Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money, Second Edition

Chapter 2. The Second Commandment: Extend the Network of Your Connectedness to Many People

Befriend many people who are a rung or two above and below your financial level, then find ways to help them achieve their desires. You will have discovered the secret of Partnership Power.

Stepping out of the Washington Hotel near the White House in Washington D.C., one frigid January evening, I felt so cold that it was all I could do to hold up my hand and hail a passing cab. I was on my way to deliver my first speech at the National Press Club, which I didn't know was just around the corner from my hotel. I felt an almost sensual pleasure sinking comfortably into the soft seat of the warm cab. Glancing out the window at the arctic wind blowing litter down the sidewalk, I smiled at my pleasant situation and instructed the driver, "National Press Club, please."

"Sir, that's just around the corner," he told me. I was crestfallen. Just around the corner may not be far to walk on a pleasant day or even on a reasonably unpleasant day, but it might as well have been a hundred miles across frozen tundra that evening. The prospect of exiting the comfortable cab was unwelcome, but I reached unenthusiastically for the door handle. "Please wait," the cabbie said, "I'll drive you there." I felt foolish but grateful. A few moments later the driver pulled up before the Press Club building, and I reached for my wallet. "Oh, no, sir, there will be no charge," he assured me. "I am happy just to do you a favor. ...