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How to get started writing a thought leadership book

Sunday, February 14, 2010

The easiest way to get started a thought leadership book that will drive business and career success is to ask a deceptively simple question:

What does my most profitable customer segment need to know to solve their problems and achieve their goals?

Asking what your most profitable customers and prospect needs to know achieves several important goals:

  • Puts the focus on what’s really important. Success is not about “your” experiences or the knowledge you have accumulated. Success is all about your readers! What they want to read is more important than what you want to write. It ensures the success of your book among the market segment that’s most valuable to you.
  • Simplifies topic choices and writing. By identifying the change your reader’s desire, i.e., the problem they want to solve or the goal they want to achieve, makes it easier to identify the 42, (or whatever), topics your readers need to know and addressing them as clearly and concisely as you can.
  • Shorter books mean more books. By replacing “creative writing” with reader-driven topic choice and clear, concise expression, offers many additional benefits. For example, you’ll be better able to write your book in short, frequent working sessions, each one focused on a specific topic. This will help you get your book into your prospect’s hands faster (so it can begin driving business sooner). Once your first book is published, you can begin thinking about a follow-up title (which will make you twice the expert in your market’s eyes!)

Each published book with your name on the cover and a listing on Amazon.com, reinforces your position as the “go to expert” in your field!

Writing a thought leadership book can be a lot easier than the “time trap” many think writing a book has to be. Writing can be difficult and time-consuming if you try to impress your market by sharing everything you know. But, if you start by asking “What do my most desired prospects and clients need to know?“, you’ll find it easier to identify and write a book that establishes you as the thought leader in you field. Let me know if you have a comment, or question, via e-mail or as a comment, below.

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8 habits needed to write your way to success

Friday, February 5, 2010

Although the rewards of writing a book have been extensively documented in books like Mitchell Levy’s 42 Rules of Driving Business with Books, the underlying habits needed for writing success and author thought leadership are not as widely known.

The big idea

The starting point is very simple, and beautifully described in books like Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Les Hewitt’s Power of Focus and a slim book by Robert Maxwell entitled Make Today Count.  Both books stress the same idea:

Your daily habits determine your future

How you approach each day in general, and how you approach writing in particular, determines your future–and the future of those who depend on you.

Everyone has the same 24 hours each day to live, work, play, and sleep. However, somehow, some people write books and advance to the front of the room, while others dream, read books, and remain in the back of the room.

Habits of writing success

During the past decade, I’ve interviewed hundreds of authors (plus their editors and publicists) who have changed their lives and written their way to success, building lucrative, high-visibility author thought leadership in their fields.

I’ve studied their habits, as well as the habits of writing coaches who got their training in the world of media, where deadlines are non-negotiable. What I’ve listened to and read has convinced me that a few crucial habits spell the difference writing success or continued writing stress and frustration.

The 8 habits of writing success

Here’s a distillation of what I’ve found. Successful, branded authors share these traits:

  1. Daily progress. Successful authors don’t participate in writing marathons; they commit to writing a little every day. They commit to consistent progress. You can make significant progress in 30 minutes a day, even more if you spend a little extra time reviewing what you’ve written and what you want to write tomorrow right before you go to bed.
  2. Delegation. There is usually a team behind a successful author; sometimes co-authors, sometimes ghost writers, sometimes book coaches and development editors, and sometimes a variety of contributors. Success does not have to involve martyrdom!
  3. Planning. Few nonfiction authors depend on their creativity and inspiration to get their books written. Instead, they begin with outlines or mind map that identify the topics they’re going to write about in each chapter. When they sit down to write, they know what they’re going to write about. As a result, they never start with an empty screen.
  4. Purpose. Successful nonfiction authors recognize that their books aren’t purchased for entertainment or style. Instead, books are purchased for reader change;  the goal is to help readers solve problems or achieve goals. By focusing on what their readers want, rather than showcasing their knowledge, authors write books that attract the readers they’re interested in serving later on.
  5. Efficiency. Successful authors are efficient authors; they choose the right tools and take maximum advantage of them. When working with Microsoft Word, they use keyboard shortcuts to save time and eliminate the need to remove their right hand from the keyboard and reaching for the mouse. They write short, concise books with focused, actionable content. Most important, they harvest and recycle previously-written ideas and content, such as blog posts, newsletters, reports, and speeches. They use templates whenever possible to speed content creation and formatting.
  6. Standards. Successful authors refuse to be intimidated by the authors held up as role-models by their their high school and college teachers. Writing is typically taught from a “classic” point of view, rather than a pragmatic, information organization and sharing point of view. Successful authors write for efficient information transfer, striving for brevity and clarity. In doing so, they forgive themselves for the C’s and D’s they might have received.
  7. Rituals. Most important, successful authors establish rituals, which can be considered “habits on steroids.” Whenever possible, they write at the same time and in the same place. They print-out and back-up their work at the end of each writing session. They track their blog posts and teleseminar topics, identifying which topics generate the most response.
  8. Confidence. Most of all, successful authors are confident in the expertise they want to share and the people who are around them to help them succeed. Successful authors recognize that lousy first drafts often result in excellent final drafts. They are confident in the process of writing, reviewing, and rewriting.

In short, successful authors reject the idea of write their way to success, one word at a time. They reject the view that writing as a talent-driven special skill, and–instead–are willing to do what it takes to cultivate their own skills. (Many of the authors I’ve interviewed don’t consider themselves especially proficient or talented writers.) The basis of writing success are found in simple daily habits that anyone can put to work.

Roger C. Parker invites you to explore Published & Profitable’s Sample Contents and sign-up for his Writer’s Writer’s Tip Blog. You’re also invited to e-mail your writing questions and concerns.

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Author platforms – first stop on the road to publishing success

Monday, December 21, 2009

Ultimately, an author platform is more important than your ability to write a book, do your job, or satisfy your clients!

Quality is no longer enough to guarantee success. Today, competence is assumed. More important, there is competition everywhere, as close as the nearest online search engine.

To control your destiny, you need a practical way to build lasting relationships with current clients while attracting an on-going stream of new prospects to your business.

A platform is a process, a unique message, and a way to consistently communicate with your market. There are several types of platforms: articles, blogs, columns, books, interviews, newsletters, podcasts, social media, speaking, teleseminars, websites, and online videos.

Published books offer the advantage of tangibility, they have a physical presence in the hand and in the bookshelves of your prospects.

The crucial issue is not which type of platform you use, but whether or not you have a unique & relevant message and that you consistently promote it.

Content relevancy and consistency play major roles in the success of author platforms

Why author platform are so important

Platforms offer authors numerous advantages:

  • A position in your market that differentiates you from your competition.
  • A “stage” to present from, a way of packaging your expertise in an easily recognizable format.
  • Tools to educate your market. A platform helps you distribute helpful, relevant information that communicates your point of view and creates a halo benefiting every one of your products and services.
  • Freedom. You, and you alone, choose the topics to address.
  • Challenge and self-improvement. Platforms force you to refine your ideas and improve your ability to express them.
  • Visibility and contacts. A platform expands your network of those who know and respect you, building your referral network.

Platform prerequisites

Successful platforms share these essential characteristics:

  • Control. You need to choose topics and be able to distribute your message without outside dependency or interference.
  • Consistency. Platforms must be constant updated with new material. Each time you update your platform, you improve your search engine visibility and the chances that prospects will encounter you when they’re ready to buy.
  • Efficiency. To maintain consistency, your platform must be easy and inexpensive to set up and maintain. For this reason, websites that authors and entrepreneurs cannot update themselves without contacting a designer or programmer are often ineffective as platforms.

Steps to success

There are three steps to creating an effective platform:

  1. Choose your message, an approach or process that becomes synonymous with you.
  2. Create a way to distribute and “package” it in a distinct way that sets it apart from your competition. Design, graphics,  audio, and video are all tools that you can use to differentiate your message.
  3. Support it with an online presence you can update by yourself. Blogs are excellent choices, because you can update them yourself without spending money or waiting for others to act and there’s no “learning curve” or expensive software to purchase.

Step 1. Message

The starting point is identify a core message that leverages off of your value proposition, (i.e., how you can help your market). Your goal is to become personally associated with the solution to a widespread problem your target market suffers from.

Ideally, your message will reflect not just your competence, but will identify the market you serve and the benefits you offer. It should also reflect your values, style, and enthusiasm.

Your core message provides the starting point for identifying the topics and developing the information you communicate in a non-invasive and consistent way.

2. Distribution

An effective platform cares a core, or nucleus, which you can later recycle and expand.

For many, the starting point is a blog. Each blog post offers enough space for you to introduce and address just about any topic, educating your market and proving your competence, while attracting search engine visibility.

Each post creates a “first draft” you can later expand into:

  • Articles for syndication, interviews, books, e-books.
  • Presentations, speeches, teleconferences, podcasts, training.
  • Website content and incentives to attract more search engine traffic, reward your best clients, and build your opt-in e-mail newsletter circulation list.
  • Books and e-books. Books represent the highest example of platforms. Even if you don’t consider yourself  an “author” now, you will soon have compiled enough material to write a book if you prepare each blog post with an eye to using it as a chapter, or topic in a chapter, of a future book.

3. Website

You must be able to update your online presence yourself. You can’t afford to wait for—and pay for—someone else to do the work.

Your blog has to be continually updated with your latest messages. Visitors should never encounter the same post on two consecutive visits!

Getting started

The starting point is to analyze your core competencies, your market, and your competition.

This will help you identify your message, which will help you determine the best ways to communicate, and expand, it as consistently and efficiently as possible.

Learn more by visiting the Published & Profitable Daily Writer’s Writer’s Tip Blog or you can e-mail me and askfor my Platform Creating Tip Sheet that tells more about how you can you can create a platform to educate prospects and take control of your future.

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Exploring the realities of writing a book in 2010

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Will 2010 be the year you decide to write a book to build your brand and establish yourself as the “go to” expert in your field? Now is the time to begin planning for your debut as a published author.

The benefits of writing a book in 2010

The benefits of writing a book continue to far outweigh the work that’s involved writing a book.

One of the very best books that address the benefits of writing a book is Mitchell Levy’s 42 Rules for Driving Success with Books. As the numerous case “real world” author case studies describe, writing a book continues to be the most predictable way you can take control of your future, building awareness for your business, pre-selling your competence, and opening doors of opportunity that might otherwise never be open to you.

A writing strategy based on a published book in 2010 provides a focus–or a hub–for all of your firm’s marketing and social marketing. At the same time, in the same way that teachers learn by teaching, writers learn by writing, as books like William Zinsser’s classic Writing to Learn: How to Write and Think Clearly About Any Topic describe.

The realities of writing a book in 2010

Book publishing is going through an era of exciting change and technological advance. The good news is that, in 2010, there are more options and opportunities for authors than ever before. Several trends are immediately obvious:

  • New ways to get published. Book publishing is advancing beyond the “inventory model” which was based on large, up-front, investments in printing, distribution, and warehousing. Today, many authors and publishers are working together to leverage the economic advantages of smaller,  more frequent print runs which lowers the barriers to non-celebrity authors writing for specific market segments.
  • New respect for shorter, more focused books. Another change benefiting authors is the trend away from “omnibus” volumes that provide a textbook-like approach to a topic. Instead, readers are increasingly responding to shorter, highly-focused, relevant books that address specific reader problems. The 42-Rules series is an excellent example of this, as well as the growing THINKtweet! series which communicates inspiring perspectives in bite-sized, 140-character, chunks.

E-books, too, offer opportunities for authors to expand their reach among broader, more price-sensitive and convenience-oriented readers. Thanks to PDF’s and readers like Amazon’s Kindle, readers can get instant access to professionally-formatted and highly-readable information.

Although technology is changing the way books are written and distributed, the fundamentals remain the same.

Writing for reader change

One of the fundamentals of writing books to drive success is the importance of focusing on reader change. Unlike fiction books, which are purchased for escape, pleasure, and style, readers purchase nonfiction books for pragmatic reasons–to experience change.

  • Problem solving. Often the change involves solving problems, like declining profit margins, employee turnover, or out-of-control expenses. Problems keep business owners awake at night; the next day, they search for books to help them solve the problem.
  • Achieving goals. Business owners also turn to nonfiction books to achieve goals, like mastering social media marketing, preparing press releases, or learning how to maximize online marketing tools like FaceBook, YouTube, or LinkedIn.

Your book will succeed to the extent it addresses the changes and goals your readers desire. The need for focused actionable, relevant, and timely information has never been higher, and there never have been so many ways to address your reader’s needs and leverage your book to higher profits.

A word of caution, however…

In 2010, however, it’s not enough to just “write a book.” Today, more than ever, writing is just one of the 4 essential steps that define a successful publishing experience.

In the past, authors could just write a good book, and still enjoy success. Today, the current economy and rising reader expectations require more from an author. Success requires a balanced, 4-step approach:

  1. Planning. Today’s most successful authors recognize it’s “not about themselves” and the book they passionately want to write. Instead, it’s all about the readers, and the change that readers desire. That’s why success today begins with carefully identifying your book’s intended readers, the changes they desire, and the specific information they need to succeed.
  2. Writing. In today’s time-challenged environment, there’s more emphasis on brevity and conciseness than before. Readers want to go to the heart of the matter, and do a minimum of reading in order to extra a maximum of information. Authors who continue to write comprehensive (and expensive) “textbooks,” when readers want “sound byte” actionable solutions, are risking their future.
  3. Promotion. Promotion has always been an author responsibility, but never so much as today. Regardless of who publishes your book, it’s essential that you market your book as efficiently as possible. Luckily, although the stakes are higher, there are more low-cost, promotional opportunities available for authors than ever before.
  4. Profit. In the past, it was relatively easy for authors to support themselves on the basis of publisher’s advances and royalties from book sales. I know, because I did it! Today, it’s a different ball game. Today’s successful authors recognize the importance of identifying where the rewards of a book are going to come from before they begin writing.

To learn more

Visit Published & Profitable to learn more about today’s writing environment where you can dozens of pages of sample content and explore the hundreds of available resources. You’re also invited to download my free Write Your Way to Success 4-step handbook.

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How to Save Time Planning Your 42 Rules Book

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

From the start, I’ve been enthusiastic about the time savings and sheer practicality of Laura Lowell’s 42 Rules approach to writing a book that brands you and your firm as experts in your field.

The 42 Rules concept, reflected in titles like Laura Lowell’s 42 Rules of Marketing and Mitchell Levy’s 42 Rules of Driving Success with Books, reduce what is normally a large, complex task (i.e., writing a book) into a series of short and easily-accomplished tasks.

I’d like to share with you an approach I’ve used to plan books for myself as well as help my Published & Profitable members and coaching clients jumpstart their publishing success. This approach will help you as you prepare your book’s table of contents as well as guide you as you write each chapter.

The power of the 42 Rules concept

The power of the 42 Rules concept comes from the way it eliminates the uncertainty most authors face at the start of a writing project.

Traditionally, authors begin books with a blank screen. This is great, except for the stress created by being able to include anything you want in your book.

  • The lack of limits presented by a blank screen doesn’t provide you with an easy starting point for your book.
  • Likewise, the lack of structure doesn’t help you choose how many chapters to include, nor does it help you decide how much information to include in each chapter.

At the end of your first planning session, your screen is apt to be as blank as it was when you started!

A better alternative–start with desired reader change

As an alternative to the “freedom and anarchy” of a blank screen, I suggest you “think small” and focus on reader change, the problems your readers want to solve and the goals they want to achieve.

Once you identify your reader’s desired change, you’ll find it easy to come up with the sections and chapters of your book:

  • Sections. Divide your book into sections corresponding to the major steps you recommend your readers take to solve their problems or achieve their goals. In many cases, the sections can be as simple as Getting Started, Moving Forward, and Evaluating Your Progress.
  • Chapters. After breaking your reader’s problem solving and goal attainment into a few major steps, populate each of the sections with short, step-by-step chapters that each focus on a specific task that must be accomplished.

You’ll probably be impressed with how quickly your sections and chapters will now fall into place. This is because you’ve replaced abstract thinking with concrete thinking.

Instead of writing a formless and boundary-less, textbook-like, “encyclopaedia of information” that simply showcases your knowledge, you’re writing a book that your readers desire and focusing your efforts on the specific tasks they need to solve their problems or accomplish their goals.

Benefits of the “reader change” approach

Both you and your readers benefit from the focus created by the 42 Rules format. This approach simplifies both planning and writing your book:

  • Planning is easier and takes less time because focusing on reader change makes it easier for you to identify the information that readers need to know in order to accomplish their specific goals. Once you identify the desired reader change, planning becomes a matter of selection and sequence.
  • Writing also becomes easier because, the “42 short chapters” format encourages you to focus each chapter on a specific idea or task and to write as concisely as you can. You’ll probably find you can complete each chapter during a single short, 45-minute or 1-hour, working session.

Writing in the 42 chapter format creates its own momentum; each time you finish one of the 42 chapters, you get a “rush of accomplishment” that encourages you to look forward to your next writing session.

There’s a joy to adding a check mark next to each chapter’s title as you complete it; as more and more checks appear on your section and chapter plan, the more you’re motivated to continue writing.

Readers benefit from the 42 short chapters because your book will be easier to read. The sections will provide context for the information in each chapter, and each chapter will focus on a specific actionable idea or technique. Readers will be able to master complex topics while sitting in an airport waiting room or waiting for the light to change.

Learn more about writing for reader change

Visit my Published & Profitable Daily Tips Blog to learn more more about writing for reader change and using printable mind map templates as planning tools for your next book to reduce the time it takes to plan, write, promote, and profit from a book that builds your personal brand.

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When does the entrepreneurial bug start?

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Just read a post from someone who said, “I’m losing my job, what entrepreneurial activities can I participate in?”

To me, this is not the time to ask that question. Being an entrepreneur is not easy and there’s no get-quick schemes. You’re not going to join an MLM and be the person that makes $100k/month, or start a restaurant and have it be an instant success, or create the next Google. Now, any of those wonderful successes can happen, but none of them will happen without a lot of passion, hard work and shear perseverance.

An entrepreneur is someone that is constantly experimenting with potential avenues to make money and constantly practicing the 3 rules of business: http://authorthoughtleadership.com/the-three-rules-of-business/

The best time to start being an entrepreneur is now. It’s also great to start when you have some other funding source to help pay the bills. If you are creating a startup, get friends and family to fund you and/or go after angel funding. If you’re creating a business that can be started part-time, do it while you’re still working at a company and drawing a salary. Don’t wait till you must make money to pay the bills. Let’s explore that point a little further.

If you’re working for a company and making a paycheck and want to be an entrepreneur, practice business rule #1 and go to your entrepreneurial friends and say “how can I help” or “what activities do you think I should be doing today to prepare me for tomorrow.” The benefit at that time is that you are being paid. You are not worrying about where the money for your next meal is coming from. It will allow you to make decisions and focus on activities that are in the best interest of the entrepreneurial effort. Not that you shouldn’t make money as an entrepreneur, but typically, it’s not the first thing that happens.

So, thinking of being an entrepreneur? Start today and try to figure out where there’s demand (business rule #2) that you can supply directly or be a connector for folks you’ve met (business rule #1). Above all, expect to fail (business rule #3) in your first couple of efforts. Failure is not a bad thing, it is a tool you can use to do it better the next time.

The marks of a good entrepreneur is someone that does a lot of favors, identifies and matches a demand, works hard, learns from their mistakes and perseveres. Have fun!

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Entrepreneurs start with nothing and make things happen

Thursday, July 30, 2009
Boldt Castle
Boldt Castle

As part of my last holiday, we went to Alexandria Bay in upstate NY, home of the Thousand Islands. The main attraction in Alexandria Bay is Boldt Castle [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boldt_Castle]. The castle is an oddity as George Boldt [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Boldt] purchased the land and built the castle for him and his wife. He had 300 people work on the castle for three years when, all of a sudden she died and he stopped all work. The Thousand Islands Bridged Authority picked up the work seventy-plus years later and has made it a worthwhile tourist attraction today.

What’s interesting about Boldt is his entrepreneurial flair. He came to the U.S. as an emigrant at age 13 with nothing and started working in the kitchens in NY city. He saved enough money to purchase a chicken farm in Texas which was going well until a freak storm caused the loss of all his livestock and wiped him out. He went back to the NY to work in a small hotel, then moved to Philadelphia to work in the Clover Club, working his way up to Steward.

In addition to popularizing “Thousand Island” dressing later on in his career, Boldt invented the theory that the customer was always right. Treating patrons right got him in good favor with those of means who helped him build his first hotel. There are a couple different tales on how he met the financiers that helped him finance the Waldolf Astoria, but the bottom line is that he was the key principle involved in making that hotel a success as well as others.

From nothing to something, then getting wiped out
before going from nothing to something again.

Boldt believed in hard work and treating his customers fairly and with respect. Every day he worked hard to make his customers seem important and feel successful. This underlying attitude resulted in his success. It worked for him, can’t it work for you?

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5-week holiday once per year

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Just came back from a 5-week holiday to the east coast (our family resides in Silicon Valley). The trip included Washington DC, NYC, and New York State, Boston, Philadelphia, Vermont, Alexandria Bay and Niagara Falls. It was incredibly fun and very productive! In addition to seeing the sites, every city had one or more authors and executive editors for me to meet with. I closed a number of contracts and moved the ball forward with a number of relationships.

Now, what’s stopping you from taking your 5-week holiday? If you’re an entrepreneur and work for yourself, the primary obstacle for you taking your break is you. During the holiday, we planned where we’re going next year. I can tell you that I have no conflicting meetings twelve months from now so it’s easy to say yes. It’s always painful 2-5 weeks before I go and 2-3 weeks after I get back, but it’s worth the break in your routine.

In terms of business planning, I plan what’s going to happen the following year December time … like most of us. The 5-week holiday is where I plan the overall strategy of my business and my life. As a parallel entrepreneur (simultaneously running 2-5 multiple businesses), this is where I think about what businesses to jettison and which new businesses to start. This particular trip had less overall transformation in the business than previous years, but caused me to think about how I spend my days and what’s going to change once I integrate myself back into the office.

Bottom line is that this time taken once a year is not only great for your family, it’s great of your personal well being and as well as your business. Who’s stopping you from taking your holiday?

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Onboard a Flying Swine Flu Screening Clinic

Monday, May 18, 2009

I’m healthy and I have proof!  Yes, indeedy, I have a cheerful yellow A4 size piece of paper from the Japanese government that testifies to the fact that I survived and passed a quarantine inspection.  That’s no small matter, to be sure, but it pales in comparison to surviving: 1) the hellish drive from my home to the San Francisco Airport, 2) the security inspection line at the airport, where well-meaning security guards who remind me of my mother bellow admonitions like “Take your shoes off!”, 3) airline food, 4) economy seating (the meaning of numb-bummosis should be clear even to people who are NOT medical professionals), 5) Eight channels of mildly uninspiring movies to choose from on the 10 hour flight. (Continued)

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Just because you get paid the big bucks, doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help…

Saturday, February 28, 2009

I took Rajesh Setty to see Charlie Rose speak at the flint center last evening. Rajesh is a great guy and worth following.

First, let me say that putting aside 2-4 hours to spend time with one person is absolutely worth the time. This was a suggestion made by Jason Alba the last time he was speaking in the bay area. Note to self: Make more time on the calender to do this.

The series we saw was part of the Celebrity Series put on by Dick Henning. He does a great job!

Regarding Charlie Rose’s talk, I had three immediate observations.

  1. Just because you get paid the big bucks, doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help. Charlie Rose has interviewed some of the most amazing individuals in the world. What he tried to do in his talk was share his view on world politics and unfortunately, it was just not that interesting.

    What he should have done is talk more about his life (the info he did disclose was quite fascinating) and talk about those he interviewed. I’d be interested in both what happened in front of and more importantly what happened behind the camera. When Dick Henning asked him questions at the end, the answers were fascinating.

    The point is simple. Test drive your presentations and even if you get paid the big bucks, it’s worth having a coach give you hints and ideas to fine-tune your message.

    In this case, the message should not have been Charlie’s view on the world (unless of course, it was done better), but there are very fascinating people in the world with some great messages and here are some of the highlights. Actually, let me share with you a couple highlights in points 2 and 3.

  2. In answering a question from Mr. Henning, he mentioned that William F. Buckley “Lived a life that was so full and so engaged.”

    Isn’t that a fantastic thing to say about someone’s life. We should all be able to say that! Live life for today. Get the most out of it, not just by what you can grab for yourself, but more importantly, what you can do for others.

  3. Also on the William F Buckley answer, he mentioned that Buckley said you must do three things in life: A) Be a parent, b) Write a book, c) Plant a tree.

    It’s funny. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to my hires over the past couple of years for my business. Those that have been parents tend to work out better. It’s because of their ability to talk to different people with different mindsets and needs.

    Planting a tree must be an metaphor for giving back to the world. It would certainly simplify Al Gore’s message is he said to everyone in the world to go out and plant a tree.

    Finally, writing a book is certainly top on my list and it is truly an opportunity to share your message in a vehicle that can bring so many other benefits.


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