One of the most important books my dad ever gave me was Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty by Harvey Mackay. Mackay tells a story about a friend who got a call at two in the morning from someone he hadn’t talked to in more than ten years. The caller was semi-hysterical because his accountant had called him that afternoon and told him he was broke; his company couldn’t make payroll, and if he didn’t retrieve the checks he’d written, there was a good chance he would go to jail. He needed $20,000.