Freaks, rebels, outcasts, hippies, goths, and emo kids

: I've been inspired by counterculture my entire life. This book is really for all of you. I've had the good fortune to meet many amazing people in my life and I hope that we can all learn from each other and fight the "machine" that is running things into the ground.

One of the more surreal things that happened during the course of writing this book was finding out the identity of one of the young kids that inspired me to begin the journey. I knew her for a couple of years as Danielle, a gifted photographer, writer and artist, that was going through a rough patch and questioning herself and her pursuit to express herself artistically. She was a MySpace friend, and when I first saw her work I thought to myself "this girl is really talented". I was using MySpace a lot when it first started up, as I thought it would be a great tool to do test marketing for the new car dealership that my family owned. It was. I can't believe how many wonderful contacts I made, and ideas that I've gotten from having a MySpace page. Danielle and I chatted back and forth and I tried to encourage her, but she got me thinking. She reminded me of myself and I thought that if I could write a success book for people that were "alternative" then I could help people like her find a little bit of inspiration and comfort on the path.

Danielle is a big admirer of Ville Valo and HIM and when she took some concert shots of them performing last year, I knew that I wanted to use them in the book. I spoke with her on the phone to get the correct spelling of her name. She told me that her full name was

Danielle Batone

, and she was beginning to write about the events that happened to her in American Splendor, which was a counterculture graphic novel series. She explained that she was the daughter of Harvey Pekar and his wife Joyce, and that their story had been told in the movie, American Splendor.

I didn't know what to say. I remembered Harvey from his many appearances on Letterman, and I had read the books back when they first came out. I always admired the way that Harvey had stood up to Letterman when Letterman was being a douche. I had never seen the movie, but I told Danielle that I would watch it to refresh my memory. I watched American Splendor (which stars the excellent Paul Giamatti), and I was blown away with the amazing story, and even more so by the way that the real people appeared alongside the actors, so I actually saw Danielle on camera. How cool is that? One of the people that inspired this book is actually a character in a rebel comic classic!

Life never fails to amaze me.

If you aren't familiar with Harvey Pekar, do yourself a favor and pick up one of his American Splendor series. Written from the heart, I believe that you'll find a lot of common ground with this groundbreaking rebel.

Alex and Allyson Grey

Alex and Allyson have been an inspiration to me for many years, as visionary artists that can make you remember your soul. I've just returned from their beautiful historic retreat for "The Mission of Art" , a very spiritual and meditative seminar offered to bring out the art spirit in every seeker. The mission of the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors , their retreat centre in New York State, is to provide an enduring sanctuary of visionary art to inspire every pilgrim's creative path and affirm the values of love and integral wisdom. Please check out their website at www.cosm.org or buy a book from Amazon and support their incredibly important work.

Neil Young

Neil Young has long been a hero of mine. He truly personifies the Successful Rebel, and his adventures outside of the music industry attracted me to learning more about his career. Neil's son was born with multiple disabilities, and as a way to connect and spend time with him, he invented a simple paddle system for the control of electric trains. He eventually invested in the Lionel Model Train Company and offered this system for sale to the public. His innovations have brought countless hours of joy to children that can finally do what other able bodied kids take for granted; play with toy trains.

Neil Young has been working on alternative fuel cars for a few years, specifically electric engines. He and a team of engineers have perfected the high performance, 100% electric engine and have put it in a '59 Lincoln. They are working out the final bugs, but the vehicle will be ready to roll across the United States some time within the next year. Neil plans on taking the Linc-Volt as he calls it, on a cross-country trip and filming a documentary on the way to Detroit. He has done what I think is the most fantastic thing, and that is bring attention to returning the North American automotive industry to its pioneering roots. Being green by retro fitting classic cars, and any other vehicles without having to build new bodies is a stroke of brilliance. LincVolt.com is his website, if you'd like further information.

Henry Rollins

What do you really have to say about Henry Rollins? He's a rebel icon that I have looked up to for as long as I can remember. When I emailed him to ask for permission to use one of his quotes in the book, he was humble, sweet and very encouraging. He has a great radio show, full of inspirations for us rebels, and if you've never read any of his writing, or heard his music, do yourself a favor and pick some up. Seriously. Do it now! ;)

Dr. Maxwell Maltz

Dr. Maltz was an American plastic surgeon and the author of the self-help classic "Psycho Cybernetics" . First published in 1960, Maltz was the developer of a system for people to overcome negative thoughts and emotions. The idea first came to him as a plastic surgeon. Quite often, he would use surgery to make his clients more beautiful on the outside, but they remained insecure on the inside. The mental and spiritual exercises that Maltz developed helped countless patients and readers, and his book is still just as valid today as when he first wrote it.