We hear again and again in politics how "entrepreneurs have to bear all the risk." Paul Schmid shows us exactly what this means and where it can lead in his autobiography, "Once I lived the life of a millionaire." Woven into his family history, the engineer describes how he worked his way up to become a key player in the telecommunications industry, starting with a product he developed on his own and at his own risk. However, his many successes also led to more responsibility and, with it, greater financial risk. The book shows how quickly the wind can turn due to changes in the industry, and above all, the global economy, and how an entrepreneur can slip into serious difficulty through no fault of their own.