Acknowledgments

I have a love-hate relationship with writing. I love it when the words start to flow, and the copy seems to write itself. When there are stories that seem to come to life without restraint from deep within my subconscious. There are glorious times when this book seemed to effortlessly materialize, and it surprised me when it revealed itself. But there were also hard and lonely times of isolation and deep contemplation, and some days when it seemed I had nothing more to give. Hemingway, one of my favorite writers, reportedly said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” There were many days when that is exactly how I felt.

I purchased an Air Steam trailer and parked it out in the desert and isolated myself to force the work into being. I knew, left to my own devices, there would be too many distractions anywhere else to get the job done. There were days I dreaded the 45-minute drive out into the Sonoran Reserve with the trailer ominously awaiting my arrival. And, yes, there were some particularly tough days recalling my childhood, or destructive screens I had in the past, that I would cry for 15 minutes before I could drag myself over to the computer. At times there were tears of joy at seeing how the American Dream had empowered me and my family. I experienced great happiness at sharing the mindsets and strategies that made it all possible. It was a cleansing process, cathartic and healing.

But although I felt alone in the trailer—I never really was. Every step along the way I had the support of family and friends who loved me and cared deeply about sharing this vision of the American Dream with others. I had colleagues and coworkers that had my back as I hammered away at the keys. No one writes a book alone, and I certainly did not write this one that way. It took a dedicated team to make it all come together.

First, I would like to thank my wife, Melissa, whose strength, courage, and endless support pulled me through. She kept things together at the office, the house, and for our kids and family. When I was at my worst, she was at her best. She pulled us all through it and she did so with grace and kindness. Melissa and I have eight children, and they all supported and encouraged me through the writing process: Mallory, Alex, Amanda, Jordyn, Jonathan, and Madison, and two of whom are still at home, Gage and Liam. They never complained when I had to work late, or on the weekends, or when we had to cut a family vacation short to meet a writing deadline. I thought about you all often when writing about freedom, fulfillment, and love in families. Being your father is a great gift and privilege.

To my mother and father for making the American Dream real for me. I am thankful for all your help in sharing family history with me. The love and care you gave me and my brothers, growing up and today, will always be remembered and cherished. I have deep appreciation for the hard work and stern determination of my grandparents and ancestors who sacrificed in the coal mines and chemical factories to make this future possible.

To my good friend Rob Lowe, whose honest review of the original introduction sent this book in a new direction. It was on a cold and dreary night in Cincinnati, while visiting my mother who was in the hospital, that you implored me to trash the original beginning and share the story of my family saga based on the conflict between my father and grandfather, what it began to reveal to me, and to keep that story line going throughout the work. It was a bold suggestion, and it took courage to share it with me. The book took on a new dimension in that moment—it became a form of memoir, self-development, and investing book. When you read the new version, I asked you to write the foreword, and you graciously accepted. I am deeply grateful for your direction and support—two Ohio boys working together to share the American Dream.

The American Dream is based to a large part on the ideals of capitalism and free markets. Many years ago, my father and I were invited to hear one of its greatest defenders speak at an investment conference. When we first met Dr. Art Laffer, inventor of the Laffer curve and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, we formed a close and dear friendship. Dr. Laffer has been on the Matson Money Academic Board for many years. I could think of no one better to write the epilogue and share how this great country was united in the past under President Reagan and how with determination and strong leadership it could be again in the future. I am profoundly thankful for your contribution to this work and your lifelong friendship.

A special thanks to Ryan Dempsey, my writing coach and collaborative author; Kevin Anderson for all your dedication and support; and Roger Scholl for your wise editing and structure additions. To my book agents at Book Highlight, Mat Miller, Peter Knox, and Brian Morrison, thank you for catching the vision and running with it before anyone else did. I am deeply grateful to Wiley Publishing: Kevin Harreld for driving and managing the process and Vithusha Rameshan, Susan Cerra, Premkumar Narayanan, and Susan Geraghty for your careful and diligent review and editing.

To Dr. David Eagleman for your groundbreaking research in neuroscience and Terreance Odean for all your input on behavioral biases and blind spots investors face. I am grateful for the groundbreaking and Nobel Prize–winning research from Eugene Fama and Dr. Harry Markowitz, who served on the Matson Money Academic Board. To my longtime friend Dr. Lyman Ott for your statistical research into portfolio design and investment premiums. Mark Fortier and his whole team at Fortier Public Relations for getting the message out to the world; you guys rock.

I will be forever grateful to my colleague and early mentor in the money management field, Dan Wheeler. Dan died two years ago but will always be remembered as an early innovator and truth teller in this industry. He largely revolutionized how advisors see investing. In those early days Dan fought in the trenches with me to spread the academic investing principles in this book.

A special thank-you to the visionaries at Dimensional Fund Advisors: without your research and support this book would not have been possible—and to Rex Sinquefield, who first taught me the message of free and efficient markets. With deep gratitude for David Booth and his leadership, innovation, and drive. David Butler, Bryce Skaff, and Hunt Carnes, thank you for your participation in the American Dream Summit and your incredible support in reading, sharing insights, and constant support to make this project come to life. Savina Rizova, thank you for your participation on the Matson Money Academic Board and your excellent research into equity markets and portfolio design.

To Michael Lane, thank you for years of friendship and for your time and contribution at the American Dream Summit. Your dedication to Matson Money is greatly valued.

Any CEO who hopes to write a best-selling book is faced with a monumental question. How do I get the time, energy, and resources to write a book, and at the same time get my company to continue growing while I am in seclusion? Not an easy problem to solve. I am fortunate because I am blessed with an incredible team at Matson Money. Not only did they “keep the doors open,” they also grew the business while I penned this book. Josh Crawford, thank you for your bold and decisive leadership. Your commitment and dedication to the mission was nothing short of extraordinary. I appreciate your insights into the American Dream Experience and your help making this a better book. While I wrote, you coached, trained, and developed the advisors and internal staff, and then when it was time to release this book into the world you drove the promotion and sales like a true pro—bravo. Thank you for your undying dedication and support. In addition, I'm grateful for the hard work and commitment of all of our internal trainers: Luke Rowand, Cody Zindler, Matt Der, and Chris French.

To Dan List, Matson Money president, thank you for your specialized abilities to guide and manage this company as well as your keen eye for editing and all the technical aspects of this book. Without your 30+ years of dedication this book could never have happened. Matt Matson, Alex Crawford, and Michelle Matson, your creativity, loyalty, and hard work leading the teams that are crucial to drive technology, inspire the brand, and develop world-class training and development materials is unsurpassed.

Joel Autenrieb, Heather Nelson, Jeb Snyder, and Rick Wiehe, I am grateful for the trust you all inspire in directing operations and the management of over $10 billion for investors all over North America. It is a monumental responsibility, one I did not have to worry about as I created. And to the whole Matson Money staff, you are an amazing group of people dedicated to saving investors from speculating and gambling with their money and restoring the American Dream. Your efforts are nothing short of heroic.

And finally, to all the advisors and coaches who have fearlessly dedicated themselves to reviving the American Dream and standing up to the Wall Street bullies. Matson Money would not exist without you and the powerful relationships you form with investors. Investors should be grateful to have your bold stand to eliminate speculating and gambling with their investments and helping them focus on their true purpose for money and life.

Although the list is too long to mention each and every advisor by name, I want all of them to know how thankful and...