Twelve extraordinary people have shared their lives with me -ranging from a Nobel Prize winner and a 107-year old Navajo grandmother, to a man who lived connected to an artificial heart machine for two years. Each of us leaves a unique footprint or a legacy before we die. At the end of each chapter the interviewee was asked if they were at the end of life - what are the most important lessons that they would like to pass along to a favorite son or daughter. To retain character and personality; the stories are unfiltered, told in the interviewees' own words. Every man's story is sacred and worthy of recognition. Every act has its consequences-and with it come lessons. Uncommon Wisdom touches upon the following: Purpose of life Artistic breakthroughs Success Personal growth Courage under pressure Confronting death Overcoming racial and gender barriers Foundations for a fulfilling life Business strategies from a CEO Breaking social barriers Caretaking Ethics and spirituality The need for mentors has never been more crucial as colleges and universities are teaching students how to memorize and spit out dates and names in order to pass tests, but nothing about how to make your way through life. Uncommon Wisdom captures the distillation of twelve extraordinary men and women's experiences and the lessons that they have learned on their journey. One of the book's first readers said, "I only wish that I had read this book twenty years ago."