Solid Ground provides sound guidance and coaching to help readers be successful in both life and work. Why was this an important book for you to write?

I wrote this book as a roadmap to help you find success, purpose, and happiness. There are many confusing messages being promoted today about achieving success, finding one’s purpose, and finding happiness, and many people are given bad advice through social media’s constant bombardment, campus propaganda, and mainstream media. Trying to sort through your life choices while constantly being reminded to “follow your dreams, do what you love, find your passion, and sell your personal brand” can be pretty intimidating. If you are a person who wants to find success and happiness, who has dreams and ambitions, and the talent to achieve them, but in all the noise and nonsense and clutter of modern life, you’re not quite sure how to get where you want to go, this book is for you.

What is a common misconception you feel people have about success?

The most common misconception is that you have to choose between success and happiness. You can have both, either or neither, because they are unrelated. In my experience, happiness and success are two completely different things. To oversimplify, happiness is the natural result of learning and growing as a person and helping others.

Success is the result of hard work, talent, persistence, and continuous improvement. People are often under the impression that success equates to wealth, but wealth can be measured in many ways. You can be wealthy with money, power, and possessions, or you can be wealthy with family, friends, strong faith, good health, a great reputation, and high self-esteem. Success is the gradual realization of a worthy ideal.

What is one piece of advice you wish someone gave you when you were younger?

Find your talent and focus on that. You will always have time outside of work to pursue your passions. But when you find your talent, you’ve found your sweet spot. There are few things sadder than older men and women who didn’t cultivate their talents and in middle age are filled with regret over things they didn’t do. You don’t want to be fifty years old and stuck in a boring job that doesn’t challenge you or make good use of your talents.

I felt like you provided a lot of pragmatic advice. What is one thing you hope readers take away from your book?

Your foundation for success must be built on Solid Ground. There are still 5 fundamental requirements for long-term success in your life and your career. These qualities will set the stage for a happy and successful personal life and put you in a position to win in your career, and are: Personal Character, Hard Work, Goal Setting, Helping Others, and Self- Awareness.

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SOLID GROUND shatters the popular myths in today’s culture about how to create a successful life and career. Tom Lewis offers both a road map and a compass for discovering True North. Following these principles will not only put you on SOLID GROUND, it will significantly improve your chances of finding success and happiness.

TOM LEWIS is an award-winning entrepreneur and philanthropist who overcame career setbacks, tough competition, and a life-threatening illness to reach the pinnacle of success – and more importantly – fulfillment. He shares his journey and his advice in this very personal and profound book.

Ten years from now you will thank yourself for reading this book.
It will change the trajectory of your life.

INTRODUCTION FROM SOLID GROUND:

To be successful in life, I have learned that you have to put first things first, but today’s popular culture has it backwards.

• You can’t find your passion until you develop your work ethic.
• You can’t find your purpose until you discover who you are.
• You can’t find your happiness until you find your talent and help others.
• You can’t find success until you earn it.

What we need today, probably more than ever, is a return to the fundamentals of building a good life—one that is full of goodness, success, and even happiness. And it’s not really that complicated. SOLID GROUND presents a model for success that has worked for centuries—and it will work today.

If you are willing to put in the time and effort to invest in your future, this book is for you.

All proceeds from SOLID GROUND will be donated to T.W. Lewis Foundation which supports higher education, healthcare, youth character education and children and families in need.