FEATURE — Author and certified financial planner Dan Wyson’s new children’s book “The Gold Egg” – published under the pen name of Ule B. Wise and illustrated by Jaimee Lee – has a simple message for youth about success: Keep climbing.
It is a message that Wyson learned from his father and one that he never forgot as he worked toward his own success in business and beyond.
About 25 years ago, Wyson was just starting out with his financial business, he said. At the time, there was a global recession going on, and one of Wyson’s friends kindly told him that he was crazy to even think about trying to start a business during such an unstable time.
Wyson’s response to his friend was the inspiration his own father shared with him and the same inspiration for his “The Gold Egg”.
“You know, my dad always taught me that the gold eggs in life are found in the nests highest up on the tree,” Wyson said to his friend, “and if you want them you’ve got to be willing to climb up after them.”
And that is what Wyson did, he said. For 2 1/2 decades he built a business and a family despite the struggles and occasional failures. He kept climbing for that highest branch.
Flash forward to today, and Wyson can share a thing or two about the hard work it takes to be successful in business and in life.
As a certified financial planner, Wyson’s primary job is to help adults accrue and manage wealth. Throughout his years in this capacity, he said he has learned that a lot of problems most adults face with managing their finances started when they were young.
Wyson said people today live in a world that promotes mediocrity – one where children are subsequently raised to become mediocre people.
“So I thought, ‘We need to reach out to young people and start teaching young people the values that help them grow up to be responsible adults,'” he said, “and that’s kind of where I got started on this book.”
“The Gold Egg” is the story of a young boy named Devan who has the courage and perseverance to go on a journey of discovery despite the difficulties that he faces.
A brief synopsis of the plot according to its Amazon listing is as follows:
The story begins as Devan and his friends are playing games near their favorite tree. An old man passing by tells the children that a gold egg lies in a nest at the top of the tree. The kids tease the man and go back to playing their games but Devan determines to find out if the story is true.
Not content with merely being mediocre, Devan wants to do something great, so he begins to climb the tree. Though Devan’s climb is not easy and many obstacles make him want to turn back, he keeps going.
The book, which is written in rhyme much like books by children’s author Dr. Seuss, was patterned after Wyson’s own life.
“The story of the gold egg … is really the story of my life,” Wyson said, adding that he wrote it in large part to share the things that he has learned about success, achievement and making the climb with his 12 children.
Wyson published the book under the pen name of Ule B. Wise as a tribute to his father.
“My father was an orphan. His parents died when he was 5, and he grew up in an orphanage,” Wyson said. “It was not a pleasant upbringing. They took care of him, they fed him, they kept him alive, but other than that it was pretty rough.”
Wyson said his father had always wanted to write books that would teach children the things he missed out on because he didn’t have parents. That was his father’s dream, Wyson said, adding that his father had wanted to write using the pen name of Ule B. Wise because he believed it was all about the message and not the writer.
Wyson’s father died before he was able to write any books, so when Wyson completed “The Gold Egg” he decided to honor his father and publish it with the pen name of Ule B. Wise.
Though his work as a financial adviser provided the impetus for the book – and the word “gold” is in the title – the story isn’t just about money, Wyson said; it’s about finding success in all aspects of life regardless of an individual’s challenges.
“Success is not who you are and it’s not where you come from,” he said. “Success is who you want to be and where you are going.”
“The Gold Egg” teaches children and adults alike that they can be anything they want to be if they have the determination to climb and keep climbing, Wyson said.
The book is available for purchase in hardcover or Kindle on Amazon and can also be purchased at Christensen’s Department Store, 761 Bluff St., in St. George.
• S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T •
Resources
- Purchase “The Gold Egg” by Ule B. Wise on Amazon or at Christensen’s Department Store, 761 Bluff St., St. George | Wyson Financial.
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