My father Tom was a workaholic who never missed a single one of my sporting events for nearly two decades, and imparted in me a sense of risk and adventure. Being the one in the middle, I had more room to drift, and after college, I left the U.S. for Chile.

I have interviewed Hugo Chavez, Tim McVeigh, and hundreds of fascinating characters in South America, where I have lived for the past 15 years.

It is a gift to be a teenager, and I see a dad's job as lifeguard, not chaperone.

I would like to be remembered as the reporter who snuck back stage to all the off-limits shows, be it the Vatican dressing room, the Pentagon war room, or the Celtics locker room. Some curtains ought never to be pulled back; others deserve to be ripped down. When appropriate, I want to be the curtain remover.

I have to travel for my work, so the idea of getting on planes depresses me. They give me frequent-flyer points, and I think, 'I don't want them, because I'm sick of flying!'

Sometimes if I do radio interviews or certain kinds of interviews or things that would require me to travel, then I'll get a nice car ride. Someone will take me, drive me to that place, and I'll actually get to see around.

Time travel may be achieved one day, or it may not. But if it is, it should not require any fundamental change in world-view, at least for those who broadly share the world view I am presenting in this book.

Our goal is simply to make entrepreneurship more accessible to everyone around the world throughout the entrepreneurial journey, from inspiration to IPO.