Author Spotlight: Pat Williams and Extreme Dreams Depend on Teams

Human beings are designed for teamwork, and teamwork is the only way to make seemingly impossible dreams and bold visions come true. Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven consecutive times, not by himself, but with the backing of his coaches, mechanic, and teammates. Charles Lindbergh may have been called “the Lone Eagle” because of his 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic, but he assembled a first-rate team to make his dream possible.

In his new book, Extreme Dreams Depend on Teams, Orlando Magic co-founder and Senior Vice President Pat Williams says that teamwork is the key to making extreme dreams a reality. Named one of the 50 most influential people in the NBA (National Basketball Association) after following his dream and helping to build the Orlando Magic from the ground up, Williams gives inspiring accounts of the power of teamwork—many of them personal—in a book that leadership guru Patrick Lencioni calls “the most comprehensive and interesting collection of wisdom on teamwork I have ever read.”

In Extreme Dreams Depend on Teams, Williams points out that extreme dreams are only fulfilled when teams are led with characteristics like respect, empowerment, commitment, trust and passion. “Once you put teamwork into practice in your organization, these principles will begin transforming everything. They will transform how you view the world, including our society and its problems, and the political and environmental issues we face…you’ll begin seeing the world through a lens of extreme dreams, extreme possibilities, and the power of teamwork,” says Williams.


Pat Williams is the senior vice president of the NBA’s Orlando Magic. He is a popular motivational speaker averaging over 150 appearances a year. Williams has spent 45 years in professional baseball and basketball as a player and executive. He served as general manager of the 1983 world champion Philadelphia 76ers and managed the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks.

Williams is the author of 55 books. He and his wife, Ruth, are the parents of 19 children, including 14 adopted from four nations. He and his family have been featured in such diverse publications as Sports Illustrated, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, The Wall Street Journal, and Focus on the Family as well as all the major TV networks. Pat and Ruth recently received an award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute for their efforts in adoption. To learn more about Pat Williams, visit http://www.patwilliamsmotivate.com/.





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Pat Williams's EXTREME DREAMS DEPEND ON TEAMS VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR '09 will officially begin on August 3 and end on September 25. You can visit Pat's blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of August and September to find out more about this great book and talented author!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

Meet Motivational Speaker and Author Robin Jay

This really is turning out to be a week packed with great stuff. Today, motivational speaker and author Robin Jay joins us to chat about her award-winning book The Art of the Business Lunch ~ Building Relationships between 12 and 2. Robin has also written articles for Forbes.com, Hospitality Executive Magazine, and What’s On Magazine.

Welcome to The Book Connection Robin. It’s great to have you here!

Thank you so much! It’s a pleasure to share with you and your readers.

It sure seems like you are one busy woman. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m originally from Cleveland, Ohio, but I have lived in Las Vegas, Nevada for more than 33 years. I guess I really don’t like the cold. We’re in the middle of summer right now and even though it’s 110*, it’s still better to me than scraping ice off a windshield in January!

I sold advertising for more than 18 years. During that time, I hosted more than 3,000 client lunches and I saw my sales increase by more than 2000%! I knew I was on to something and I wanted to share that information with other business professionals so they could also enjoy more success.

Let’s talk about relationships for a minute. Why is it important to build good, strong relationships in business? How can you teach people this skill which is so vital to success?

Ask yourself, “When was the last time I was made to feel special…REALLY special?” I’m afraid that most people would be hard-pressed to remember exactly when someone made them feel special. And it’s quite likely that no one has made your client feel special, either. I would take my clients out to lunch and make it all about them. By asking them about what’s going on in their lives, listening to their answers and sharing quality time with them, I’ll manage to make them feel special. If they enjoy their time with me, then they are going to want to do business with me. There is an art to it.

Relationships are important because people prefer to do business with people they LIKE. No one every spent their money with someone they hated just because they had the best price. Almost everyone has traveled farther or spent more because they preferred the way one business operated over another. It’s what Brian Tracy calls “The Friendship Factor.” In other words, people will not do business with you unless they are convinced that you have THEIR best interest at heart. You really have to believe it, too. You have to put your client’s or customer’s needs first…and in doing so, your needs will ultimately be met as well.

And yes, it’s a skill that anyone can learn IF they have the right attitude and the willingness to learn it. In my book, I reveal specific ways in which the reader can differentiate themselves from their competition. So few people work to elevate themselves to a higher level - that it can actually be quite easy to sail past your competition by applying the principles that I share in my book.

Your book, The Art of the Business Lunch is receiving rave reviews and endorsements. What is it about this book that makes it so popular?

I think it’s popular because it’s so easy to follow! There are so many ideas in the book that you can implement to achieve outstanding results. It’s not brain surgery. It’s just a lot of ideas that will make you say, “Hmm…I never thought of that!”

Here’s an example: when you are first seated, hand your credit card to your server. Not only does it eliminate any awkwardness at the end of the meal, but it also designates you as the host of the party. This is especially important if you are a female taking male clients to lunch or dinner. And, by the way, everything in the book can apply to breakfast, lunch, dinner or even networking mixers. I have a chapter on networking luncheons, too. A lot can go wrong, but if you’re prepared, you will excel.

This book has been called, “the definitive guide to the business lunch”. It includes topics such as how to select the right restaurant, how and what to order, and when to bring up the subject of business. It even tells you what the one entrée is that should never be ordered at a business lunch. Are business deals really jeopardized by ordering the wrong food?

Absolutely! It might rattle a client’s confidence if they are asked to sign a $100,000.00 contract by a man wearing his spaghetti sauce all over his shirt. Never, ever order spaghetti with red sauce! And with so much riding on your business deals, why not stack the deck in your favor by being completely prepared for whatever comes your way?

While listening to your sample chapter online, I picked up on an important skill which I have struggled with in the past--active listening. How can people improve their abilities in this area so that they aren’t doing all the talking? How does this build good relationships?

Listening is the most important part of a great lunch. If you are just trying to sell something to your client or customer, then you are likely going to spew a bunch of facts, features or benefits. If you are trying to HELP your client, then you are going to have to LISTEN to learn about and understand what your client needs. If I think I’m the best salesperson in the world and I’m trying to sell you dog food, but I don’t know that you don’t own a dog, how am I helping you? Unless we learn to LISTEN to what our clients are saying, how can we really be of service to them?

Plus it goes back to what I said earlier about making your clients feel special. Asking questions and then listening to their answers and responding accordingly works to build a solid relationship. By listening to them, you will discover common ground. Once you have found that, you will be able to share even more, eventually building a friendship. Everyone’s job really is to make friends. The more friends you have, the more successful you will be. A wider circle casts a greater net. You may not know someone in particular, but if one of your friends knows that person, then a connection is just a quick lunch date away.

If you could give a sales person only one piece of advice about business lunches, what would it be?

Go on as many as possible. I think anyone in sales should have a minimum of five business “dates” each week…including networking events, breakfasts or dinners. Do that for one month and you’ll see a difference in your sales by the end of the month.

Where can people find out more about The Art of the Business Lunch and your speaking engagements?

They can visit my website at http://www.robinjay.com/.My contact information is there and they can e-mail me if they have any specific questions or lunch stories to share. My books are available wherever books are sold, but for a signed copy, they should visit my website. I also have audio books available (6-CD sets or Mp3). And if they mention “The Book Connection,” I will include a special gift!

Most of my upcoming speaking engagements are private, corporate events, however I have a unique event coming up here in Las Vegas on Saturday, 9/29. I will be speaking at the Creative Cooking School. This class is being put on by the College of Southern Nevada. For more information, you can visit: http://creativecookingschool.com/CourseSchedule.Asp?CourseID=389. The course fee includes a copy of my book and they will learn how to create a top gourmet lunch. It should be a fun day. And Las Vegas is perfect at that time of year!

Is there anything you would like to add?

I would like to thank you for hosting this wonderful interview. You must have been in sales at some point, because your questions demonstrate an understanding of the most important aspects of business. And for your readers, if they have any questions at all, they can contact me. I enjoy being able to help others and coach them to achieve their dreams, too.

Thank you for joining us today Robin. It has been great getting to know more about you and your award-winning book. I wish you continued success.

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Meet Motivational Speaker and Author Judi Moreo

Only seven days into August and we’re up to two great interviews here at The Book Connection. Today, motivational speaker and author Judi Moreo joins us to chat about her latest release, You Are More Than Enough Every Woman’s Guide to Purpose, Passion & Power. Judi is a leading authority in communications and motivation having conducted consulting assignments, training workshops, seminars, and keynote speeches in 26 countries on 4 continents. She is currently President of Turning Point International, Inc., an international performance improvement consulting firm in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Welcome to The Book Connection Judi. It is a thrill to have the opportunity to chat with you.

It is a bigger thrill for me to be here.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? What was your professional experience before becoming a motivational speaker? How did you make the move towards motivational speaking and writing?

For l7 years, I owned Universal Models Agency & Finishing School in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our training programs were so popular, we had executive men and women, teenagers, housewives, and blue collar workers who took the programs to achieve better self-confidence and learn how to handle themselves in the situations that life presents. Over and over I was asked to present programs on how I built a successful business as well as the various subjects that we taught in the school. Then I moved to South Africa where I was the Group Promotions Manager for a media group of 24 newspapers, two radio stations, and a television station during the end of apartheid. Here I discovered that corporate people at all levels had the same problems….as well as the members of the community that I worked with on a daily basis. Once again, I was asked to speak at seminars and symposiums to explain my work and that of the media group. Speaking became a way of life. Then it started to make more sense that if I wanted to reach more people, I should write a book. I had written columns and articles for newspapers and magazines for years.

You also offer professional, personal, and executive coaching. When do people need a one-on-one coach and what can they expect to get out of your program?

People need a one-on-one coach when they need to hear the truth about themselves; when they need discipline to accomplish their goals; and when they need or want knowledge or expertise the coach has.

I want to move on to your fascinating new book, You Are More Than Enough Every Woman’s Guide to Purpose, Power & Passion. What can you tell us about it?

You Are More Than Enough is a powerful guide to discovering your purpose, unleashing your passion, and shaping your habits to realize the success you want in all the areas of your life...personal and professional relationships, career, finances, and security. In this book, I talk about recognizing and releasing the fears that hold you back; how to turn your thoughts, hopes and dreams into positive action; how to motivate yourself to set powerful goals and passionately achieve them; how to use your imagination to visualize and shape the future you desire as well as how to associate for success and build faith.

What inspired you to write this book? Why do you feel that there is a need for a book like this?

When I traveled around the world speaking to audiences of 50 to 3000 people, approximately 75% of the audience answered “Yes” to the questions, “Did you think you would be more successful by now?” and “Do you want something, but don’t know what it is?”

This book helps people decide what they want to achieve in order to accomplish that “something more” they know is their destiny. It will help you determine what you can change in order to live a more fulfilling life...a life of purpose, passion, and power.

I have shared tools and techniques with the readers ....things I used which immensely helped in my journey to becoming the person I knew I could be. It was my goal in writing this book and sharing my personal stories to make my readers lives a bit easier, more successful, and a great deal more satisfying. If it changes even one life for the better, it will have been worth the writing.

Chapter One opens with some powerful questions: “Why is having confidence in ourselves and our abilities so hard? Why do many of us have the tendency to overestimate other people’s abilities and power and underestimate our own? Why are we so concerned with what other people will think about us?” How does You Are More Than Enough answers those questions? What kinds of advice can people expect to receive from reading this book?

You Are More Than Enough spells out how we have come about many of the beliefs we have; what part our background and culture play in our belief systems; how other people have influenced us.

It seems like you are involved in so many things: motivational speaking, writing, coaching, not to mention your involvement with many organizations. How do you juggle it all? Is part of being able to handle so many things tied into some of the advice that people will read in your book?

Yes, it is in the book. I have learned how to prioritize and how to manage myself, because I have certainly realized you can’t manage time. Motivational speaking, coaching, and writing are how I make a living as well as hopefully making a difference in the world. I work at what I believe will make my life count. Being involved in community activities is how I give back for all that has been given to me. I’m not as active as many people. I just do what I can with the time I have. My first priority though is my family.

I could ask a hundred more questions because this book sounds like an excellent resource for women everywhere. But, I don’t want to be greedy with your time, so can you tell us what other projects you’re involved in? What’s up next for you?

Just this week, I approved the final galley on the Achievement Journal which is a companion to this book. The audio book is in final edit. And I will be video taping 12 five minute segments on the subject matter of the book which will be used by a national seminar company in their programs and webinars.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Faith is the confident assurance that something we believe is true or something we desire is going to happen. I am absolutely certain what you hope for is waiting for you…if you believe and take the necessary actions.

Thank you for joining us today, Judi. It has been a great pleasure to find out more about you and your book, You Are More Than Enough. I wish you continued success in all you do.

Thank you so much. It’s been my pleasure.

Note: Look for my review of You Are More Than Enough Every Woman's Guide to Purpose, Power and Passion - COMING SOON!

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