At present, I appreciate all that has been accomplished by lululemon and its current and former employees. The world is ready for businesses built on the lululemon philosophy because everyone wins.
I give ultimate thanks to my mom and dad who are in their late-80s and are my mentors in the quest to live 40,000 days.
Thanks to my brother, Brett, who’s an inspiration to me, both from an athletic viewpoint and as my first partner in lululemon when we expanded to the US. To my sister, Noel, who’s probably one of the best brand marketers in the world and who has worked at lululemon and our other businesses.
Thanks to my lifelong friends Frank Cosman, John Starratt, Mark Polet, Eric Libin, and Frank Troughton. Thanks to Torchy McCarthy who got me a job on the Alaska pipeline and to my step-mom, Cathy, who provided me with 55 free trips anywhere in the world.
Thanks to Josephine Terratiano (and family), my original seamstress at Westbeach.
A heartfelt thank-you also goes to my Westbeach partners Scott Sibley, Richard Mellon, and Marco Allinott.
Thank you to Werner Erhard. Thank you to David Cunningham and everyone at Landmark. Thanks to Treya Klassen and Anurag Gupta.
I’m thankful to Morrow Snowboards for buying out Westbeach. I would never have had the money to start lululemon otherwise. I want to thank Don Steele, who came in as private equity inside of Westbeach.
Thanks to Nancy Herb, the wonderful mother of my eldest two sons.
Thanks also to Dave Halliwell, Jackie Slater, Amrita Sondhi, Amanda Dunsmoor, and Anthony Redpath for being there to get lululemon off the ground.
Thanks to Shannon, my highly intelligent, beautiful wife and the mother to my three youngest boys who did such a phenomenal job as lululemon’s second CEO for a year. I’m very thankful for the way she took everything on with such passion and intelligence at a time when lululemon could have gone under multiple times. Shannon is the true partner of which I have always dreamed.
Thanks to the people in the Kitsilano Beach community who came to work at lululemon in the early days on a small salary with only a promise and a passion for athletic clothing: Deanne Schweitzer, Delaney Schweitzer, Eric Petersen, Jenn Barry, Jenna Hills, Eoin Finn, and Fiona Stang, my first yoga teacher.
I want to thank Carla Anderson, Julie Ball, and Karen Wyder from the first Toronto crew. I also want to thank Dave Andru, Bree Stanlake, Michelle Armstrong, and Russ Parker. A heartfelt thanks to George Tsogas, Lori Jane Budd, Jill Chatwood, Erin Westelman and Bonnie Fung.
To the great Americans who believed in our culture: Paige Kerr, our first US store manager; Kerry Brown, our first US showroom manager; Parker Pearson, who opened the Cow Hollow store and led the Santa Monica store. Thanks to Angela Hartman, Leah Taylor, Celeste Burgoyne, and Carla Anderson.
In Australia, thanks to Alexie O’Brien and David Lawn. In Japan, thanks to Kano Yamanaka.
I want to thank my sister-in-law, Susanne Conrad, who with Lightyear Leadership was instrumental in keeping the culture going at lululemon, even after I left.
Thanks to the lawyers that helped me put my first deal together. Despite not having dual-class shares, I’m thankful for everyone that helped me through that public process. I especially want to thank Jonathan McCullough, John Pitfield, and Tina Swinton who safeguarded my interests.
I also must thank the manufacturers who I love, Frankie, Elky, and Richard Hon from Charter Link. Everyone at Eclat. Kevin Chan in Taiwan. Jeff from Maxport in Vietnam. Amy Hsu at RSI and Dilan Gooneratne and Mahesh Amalean at MAS. Thank you very much.
Thank you to Cowie & Fox who designed the original artwork for the lululemon Manifesto.
I want to thank everybody that has chosen to leave lululemon to pursue their own goals and great- ness. You took action, and for that, I am proud of you.
I want to thank the Board of Directors at lululemon. It’s been a great experience. I may not agree with you, but the education I’ve gained has been phenomenal and has given me tools with which I can mentor my children and others.
Thanks go to Darrell Kopke (who was also a key figure at lululemon for many years). Thanks to my EA, Samantha Mullett (amazing!), and to everyone at Hold It All. I know I am missing names of hundreds of people who have helped my life get to where it is. Thanks!
Finally, thanks to my sons, JJ, Brett, Tor, Tag, and Duke. At the time of this writing, my youngest sons are 15 and 17. I feel like I have only days left with them before they’ll start pulling away. With JJ and Brett, as they enter their 30’s, I hope I can mentor them in their own careers and personal lives. My family is my priority, now as much as ever. I hope my experiences will make you better people. If I have 17,000 days remaining, I want to spend every one of them with you.
In closing, I’ll offer this: don’t waste a second of your life. You only have 40,000 days to live. The longer you live, the quicker time goes. To a toddler, 10 minutes feels like 10 years. To a 90-year-old man, 10 days feels like half a second. I am honoured you took part of your life to read this book.
Examine who in your life is eating up your precious seconds. Who around you complains but doesn’t act?
Ask yourself, “What is my real passion? Where do I thrive? Where can I give the most back to the world?”
We get too hung up on what our social values and morals say we should do, what our parents or friends say we should do. For this reason, I’m always impressed by people who live their own great life.
Peace, love, dove, and Hare Krishna, all you groovy cats.