The Right Hierarchy: Seven Deliberate Actions for Building a Successful Life

Everyone will ask what you want to become. Few will ask who you want to become. Somewhere between 16 and 35, you're handed enormous freedom to decide who you're becoming, usually with very little help figuring out how. Most advice is about the how: how to negotiate, how to lead, how to build wealth. Almost nobody sits you down and talks about the why, and what belongs at the top of your life. The Right Hierarchy is that conversation, written by a seasoned serial entrepreneur whose career includes Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Wild Oats Marketplace, and Horizon Organic. It's honest, personal, and short enough to read in a weekend. Its argument is simple: you are already building a hierarchy every day, through your calendar, your phone, and your friends. If you don't decide what comes first, success will gladly decide for you. Seven deliberate actions, each with a story, a challenge, and a question to answer honestly: - No Gossip. Ever. Protect trust- Approach People With a Soft, Open Heart. Practice humility and empathy- Live in Radical Gratitude, Radiant Smile. Change what you notice- Choose Your People With Care. Protect what matters most- Give More Than You Take. Become a net giver- Find Your Trombone. Study greatness, then do something different with it- Be Present and Show Up. Don't miss the life you're buildingInside you'll also find real-world scenes for builders (the cofounder fight, the layoff, the term sheet), an honest chapter on failing well, and a one-page Hierarchy Audit you can use every month. Faith sits at the top of the author's own hierarchy and appears throughout, but you don't have to share it to benefit. The book asks only that you don't skip the question of what sits at the top of yours. Be tremendously ambitious. Build something. Just get the order right. Put the right things first. Then the rest falls into place.