Agrawal - Do cool sh*t: quit your day job, start your own business, and live happily ever after

FIRST, THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO YOU.

Thank you for wanting to do cool shit in this lifetime. Its a short one, so we need to make it count!

Second, this book is dedicated to baby Emi, my first niece and the very first baby to be born in the next generation of my family.

Emi, may your journey be thoughtful, courageous, and without hesitation. I am so looking forward to watching you choose your own adventure. I will be right next to you, cheering you on!

CONTENTS

I would love to give my deepest gratitude to the following people:

Mama and Daddyfor marching to your own drums and bravely coming to this country on your own and making the American dream come true. Thank you for thinking about us before thinking about yourselves. Also for creating Agra-Palooza; were cool because of you.

Yuri (a.k.a. Dr. Agrawal)for being the most admired big sister and setting the bar at an unreachable level and for becoming a surgeon and allowing our Asian parents to be satisfied with one doctor in the house, thus allowing Rads and I to pursue our dreams. This journey was made possible because of you!

Benny Zfor getting my big sis pregnant. And for helping save our planet from extinction.

Radha (a.k.a. Rads)for our egg splitting and for giving me someone fun to play with for a few months while I was chilling in the womb. Oh, and also for being a constant source of competitive inspiration (and being my best friend). I also happen to think that the Super Sprowtz are the raddest bunch ever.

Andrew Hornfor being my rock and my light, and for teaching me the important lessons of slowing down and appreciation.

Colleen Lawriefor editing this crazy book and for being super patient with me. Youre a saint!

Michele Rubinfor kicking ass and helping me get a book deal in two weeks flat.

Antonia Dunbarfor going through each chapter with me and editing this book as I wrote it. Youve been an incredible friend and business partner; the future is bright for us!

Sam Hornfor supporting this book and for helping me get the book proposal to a place where I could sell it! And for producing a magical son.

Zach Iscol and the Iscol familyfor your endless support; for putting up with your little hellions for a very, very long time; and for being catalysts to some of our life breaks.

Zach Lyndfor being a first-class confidant and for designing a restaurant brand that I am truly proud of.

John Arenafor being my sensei and perspective-check in all my crisis moments.

To the WILD teamyou guys are so good-looking and make me so happy going to the best restaurant in New York (and Vegas!).

To all of my incredible friendsI am who I am because of who we all are (Ubuntu).

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I ve never met anyone quite like Miki.

Actually, thats not true.

I also know her identical twin sister, Radha, who looks a lot like Miki, but thats beside the point.

When Miki first asked me to write the foreword for her book, I was a little reluctant. I told her I wanted to wait and read a draft of the entire book first before committing to write anything.

So after a few weeks, she sent me the rest of her book. And I procrastinated and didnt read it for a few more weeks, until one day when I was getting on a long flight from Los Angeles to Munich I decided to finally start reading the book.

To my surprise, on that flight, I ended up finishing the entire book.

Even though Ive hung out with Miki many times as friends, and we are about to partner together professionally as she opens up her pizza place in downtown Vegas (its an important part of our Downtown Project revitalization efforts), I never knew her full story before, or really understood what drove her. I guess I just assumed she was born that way.

As I read through Mikis journey, I found myself nodding and agreeing with a lot of the lessons learned and the advice and tips she gives. Her stories are great stories, not just for entrepreneurs, but really for anyone who wants to lead a more fulfilling life.

In a lot of ways, Miki is like a little sister to me. So I guess this is my roundabout way of saying that although I was at first a little reluctant to write the foreword (as any big brother that likes to tease his little sister would be), I was pleasantly surprised and am really proud of her for writing this book. Its actually a really good book.

Dont let the fact that its an easy read fool you. Its full of great insights that could have a transformative effect on your own life.

And, Mikino, this does not mean I will stop teasing you.

Tony Hsieh
Zappos.com CEO
Author of the number one New York Times bestseller Delivering Happiness
DowntownProject.com

T o ensure that this book has found its way into your hands for the right reasons, please ask yourself, Do I fall into one or more of these following categories?

• I dont want to work a day job in a respectable industry just to make a buck.
• I want to have the social life I always dreamed about.
• I want to get the blessing of my parents/significant others to chase my real passion.
• I actually dont know what my real passion is yet, and I really want to figure it out.
• I have a really great idea and want to start a business but I have no clue where to begin.
• The books that do teach me how to start a business put me to sleep after page three.
• I want to raise money for my business, but I have never raised money before.
• Im sick of feeling self-conscious when I walk into a room full of strangers, and I want to know how to break into a new circle with sparkle and confidence.
• Im done going to bars and watching football for ten hours on weekends with my college friends who drink their faces off, and I want more.
• I want to build a new community of friends who challenge, support, and inspire me.
• I realize that there are people in my life who arent helping me be my best; they may even be holding me back. I want to surround myself with the right people.

If you nodded your head to any one of those statements, buckle up and get ready to do the coolest shit youve ever done.

From now on, you will no longer feel envious of others who have the perfect life or intimidated by anyone trying to keep you from your perfect life. You will have the courage, clarity, and confidence to become authentic, empowered, and actualizedthe best version of yourself you could ever imagine.

Why Do You Want to Be Successful?

Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.

W INSTON C HURCHILL

Miami, FloridaApril 8, 2011, 11:55 a.m.

T he instructions were very clear on the invitation: the cruise ship would set sail at noon on Friday. If I missed it... well, I would miss the whole trip.

I was determined to beat my internal time clock. Im half Indian (from India), and for those who dont know, following Indian standard time means showing up a minimum of an hour late, sometimes two. Thankfully my other half is Japanese, and Japanese standard time means you show up ten minutes early, following the old Marine Corps adage that if youre not ten minutes early, youre ten minutes late.

As I sprinted through the streets of downtown Miami toward the docks, smoke could have been coming off the wheels of my luggage. I needed to make this ship. If I had to, I would take a running start, Mission: Impossible style, and plummet headfirst into the freezing water to catch that vessel. No stuntman; just me. In a sundress.