Small business owners are generally resilient and optimistic. However, I know that many are distraught because they have been shuttered, ignored, prosecuted, and shamed for simply wanting to work and keep employees on the payroll. It’s not just a battle. It’s a war. One that Carol Roth in The War on Small Business explores in great depth.

For those who believe in the American dream where bold entrepreneurs can start a business, work hard, and prosper, this is sobering book. Roth explores how government used the pandemic to pick winners and losers and how centralized planning is controlling the economy to the detriment of small business. The challenges facing businesses are incredibly complex and vary from state to state. Roth understands and addresses them in a clear and concise manner. Her no-nonsense approach and real small business examples are bound to resonate. And for those who see businesspeople as greedy, prepare to be challenged.

I highly recommend this book. In fact, it should be required reading for students, politicians, business leaders and those who simply want to end the war on small business.

This is book is about time. Books are not expensive. What Carol Roth is really asking for is the time to try and change your mind. How many of us wishes for the chance to travel back in time and change just one critical mistake that changed the trajectory of one's life? Avert the danger before it arises. This book is for people who thoughtfully disagree with Carol Roth's idea that big government is bad for freedom.

Do you have the patience and open mind to spend the time to hear Carol Roth's thoughts in your own mind and in your own voice? Do you have the empathy and compassion to see with another's eyes, someone who is very believeable but just happens to disagree with you?

Do you have the humility to believe that as well educated as you are right now and even though you have already decided, you still owe it to yourself to accept the intellectual challenge of defending your beliefs if only in your own mind.

If you are so convince that your path is right and Carol Roth's path is wrong, shouldn't you be able to answer this question: How would an America without a vibrant small business ecosystem work exactly?

How would such an America function?

Build such a world in your mind as you read Carol Roth's book and really focus on the little details of how such a world would function. Focus on the HOW. Do not be lazy because as far as I can tell, no one has built a time machine yet. So reading this book is your final chance to shape our future before it become an immutable past.

The American government's actions during the pandemic will undoubtedly result in the demise of a great number of small businesses when the final tally is known. Should we do it again? Or should we go back before going forward?

This book is a Greek tragedy. You know the ending already. But can you identify fatal flaw that caused this tragedy in the first place?

I challenge you to try and answer that question by trading your TIME for Carol Roth's thesis how we can change our shared destiny.