Steve Jobs (Apple)                                                   Bill Gates (Microsoft)

Fred Smith (Federal Express)                              Solomon Price (Price Club)

Tom Monaghan (Dominos Pizza)                        Howard Head (Prince Tennis)

Marcel Bich (Bic Pens and Lighters)                  Nolan Bushnell (Atari)

Ted Turner (Turner Broadcasting)                     Artur Jones (Nautilus)

William Lear (Lear Jet)

Some of these innovators and most of the companies that they started are still relevant today. What strikes me as I read…I am only a 100 pages or so in…is the epic struggles that they encountered. They created markets and defied the experts and the odds because of their unshakable belief.

It may be out of vogue to celebrate the Herculean achievements of entrepreneurs like those Landrum (who happened to be an accomplished entrepreneur in his own right, creating Chuck E. Cheese) profiles in his book. But the common thread that runs through all of these extraordinary success stories, an absolutely rock solid commitment to the pursuit of an idea, is a worthwhile lesson for anyone designing a life or chasing a dream.