One of the goals that I encourage my clients to work on is to create a list of people they wish to meet.

What kind of people?

People who inspire them! (a religious leader)

People who they admire! (a person who gives with all their heart!)

People who they would love to interview! (a newsmaker)

People whose books they've read! (who is YOUR favorite author?)

People who they'd love to cook dinner for! (a famous chef maybe?)

When I heard about this technique I wasn't really sure I believed it, but I thought it couldn't hurt to try - so I made my list. I won't share the whole list with you - but I will share three people who were on it that I have met, had time to speak with in depth, and who I really learned from and was inspired by!

The first one was an American P.O.W. (Prisoner of War) during the Vietnam War named Dave Carey. I had read about Dave when I was a teenager and was amazed by his story of survival as a prisoner for five years in Hanoi's infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison camp. He created mind games, and intellectual tools of survival that allowed him to come out of that situation as an inspiration to millions of people. Today he is an author, speaker and consultant.

How did I meet Dave? When I began my own speaking career I was asked by the Sacramento Speakers Bureau to speak to the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce about "Doing Business on the Internet". I was excited to be in California, and even more excited to find out that Dave Carey was also there, and he would be speaking too! The morning of our event I came to the dining room for breakfast, at the hotel where the event was being held. It was fairly quiet as I had gotten there early. I got a plate of food from the buffet table, and sat down by myself. Just as I took a sip of juice, a man asked, "mind if I join you?" You guessed it! It was Dave Carey! We had a wonderful breakfast together - sharing conversation about our families and our lives. He was a true hero, and a real gentleman.

When I came home from that trip I was able to put a check mark beside Dave's name on my list of "People I Want to Meet". You can find out more about Dave at his website www.DaveCarey.com

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Two of the other people on my list I got to meet on the same day!

I'm sure many of you know about the VERY famous "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books (one of the most successful book series ever created). The creators - Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were also on my "List of People to Meet" because, like them I love to write - and I want to inspire people with what I do!

Every year, the United States book industry has two large events to highlights it's newest offerings - one is held on the East Coast, and one on the West Coast. In 1998 I got a call from a client who asked if I would go to Los Angeles and interview authors about their newest books at the book show happening there.

Would I go??

Of course I went!

I'm someone who usually reads 1-2 books a week, and at these events you get FREE books, besides getting to meet the authors. I did get to meet BOTH Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen - they were both great men - they were very kind - answered all my questions and even gave me some tips on getting my own books published!

I carried home as many books as possible, and was happy to add TWO MORE CHECK MARKS to my list of "People I Want to Meet".

SO WHO'S ON YOUR LIST?

Wendy McClelland is a motivational speaker, marketing innovator and Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach who specializes in teaching people to "think without boundaries!" She is a past nominee for "Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year" and her clients have included software developers, an Olympic athlete and a wide range of business organizations. She has spoken to 10,000+ conference attendees, about Marketing, Internet Business and Motivation. You can contact her through her website ? http://www.thinkwithoutboundaries.com