Acknowledgments

Everything we write or say, never mind who we are, is the result of a lifetime of influence whose trail is often hard to discern. I want to thank those who directly contributed to this work but also to recognize those who have contributed to my journey for so many years.

Thanks to the team at Berrett-Koehler for your mission to inspire good in the world. Special thanks to Steve Piersanti at BK, whose gentle guidance helped me let go of the book I should have written to write the book I wanted to write.

Thanks to all who helped craft this manuscript, gave input on titles, and suggested people to interview. Special thanks to Geoff Smart and Jeff VanderWielen, whose comments on the first draft made a significant contribution to this book.

Gratitude to Jeremy Ball, my brother from another mother, who has been as committed to the idea of stepping up as I have been and who has helped shape our work together for over twenty years. You have stepped up yourself in recent years and made a difference in the challenged community of the homeless.

Thanks also to my friends at the Learning Network who are always there to support and challenge me. Special thanks to Marshall Goldsmith for his foreword and to Chris Cappy and Jim Kouzes for their ideas and input. Thanks, Beverly Kaye, for all your encouragement and for the connections you have brought me over the years. You are very special.

Thanks to Devin Hibbard and the entire team at BeadforLife in Uganda along with the amazing women we met while there. The idea for this book really took hold when I saw how you stepped up to make the world a better place.

Thanks to Mark Levy, who gave generously of his time to work on titles and ideas.

To Martin and Farah Perelmuter and their great team at Speaker’s Spotlight, I thank you. You have helped get my message out into the world. Thanks for your friendship and hard work.

To my clients, many of whom I interviewed for this book, I say thank you. I have always learned as much from you as you have learned from me. Special thanks to TELUS, a company that has been a leader in corporate giving, for producing videos to tell the stories of those who stepped up. Special thanks to Josh Blair and Andrew Turner at TELUS for your friendship and commitment to my work. Bob Peter at the LCBO has stepped up several times to support my work and did so again this time. Thanks to my good friends at Qantas Airlines who put twenty thousand team members through a program to step up. It is a great airline with a great team.

A special thanks to all the people I interviewed whose names and stories are found in these pages. You stepped up, and the world is a better place because of it. I hope I have done your stories justice. You have helped me fulfill that childhood desire to be a journalist.

Thanks to all those who stepped up and helped me at critical times in my life. There are so many of you, but a few stand out: the late Reverend Robert Kelly, whose example of servant leadership shaped my early life; Tony Pontone, who believed in me at a time when I did not believe in myself; Mark Clark and all the professors at Hofstra University who gave me such a good beginning; Trudy Sopp, who first saw my potential in this field and is still a fan (the feeling is mutual); and the late Lynn Rudy, whose torch I still carry.

Thanks to my good friends, new and old, who are far too many to mention by name. To JB, CC (and Ken), and JVW—you guys have gone the distance with me.

Thanks to Janice Halls, my partner in life and love. I waited a lifetime for a friend like you. Even when I thought I should abandon this project, you kept me saying yes. You put up with the ups and downs, always pointing me back up. You are a bright light in the universe, and I’m glad I get to be in your orbit.

My daughter, Lena, who is herself stepping up in a variety of ways—we have been through much together. This life journey would not have been the same without you. I hope you are as proud of this work as I am of you.

Love to my mother, Irene-Parisi Izzo. You kept on trudging through the darkest hours and always kept me doing the same. You left this world for the next one four years ago, but my life continues to be fueled by the fire you lit in me. I think of you every day and miss you beyond belief.

Finally, thanks to all who have ever stepped up to create change whether they succeeded in the moment or not. The world we are creating is being built on your broad shoulders.