I devoured this book. The first thing that struck me is that it isn't limited to locksmiths at all. It goes well beyond that. This is a book for anyone going through turbulence in life who wants an honest connection to someone who has been through his own challenges, found a direction, and kept building from there. Wayne captures the feel of the locksmith work very well. When he describes his mentorship and how the trade scratched an itch he didn't know he had, I felt real kinship. I took apart my first lock and felt a similar pull, like a duck to water. He gets that feeling right. What makes the book work for me is the honesty. The first employee and the workers' comp claim. The bookkeeper debacle, payroll costs, IRS penalties. Looking in the mirror and quitting alcohol after recognizing it had become a crutch. Things go wrong in business, sometimes badly, and he weathered them and kept going. He leaves those experiences visceral. He also gets the jump from owner-operator to having even one employee right. That first employee is a huge cliff. His insight about building gatekeepers into your hiring process could save somebody from talking themselves into a hire they shouldn't make. Wayne gives a very practical approach to starting and developing a business. The business plan begins as a nugget and grows as you learn rather than pretending you can anticipate everything before you start. The partnership agreement addresses money, responsibilities, and termination in enough detail that it could save a friendship someday. The brain-dump journal and quick fill-in-the-blank business plan are similarly practical. His Top 10 books list provides a useful primer for locksmiths and business owners who want to keep developing themselves. Another thing I appreciated was how he treats money. He doesn't pretend money isn't important. It is critical to keeping a business alive and supporting the people who depend on it. But he also doesn't make money the entire point of the story. The story consistently emphasizes learning, developing skills, doing increasingly difficult work, and finding value in the work itself. I also liked that he addresses the scammer problem in locksmithing without allowing it to become a book about scammers. Anyone who has spent time in this trade knows the issue exists, but locksmithing is more than its worst actors. The discussion of where the profession is going also rang true. Locksmithing increasingly draws from mechanics, electronics, networking, access control, software, and other disciplines. The modern locksmith isn't defined by one narrow skill set, and Wayne does a good job showing how a career can expand as those skills accumulate. And he gives back. ALOA, Locksmith Nation, Locksmith Security Network. Rather than simply complaining about what could be improved, he got involved and did some of the work. The idea that "two is one, and one is none" also runs through much of the book, whether the subject is equipment, people, training, or relationships. This isn't simply a how-to-become-a-locksmith book, and it isn't just an autobiography or a business book. The trade is the backbone, but the larger story is about finding something that fits you, surviving your mistakes, developing yourself while you develop a business, and then turning around to help the next person. After decades in the same trade, I recognized pieces of my own journey throughout his. Great job, Wayne.