The Scenario: In that same vein, I'd like to present a little scenario about how to get what you want, as told by Harvey Mackay, in his excellent book, Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty.

You're an author. And on a book tour, you happen to do an appearance together with Larry King. And Larry King offers you a ride in his limo to the airport.

You know that the people who would read your books watch Larry King. You know this is a phenomenal opportunity. What do you do?

Do you start trying to convince Larry how wonderful your book is, and how great you are? Do you tell your wittiest anecdotes, hoping Larry will find you entertaining, and say, "Maybe I should have this guy on?"

I'll tell you, Harvey Mackay's answer is spot on, and when I heard it you could have knocked me over with a feather, it was so obvious, but so far from my mind. If you've guessed it, you'll go far in life. If you haven't, learn it. It will take you farther than your current mindset.

You immediately start thinking of everything you can do for Larry King.

Whatever it is. Rack your brain. Think about him. In this case, you're an author, and you're on a book tour. So is he. But you've been in the business longer--this is only his second book. You give him all the info you can about how to increase sales. Tricks he may not know about. Maybe wisdom on how to handle the rigors of a book tour. Whatever.

The trick is, at that moment, don't think about yourself. At any moment, don't think about yourself.

This is why it's sincerely worth it to you to be interested in helping other people. Because it really will come back around to you.

It's the secret behind successful negotiation, the secret behind successful job interviewing, and the secret behind starting a successful business.

Think about what you can do to help them. Then things will flow right on back to you.

(And you notice, that after all these years, Mackay's book is still in print. Trump's, which I've never read, is not. I do own both books, though. Got Trump's for a quarter at a library book sale. How's that for negotiation?)

(Oh, and you've probably seen Mackay once or twice. Especially if you ever watch Larry King.)