Lucky Me

There’s a story about Rich Paul that everyone knows: A 21-year-old kid from Cleveland who makes his living selling sports jerseys out of his car meets a high-school basketball phenom named Lebron James at an airport—the two become friends and forge a decades-long partnership that reinvents the business of sports. That random meeting might seem like the lucky break that changed Rich Paul’s life. But a moment of good fortune means nothing without the struggle that gets you there and the lessons you carry with you to the other side. And the truth is, Rich had always been lucky.  

Rich became a gambler at an early age—his fast mind and gift for finding an edge made him a devastating dice roller who could gamble with grown men, win big, and walk away alive. Shooting dice wasn’t just a pastime, it was a way to earn the money his family needed as his mother struggled under the weight of drug addiction. He learned the secret science of dice in the same place he learned all the lessons of his young life: at the corner store his father operated, the center of the neighborhood’s frantic action. Rich’s father had another family but kept his son close working at the store, where Rich learned to create order in a chaotic world. He had dreams of becoming a star athlete, but the streets are where he thrived, building a lucrative enterprise on shaky ground, eventually jeopardizing his life, freedom, and the promises he made his father and the community that raised him. When he found himself at a dangerous crossroads, he summoned the lessons of his past to create a different future. 

Readers will follow the riveting journey of young Rich narrated by the voice of Rich today, who looks back with wit and insight, drawing out the lessons he learned at every stage—about business, people, and the values that lead to success. It’s the inspiring story of the luck that’s all around us, if we know where to look.

ISBN-13: 9780593448472

Publisher: Roc Lit 101

Pages: 336