Bruce Hale became an author and entrepreneur in 1989 in the single weirdest week of his life (so far). He was working for the phone company, in the kind of job that sucks the living soul from your body and spits it out onto the floor.

In that same week, he won three awards for his corporate newsletter, got a raise, and discovered he only had six weeks to enjoy it. Yes, Bruce was downsized. At the same time, he was helping run a Hawaiian gift company he'd started on the side, and he self-published his first picture book for children.

The choice was clear: Find another corporate job, or follow the dream of being an author. Bruce took the leap of faith. Today, he's published over 20 books, both through his own publishing company and through major U.S. publishers like Harcourt and Harpercollins.