The rags-to-riches story of an amazing business wizard—from the Louisiana cotton fields to the worlds of computers, retailing, fast food, high finance, and green energy—life lessons from a man ahead of the pack and ahead of his time.

"My work is to create companies and build them," says the billionaire whom Fortune magazine, over thirty years ago, characterized as "one of the most, if not the most, important entrepreneurs" of the century. This was even before Wyly contributed to nearly every great technological, service industry, and investment business breakthrough in the second half of the twentieth century.

Now, in his fast-paced, fascinating, and candid memoir, Wyly reveals the thought processes, relationships, and financial machinations behind the building of his diverse businesses over the last four decades.

Here''s the story of how he worked his way through Louisiana Tech selling class rings and why, after his first job in which he broke sales records for IBM (along with Ross Perot, a fellow IBM salesman) and a brief stint at Honeywell, he decided to risk $1,000 of his savings to found the first "computer utility" company in the business world. This was in 1963. Two years later, he took his University Computing Company public and became an instant millionaire.

Never losing his entrepreneurial spirit, Wyly undertook one challenge after another, such as:

Waging a successful anti-monopoly battle against AT&T, enabling him to build a "telephone highway" for computersGrowing the modest Bonanza Steak House chain, which he "inherited" as the result of a bad debt, to a total of 600 outlets before selling it for a huge profit Creating a new systems software company, Sterling Software, which he eventually sold for $4 billion Dividending Sterling Commerce to public shareholders and selling to AT&T for $4 billion in 2000Expanding the small arts-and-crafts chain Michaels Stores from 10 to 1,000 stores before selling it for $6 billion in 2006Founding Green Mountain Energy, which has become the largest and most profitable green business in the country.

Part autobiography and part inspirational self-help business guide, Wyly not only provides his homespun life lessons in the practice of starting and building businesses, but he also delivers refreshing new insights into how many American businesses operated from the 1950s to the present.

“It ain’t bragging if it’s true.” –a rodeo bull riderWhy are jobs moving from the once Golden State of California to the Lone Star State of Texas? Why are the best and the brightest moving from Chicago and Detroit to Austin and Houston and Dallas? Why are Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and Illinois losing congressmen in 2012 while Texas gains four? Why is it that Texas is growing while the other big states in America are flat or flat-out broke?According to Sam and Andrew Wyly, it’s simple: Texas got it right! The Lone Star State’s long tradition of walking the path less traveled has made it a constantly renewing hotbed of invention and entrepreneurial can-do. From the birthplace of Whole Foods, Southwest Airlines, and Green Mountain Energy has come the innovation that has quadrupled America’s natural gas and oil reserves in the past ten years, creating good jobs across the country and abroad. The most military-friendly state in the union is now leading the country in its use of high-tech windmills and is making it more likely that we’ll soon bring an end to wars over Arab and Persian oil.The Wylys’ new full-color, fully illustrated book of true boasts, Texas Got It Right!, argues that the state’s success stories can inspire the rest of the country. This astute and provocative look at Texan policies, history, and culture is packed with ideas begging to be exported to the other, less fortunate 49 states.

The rags-to-riches story of an amazing business wizard—from the Louisiana cotton fields to the worlds of computers, retailing, fast food, high finance, and green energy—life lessons from a man ahead of the pack and ahead of his time.

"My work is to create companies and build them," says the billionaire whom Fortune magazine, over thirty years ago, characterized as "one of the most, if not the most, important entrepreneurs" of the century. This was even before Wyly contributed to nearly every great technological, service industry, and investment business breakthrough in the second half of the twentieth century.

Now, in his fast-paced, fascinating, and candid memoir, Wyly reveals the thought processes, relationships, and financial machinations behind the building of his diverse businesses over the last four decades.

Here''s the story of how he worked his way through Louisiana Tech selling class rings and why, after his first job in which he broke sales records for IBM (along with Ross Perot, a fellow IBM salesman) and a brief stint at Honeywell, he decided to risk $1,000 of his savings to found the first "computer utility" company in the business world. This was in 1963. Two years later, he took his University Computing Company public and became an instant millionaire.

Never losing his entrepreneurial spirit, Wyly undertook one challenge after another, such as:

Waging a successful anti-monopoly battle against AT&T, enabling him to build a "telephone highway" for computersGrowing the modest Bonanza Steak House chain, which he "inherited" as the result of a bad debt, to a total of 600 outlets before selling it for a huge profit Creating a new systems software company, Sterling Software, which he eventually sold for $4 billion Dividending Sterling Commerce to public shareholders and selling to AT&T for $4 billion in 2000Expanding the small arts-and-crafts chain Michaels Stores from 10 to 1,000 stores before selling it for $6 billion in 2006Founding Green Mountain Energy, which has become the largest and most profitable green business in the country.

Part autobiography and part inspirational self-help business guide, Wyly not only provides his homespun life lessons in the practice of starting and building businesses, but he also delivers refreshing new insights into how many American businesses operated from the 1950s to the present.

“It ain’t bragging if it’s true.” –a rodeo bull riderWhy are jobs moving from the once Golden State of California to the Lone Star State of Texas? Why are the best and the brightest moving from Chicago and Detroit to Austin and Houston and Dallas? Why are Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and Illinois losing congressmen in 2012 while Texas gains four? Why is it that Texas is growing while the other big states in America are flat or flat-out broke?According to Sam and Andrew Wyly, it’s simple: Texas got it right! The Lone Star State’s long tradition of walking the path less traveled has made it a constantly renewing hotbed of invention and entrepreneurial can-do. From the birthplace of Whole Foods, Southwest Airlines, and Green Mountain Energy has come the innovation that has quadrupled America’s natural gas and oil reserves in the past ten years, creating good jobs across the country and abroad. The most military-friendly state in the union is now leading the country in its use of high-tech windmills and is making it more likely that we’ll soon bring an end to wars over Arab and Persian oil.The Wylys’ new full-color, fully illustrated book of true boasts, Texas Got It Right!, argues that the state’s success stories can inspire the rest of the country. This astute and provocative look at Texan policies, history, and culture is packed with ideas begging to be exported to the other, less fortunate 49 states.