Orange County, CA – When Steven Myers became the first American since Charles Lindbergh to fly into the remote Russian Kamchatka peninsula, he had no idea how it would change his life. What he found there in 1992, right after the fall of the USSR, was a people who were starving, defeated, and trying desperately to make a life in a new world with very little resources. What he didn't count on was that helping them would put his life in danger—and that of his team—in a remote region where a clash of cultures combined with a fear of authority made business anything but easy. His empowering new book, Cross Winds: Adventure and Entrepreneurship in the Russian Far East, tells the story of one man's decision to chase an extraordinary dream.
The book opens with a visit from the two secret agents dressed in black, who entered the offices of his California-based company, SM&A, on a sunny late spring morning, shortly before he was to leave for a board meeting in Russia. "A high-risk situation will likely develop while you are in Moscow in August. If we are correct, it will become a tragedy for you and an international incident for us. We have hard intelligence that you are going to be kidnapped."
What Myers chose to do next reads like a John Grisham novel.
Myers, an accomplished pilot, originally flew into Kamchatka to help evaluate the viability of the Russians' Mars space program. Accompanied by his chief scientist and company vice-president Tom Heinsheimer, Myers was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug soon after he arrived. He and Tom pulled together a plan to bring business and revenue into the region, and CKC—the California Kamchatka Companies—was born.
Myers knows about starting from small beginnings. Born to a single teen mom, and raised inner-city, he barely graduated from high school. After the first of two stints in the Air Force, he graduated from Stanford University and eventually founded SM&A, Inc., which grew into a NASDAQ-listed $110 million annual revenue international management consulting firm serving aerospace & defense, aviation, telecommunications, and other high-tech industry clients. He worked on President Ronald Reagan's Star Wars Defense System, helped develop many defense and national security systems, served on government committees, and most recently served in a key role on the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council Task Force on Cyber Resources.
No stranger to risk, the task of transforming Kamchatka was daunting. But Myers was up for the challenge. He clung to a personal insight he gained after a near fatal 30-foot mountain climbing fall in his twenties. Left for dead, he survived two days in the ice-covered Cadaver Gap with a fractured pelvis and broken arm. Myers discovered then that the cornerstone of courage was optimism. Without either, he'd have never survived. The same insight has guided his every success in life every day since.
"My book is about three things," says Myers. "First, it's a true aviation adventure. Second, it's a story about entrepreneurship. But third, and most importantly, it's a story about courage, where that comes from, and why my team and I were able to overcome what seemed like insurmountable obstacles. We were able envision and create a business in a remote part of the world, requiring the consent of so many bureaucratic entities, in a short period of time that seemed preposterous on its face. We wouldn't take no for an answer."
Cross Winds, a book filled with beautiful photographs and drawings, is a first-person experience in the cockpit of a plane, with daring landings, beautiful landscape views, and the quick-thinking, heart-pumping adrenaline ride that served Myers well in keeping himself and his team safe. But the book is so much more. It's an inspiring account of how to succeed against the most incredible odds, of finding courage even when you think it's gone, and of working with a team of people who are different from you both in culture and in mindset. Myers serves up a fast-paced book that you won't be able to put down.
Whether you are a reader looking for adventure, or an entrepreneur seeking success, Steve Myers' book will inspire you to go after your dreams and not stop. "I experienced the adventure of a lifetime," says Myers. "An adventure that most can only dream of."
"The strong writing skills of the author brings a sense of credible immediacy to this true saga, 'the clash of two vastly different cultures – Americans, with go-for-broke, entrepreneurial 'can do' attitudes – and Russians with a long, painful history of constraining rules, risk aversion, and fear." - Grady Harp, Amazon Top 50 Hall of Fame Reviewer, 5 Stars
"A thrilling story of grit and courage, Myers' book will inspire adventure-seekers and entrepreneurs alike with what it takes to survive in business and in life. I couldn't put it down!" - Pamela Gossiaux, International Bestselling Author of Ordinary Girl, 5 Stars
"The chances are high that you won't survive." I love this story! Fasten your seatbelt for a wild ride!" - David Alan Arnold, Helicopter Cameraman for television shows Deadliest Catch, Bering Sea Gold, and SURVIVOR
"CROSSWINDS tells the true, high-flying, epic adventure story of discovery and courage. I couldn't put the book down." - John Kelly, Detroit Free Press, 5 Stars
Cross Winds: Adventure and Entrepreneurship in the Russian Far East, August 2020, Bletchley Press, 324 pages with 112 photos, maps, and graphics. Hardcover $29.99 (ISBN 978-0-9881825-2-3). E-book $4.99 (ISBN 978-0-9881825-1-6). Available on Amazon
About Steven Myers: Steven Myers is a successful four-time CEO and serial entrepreneur, director of public and private company boards, CEO coach, public speaker, author, and aviator. He has conducted business in a dozen countries in Europe and Asia. He is an Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" for Software and Information Services. He graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Mathematics, is a two-time US Air Force veteran, a recipient of the California Governor's Special Recognition Award and the FAA Wright Brothers Award.
Steve founded SM&A, Inc., which grew into a NASDAQ-listed $110 million annual revenue international management consulting firm serving aerospace & defense, aviation, telecommunications, and other high-tech industry clients. His private equity investment company, Dolphin Capital Holdings, Inc., has interests in a broad array of enterprises.
A nationally recognized thought leader on business competitiveness, Steve is a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business. He served three terms on the US Department of State Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy. He also served on the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council Task Force on Cyber Resources.
Steve is a highly accomplished aviator, holding an Airline Transport Pilot license with eleven jet type ratings. With more than 6,000 hours of flight time, he received the FAA's highest civilian award in 2020, the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. In his free time, the other activities he enjoys are skiing, golf, and ballroom dancing. He is a pro-am ballroom dancer and has competed in over seventy-five ballroom competitions. Steve and his wife live in California. He has four children and three grandchildren. He is at work on his next book. To learn more, visit his website at StevenMyers.com
Media Contact: Scott Lorenz Westwind Book Marketing at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on twitter @abookpublicist