That certainly caught my attention because “Tremendous” Jones was the first motivational speaker I heard as a young man just starting out in the early years of my career.  I serendipitously had the opportunity to attend Jones’ sales seminar with a free ticket given to me by a boyhood friend who managed the local hotel where Jones was speaking.  The seminar promoter had given him a couple tickets for his friends.

All speakers have a “back table” where they sell books, and Jones was no different.  He boxed a number of great classics together in what he called the “battery pack”;  the idea being that reading these books would recharge your mental batteries.  Among them were James Allen’s As a Man Thinketh, Emerson’s essay on Self-Reliance, Russell Conwell’s Acres of Diamonds, Williard Beecher’s Beyond Success and Failure, and a couple others.  The boxed set was in limited supply that day, so I placed an order.  Imagine my surprise a week later when the seminar promoter and Jones showed up at my office to personally deliver the box.  We had an inspiring chat for 20 minutes.

I read every book.  I’ve read them several times over the years.  Each time there is something new.

That was the point of Mackay’s column.  He shares the biggest secret of a really life-changing book:  “If you have found a book that taught you a tremendous amount, you need to go back and read it three, five, seven and 10 years later, after you’ve had different experiences.  It is not enough to simply read a motivational self-help book.  You have to study it, underline it, highlight it and take notes.  Good books should never be permanently put away.”

I am frequently amazed when I go through older books and find underlines and notes in the margins.  They are like little gems that give new insights to the present, as well as relate thought patterns of the past. 

As Mackay says, “A good book can stretch your imagination and spark your creativity.  Books inspire, comfort, teach and entertain.”

I probably read 30 to 40 books a year, some simultaneously.  That’s in sharp contrast to the average person who reads just three books a year, according to statistics.  I read for all the reasons Mackay mentions. 

I must admit that the books in the Battery Pack have certainly influenced my life in a positive way.  I’m glad I discovered them in my early career. 

There are many, many others along the way that have had tremendous impact, too.  I just finished reading Edwene Gaines’ The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity – for the third time.  It’s on my list for another reading.  Perhaps it is because I heard her speak, and she autographed my copy.  When I read it, I hear her voice as if she is speaking only to me.  And I always hear her tell me something new.

Mackay admonishes us to “Read to expand your mind.  Read for fun.  Read because you are interested in something – and read to become more interesting.  You’ll never waste your time if you are reading.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Continue the blog and share what books have influenced you.  Which ones come to mind that you might pull off the shelf for another read?

–Ralph Yearick is CEO of Yearick-Millea, a full-service marketing agency specializing in business-to-business communications.  Contact him at ryearick@yearick-millea.com

How do you know it’s worth your time and effort to answer the RFP?   You don’t; but at least you can narrow your odds.  Try to find out how many received the RFP.  Our rule of thumb is eight agencies or less – and we may consider submitting.  When the Port Authority was looking for an agency to handle a special project a few years ago, they held a Question/Answer meeting where about 100 folks showed up.  Needless to say, we didn’t submit.  Another consideration is prior experience in addressing the anticipated outcomes in the RFP.  If you’ve done it well for someone else, you likely have an edge in the “shoot-out.”

I was once asked by a national trade association to fly to Chicago to make a presentation when they were looking for a new agency.  I knew the executive director and made one comment, “I will only attend if you guarantee you are going to select an agency at the end of the day.”  Ultimately, we didn’t get the work, but he did engage an agency. 

I ask for that agreement because we’ve filled out a lot of RFP’s over the years only to find out later that the group decided to do nothing at all.  That’s a lot of work for nothing; not just for our agency, but multiply it by eight or ten other groups who also submitted. 

Recently, a service organization put us and eight other agencies through the hoops for a rebranding campaign.  Six months later we learned they were “moving in a different direction.”  I should have been suspicious when their RFP requested mountains of information, including organization charts of who would be performing the work.  It was obvious they had used a “canned” RFP format that would have been appropriate for a multi-million dollar project, but this was a relatively small project.  We only submitted because we fulfilled the second consideration –having had previous experience with this type of client. 

On the flip side, I’ve also been on the requesting end of RFP’s as an officer for a non-profit organization.  I recently put one out to only three agencies, all of a scale that fit the needs of the non-profit.  Each knew that only three had received the RFP.  Surprisingly, only one responded, saying they weren’t interested.

Some agencies rationalize not responding by saying it detracts from their clients’ ongoing work.  Why go to the expense of doing speculative concepts and creative work, with a likely less-than-10-percent chance of getting the job?

So, do you invest the time to answer an RFP that may or may not ever be funded?  If you do, try to narrow your odds.  If you don’t, take that time to deliver an even better product or service to your existing clients.  Odds are, they’ll notice and want to do even more work with you. 

About that rebranding campaign –when I told my business partner that we didn’t get the work, his response was, “Good.  They weren’t the kind of client you would want to work with anyway.”

He was right.

Ralph Yearick is CEO of Yearick-Millea, a full-service business-to-business marketing communications agency.  You can reach him at 412-323-9320, or ryearick@yearick-millea.com

That being said, there are times when you may be desperately seeking material for that upcoming blog post. In this case, I always recommend that you reach out to your professional network and interview someone—an expert in their field. It can be as simple as a Q&A format, or it can be something that you just turn into a brief article. below are tips I learned from journalism days, but they still apply to any blogger.

Before you begin, there are three ways to gather information for your story:

• Research
• Observation
• Interviewing

Of these, interviewing is clearly the most important. It can be done:

• In person
• Over the phone
• And now even by e-mail.

It can be extensive or just a few questions. In whatever form, it is the key to the stories you write. Your ability to talk to your experts is the difference between being a mediocre writer and a great one.

5 Steps to Take in Preparing for an Interview

• Be prepared: research your topic first. Preparation allows you to ask good questions and signals your subject that you are not to be dismissed lightly. Read all that is available, such as Web sites and other articles. Talk to those who know the subject. A common ingredient of the superb interview is a knowledge of the subject so thorough that it creates a kind of intimacy between the journalist and the interviewee.

• Find your sources. If you can’t find anyone in your professional network, try an online source like ProfNet or HARO.

• Know the tentative theme for your piece and determine how this interview will fit that theme. In other words, know what information you’ll need from the source.

• When you have answered those questions, prepare a list of questions. The best way to have a spontaneous conversation is to have questions ready. That way you can relax, knowing that you will not miss an important topic.

• Listen. Look the subject in the eye and listen carefully to his/her answers. Be sure to smile. A smile helps both you and your subject relax. Think of your meeting with your source as a structured but friendly conversation, not an interview.

Formulating Great Interview Questions

• Be sure to frame your question without a bias towards one response or another. Phrase your questions in a neutral way.
• Mix open-ended questions, such as, “Tell me about your love for antique cars,” with closed-ended ones, such as, “How old are you?”
• The closed-ended ones elicit basic information; the open-ended allow the interviewee to reveal information or feelings that you did not anticipate.
• Long, complex, multi-part questions generally do not elicit very good information.
• The single best follow-up question one can ask: “What do you mean by that?”
• The second-best follow-up question: “Well, give me some examples.”

During the interview, try to establish a rapport with the person early on. You may want to wait a bit before pulling your notebook out. This meeting stage may determine how the rest of the interview will go. Do you share a common interest or friend? If so, mention that. When the source is speaking, nod or make some verbal remark to show you are listening and understand. Sit on the edge of your chair and lean forward. This is a posture that projects an eager, positive attitude.

Other Useful Techniques

• Always use a tape recorder. Explain to the subject, if need be, that no one will hear it but you.
• Take notes, too. Tape recorders sometimes malfunction.
• Do your homework. A subject will warm to you when realizing you’ve taken the trouble to be informed.
• Save the tough questions for the latter part of the interview.
• Try not to ask questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no.”
• Don’t be nervous. The athlete can’t hurt you. But you can hurt the athlete. He or she is the one who should be nervous, and probably is.
• If you are totally out of your element, ask for help. Admit that you normally cover softball and have never written a piece on rowing. Almost always, the subject will be only too happy to help.
• Try to have a “conversation” when possible, instead of just asking questions.
• Unless you have an agenda, have three to four questions prepared to get things rolling. Then follow where the subject wants to take you.

Daniel Casciato is a full-time freelance copywriter and journalist. In addition to ghostwriting, he writes health, legal, real estate, and technology-related articles for trade magazines and online publications. For more information, visit www.danielcasciato.com.