WiseGuy

Seeking Stories for My Next Book

I'm finishing my 14th book: WiseGuy. It's a collection of stories and what I learned from them. Like Chicken Soup for the Soul but all my stories except for one chapter.

The exception chapter consists of stories of people's interactions with me and what they learned from the interaction--eg, my sons, co-authors, etc. Below, I've included one from the book--by Peg Fitzpatrick, my co-author of The Art of Social Media, as an example.

I want to include 1-2 stories from people that I don't "know" personally but who gained some wisdom from some kind of interaction with me. It can be positive or negative--as long as you learned some wisdom. 

The format is story then wisdom. 300-500 words. If you'd like to submit one, please send to my name at gmail.com.

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Bruna Martinuzzi

Bruna Martinuzzi is the author of The Leader as a Mensch: Become the Kind of Person Others Want to Follow and a presentation coach based in Vancouver, Canada.

It was around 9:00 p.m. one evening a little over a decade ago that I experienced yet another frustration with my old laptop and decided that I would buy a state-of -the-art new one the very next day. I did some online searching and couldn’t decide which laptop to choose.

I had come across Guy Kawasaki’s humorous saying in his now famous video clip about the 10, 20, 30 PowerPoint Rule: "You’re using a Windows laptop. It will take you 45 minutes to make it work with the projector." I thought, why not ask him.

So, I did a search for his name and found an email address. In an impulse move, I emailed him right then and there, briefly introduced myself, and asked him if he could help me with advice on which laptop to buy.

To my amazement, I received a response within ten minutes! I couldn’t believe it. Of course, he recommended a Mac! This was in addition to ensuring that I bought a solid-state drive and Apple Care. I thought, What a kind man, so generous with his advice, just like that!

This might seem like a story about "ask and you will receive." It’s about that, for sure. But it’s also about something else. I was pleasantly surprised and grateful that someone of his stature would take the time to answer a stranger up North who might be of no use to him. I wasn’t buying anything, I wasn’t offering anything. Just a missile from cyberspace to someone with a crowded inbox. His kindness made an impression on me.

Wisdom: Help people who cannot help you. A measure of a person’s goodness is how they treat someone who can be of no use to them. Guy showed this by his action that evening. After this experience, I always remember Guy’s action when I am reluctant to respond to people I don’t know. His example has been an inspiration to me to this day.