You have to view getting to know new people as a challenge and an opportunity. The very idea should spark your competitive fires, silencing the wallf… - Keith Ferrazzi

The only way they can do that well is by serving their specific audience. “Listen, I’m a devoted reader of this magazine,” I’ll tell editors while mentioning a few recent articles I’ve enjoyed. “I’ve got a story for you that I know your audience will be interested in, as I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.” That’s not a line, either. Before I call journalists, I’ll spend time reading their articles, figuring out what they cover, and what kinds of stories their publications like to run.

The only way to get people to do anything is to recognize their importance and thereby make them feel important. Every person's deepest lifelong desire is to be significant and to be recognized.

There’s no better way to learn something, and become an expert at it, than to have to teach it.