

Appendix C. Further Reading

Acknowledgments

Index