William Smith

In 1986, fresh out of college, Paul Downs opened his first and last business: a small company that built custom furniture. With no idea how to run a business or how to build custom furniture, Downs spent a year teaching himself the business, and in 1987 he hired his first employee. That was when things got complicated.

Wisdom without passion is a Ferrari with no gas in the tank. Passion without wisdom is a tricked-out 57 Chevy with no steering wheel. Baby Boomers have relied on wisdom to pave the way to success. Education, knowledge, investing strategies, 401(k)s, real estate leverage, and carefully contrived career paths were expected to lead to success in the golden years. Seeing the overall failure of that formulaic approach to life, younger generations today have relied on passion as the guiding principle for their version of success.

Ben Stein's experience from Washington to Hollywood -and everywhere in between - makes him the ideal individual to offer advice to others. His expertise in countless fields make his valuable, keen observations - that cover the range of topics and challenges that most people face every day - the perfect topic for his book, What Would Ben Stein Do? It's a question we'd all be wise to ask ourselves when contemplating an array of issues in both business and life.

Internationally best-selling author of Last of the Amazons, Gates of Fire and Tides of War, Steven Pressfield delivers a guide to inspire and support those who struggle to express their creativity. Pressfield believes that “resistance” is the greatest enemy, and he offers many unique and helpful ways to overcome it.