Don’t you just love “coincidences”?

Common usage has the word meaning, “remarkable things happening purely by chance.” But we just added that “chance” part. The word itself simply means, “two or more things happening together.” Do you believe in chance? I don’t.

In any case: On Sunday, March 2 (in just a few days, that is) it just so happens that my great friend and You Call the Shots coauthor, Cameron Johnson, is going on national television as one of ten contestants in the new prime-time reality TV show, “Oprah’s Big Give.” (ABC, Sundays at 9 p.m. Eastern.)

The point of the show is to give away as much as possible — to be as creative and ingenious as you can in doing the most good and helping people with the biggest impact.

And this just happens to be happening mere weeks after the launch of The Go-Giver.

Bob Burg and I wrote The Go-Giver three years ago, in the early months of 2005. Cameron and I hadn’t even written his book yet, and the “Big Give” was but a twinkle in Oprah’s eye. The show was shot a year ago, and originally meant to be aired by June, but was repeatedly postponed for various reasons . . . until now—with The Go-Giver just making its initial splash in the marketplace.

Don’t you just love coincidences?

P.S. The entire cast of “Oprah’s Big Give” will be featured on a special segment of the Oprah! show this Friday afternoon (March 29).

P.P.S. Here is Cameron’s “contestant page” on Oprah’s site. Cameron’s official web site is www.cameronjohnson.com.

The hypothalamus transforms emotions into physical responses, which are communicated throughout the body in the form of neuropeptides . . .

Did you get all that? I have to admit, my eyes glazed over before I was halfway through the sentence. I’m doing some research for a book on “vision boards” for John Assaraf, and sometimes find myself wading into the deep end of the scientific swimming pool. I need my water wings.

Do you get intimidated by terms like “hypothalamus” and “neuropeptides”? Most people do. For some reason, scientists love to use multisyllabic Greek and Latin terms for the things they study—but there’s nearly always a simple meaning behind them.

Just watch:

Neuro means have to do with nerves, the tiny threads in our bodies that transmit thoughts and feelings. A peptide (which is Greek for “little digestible thing”) is a tiny fragment of protein. (Protein, by the way, comes from the Greek word proteios, which means “primary,” which comes from the Greek word protos or “first.” In other words, protein means “a very important thing,” or, “the thing we’re mainly made of.” Got the sophistication of that definition?)

Voilà: a “neuropeptide” is simply your thoughts and feelings, transformed into digestible little bits of the stuff you’re mainly made out of.

And what about that pesky hypothalamus? It’s a lump of tissue located right under your thalamus, another lump of tissue that sits deep in the middle of your brain. Thalamos is Greek for “inner chamber,” and hypo means “under.”

Presto: “hypothalamus” means the lump of tissue that sits right under that deep inside part there.

Now, put it all together: “That lump of tissue that sits right under that deep inside part there, turns your feelings into digestible little bits of the stuff you’re made of, so they can spread the word.”

Ahh, that’s better. See how simple those complicated terms are?

A reader asks: How did you get your start writing? I would love to do some of that, but have no confidence in my ability to express myself in print.

I didn’t plan to grow up and become a writer. In my twenties, I did some editing and writing for some small journals. (Full disclosure: I’m sure it helped that both my parents were writers and editors.) Probably 95 percent of my “writing” career has been editing other people’s writing. It’s a great way to learn how to use the language. So is writing marketing copy, web site copy, and any other sort of writing where there is a compelling practical reason it has to be clear and effective.

These days, I think one of the best ways to get started is through blogging: you’re basically publishing tiny essays, about whatever you like, and to whatever standards you set. (Present paragraph being case in point.) And the risk factor is virtually nil. Of course, the goal would be to write a blog that people actually read. (You’ll find good tips in Seth Godin’s ebook on the topic, which I’ll get to in a second.)

My advice for any would-be writers today would be:

1) Read a lot. You can’t write without reading. It’s like breathing in and breathing out.

2) Start a blog. And maintain a pace of posting to it at least twice a week, and no more than once a day.

3) Stay hungry. Hungry to learn, to experiment, and to improve.

4) Repeat point #1.

Two of my favorite readings on writing are: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King (this is the link to the paperback; you can also get it on CD or downloadable MP3 for your iPod), and Seth Godin’s ebook on how to write great blogs, Who’s There? I recommend both to one and all.

And I cannot too strongly recommend the Barnes & Noble podcast, “Meet the Writers.” I’ve never heard or read anything so fascinating, informative and inspiring on the craft of writing. Each podcast segment is short enough to be manageable (fifteen minutes or so); the host, Steve Bertrand, is an excellent interviewer; and he interviews writers from way all across the spectrum, from Joan Didion to Madeleine Albright to Jackie Collins, Ken Follet to Augusten Burroughs to Anthony Bourdain. And every one of them answers a question like “What’s your writing routine like?” or “When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?” completely differently. Whenever I fly anywhere, this is what I listen to on my iPod.

And if you have no confidence in your ability to write? Pretend you do, and see what comes out. (This is a strategy I follow regularly.)

Working on a second book for John Assaraf, I was doing a little research today on the word “intention,” and discovered a few fascinating points.

The word intention literally means “to stretch in a certain direction.” It comes from the Latin tendere, meaning “to stretch,” and is related to the Sanskrit tantram, meaning “loom,” as well as the Persian tar and the Greek tono, which means “string” and therefore also “sound” or “musical note.”

So, put that together:

To create an intention around a thought is to take that thought and stretch it out like the threads of a loom and weave a picture of the future—to stretch it out like the string of a musical instrument and play the melody of your heart’s desire.

Suddenly, it’s a beautiful word, isn’t it? Intend.

Bonus point in the “food for thought” dept.: The word “goal” is thought to derive from the Old English word gal, which means “barrier” or “obstacle.”

The other day I was set up to do an interview with Arjuna Ardagh, a most fascinating author and teacher. A few minutes before the time, he called: he had just returned from London, where he’d been to his father’s funeral, and wondered about the possibility of postponing our interview. After setting a new date, Arjuna and I conversed briefly. I mentioned that in the last few years, my father had died, and my fiancée’s father, and two of her best friends’ fathers, and just last month, my little brother’s fiancée’s father.

“We’re at that time,” he said.

“Yes,” I agreed, “it’s the changing of the guard.”

The other day, I heard on NPR that a 106-year-old man, a veteran of World War I, had just died, and that his passing left alive one solitary veteran of the U.S. forces in that war. Something on the order of a thousand WWII vets die per day. It’s the quiet departure of an entire generation.

And as they leave, we are becoming them.

This is startling to me, because while I am about to turn fifty-four chronologically, my internal clock still think I’m existing somewhere in my thirties. Every time something significant happens—a book sells, a child has a crisis, I hear an especially hilarious joke—my first impulse is to go tell my dad. Now, we’re becoming the ones others come tell.

I remember as a child, feeling upset about something (I don’t remember what), and lying down outside under a tree. Lying there, smelling the smell of the grass, and especially the patient, comforting scent of the earth underneath, made everything feel immediately . . . if not actually better, at least more manageable and not as acutely painful.

My memory of my father is exactly like that: something solid that holds me up, a patient and comforting presence, a smell that makes me feel grounded and not alone.

Now it’s our turn to be the grass, the trees, the earth, the patient listening. It’s the changing of the guard.

If you missed this broadcast in December, you have another shot, this Sunday, February 17th at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern).

Last year I worked on a book proposal for Chris Warner, a world-famous mountaineer, and Don Schmincke, a scientist and corporate trainer, about leadership lessons learned on the peaks of the world’s most dangerous mountains. Even as New York publishers were reviewing the proposal, Chris was leading an expedition along the insanely dangerous Pakistan-Afghanistan border and on to the summit of K2, one of the world’s deadliest peaks. It was the most successful climb in the history of the mountain, though not without tragedy: two died in the attempt.

NBC’s riveting one-hour special on Chris’s expedition first aired in December; it runs again this coming Sunday at 2:30. Put it on your calendar: it’s breathtaking, well worth the hour!

For more, see Chris’s web site, SharedSummits.com.

The home page of my site says, “I have a passion for great writing,” and that passion compels me to share the following essay, which was possibly [see end note] written by a high school student as his college admissions essay for NYU.

3a) ESSAY: In order for the admissions staff of our college to get to know you, the applicant, better, we ask that you answer the following question: are there any significant experiences you have had, or accomplishments you have realized, that have helped to define you as a person?

But I have not yet gone to college.

# # #

P.S. This piece was written, as near as I can dig up, by a high school student named Hugh O’Neil Gallagher, who submitted it in the humor category of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in 1990, where it took first place.

The oft-repeated story that this was Gallagher’s actual college admissions essay has been debunked as an urban legend, but in an email from Gallagher himself to someone who’d posted it on the Internet, the legend was then rebunked (“I was happy to see my college essay on your site; by the way, I did send it to colleges.”), and he did attend NYU. His first novel, Teeth, was published by Pocket Books in 1998. Today he performs under the name Von Von Von.

The audiobook version of The Go-Giver evidently is making serious tracks. The last few days it’s been featured on Audible.com’s home page:

and as the #1 featured item on the home page of iTunes’ “New Releases” section:

and today was at #8 on iTunes’ “Top Audiobooks” bestseller list:

Evidently, people are liking listening to The Go-Giver even more than they’re liking reading it.

And you know what? The day Bob and I recorded it in New York (January 16) was the first time the two of us had actually seen each other in person since the day we started writing the book three years ago! I think there was good energy going that day . . .

I’m resisting the temptation to post every email, review and blog post that comes along, but now and then one comes along I just can’t resist sharing. Here is one of these: a post by Carroll Lachnit on the blog “Workforce Management”:

The Myth, the Quest, and the Business Bestseller

As I said, a lot of people are buying this 132-page book, at $20 a pop, even though its message can be stated, verbatim, in less than 100 words. The writing is pedestrian, and all in all, I’d rather watch Star Wars. But clearly, thousands of Amazon readers are getting something that I’m missing. What is it? Let me know.

The first week of every month, the Milwaukee-based 800-CEO-Read releases their “Top 25” bestseller list for the previous month. Well, 8CR (as we’ve learned they’re called in the trade, making us feel very inside-baseball) just released their “Top 25” for January, and The Go-Giver is on the list.

Actually, it’s not just on the list: it’s in the #1 spot on the list.

8CR is the nation’s largest reseller of books to the corporate marketplace, and they’re the people to call if you should want to buy the book in quantity at a discount: call 800-236-7323, extension 204, and speak to Aaron, our 8CR rep.

Meanwhile, emails and blog posts are continuing to pour in, which has made checking email a rather emotional experience these days. Here’s one of my favorites from the last few days, posted by Kevin Knebl of Colorado Springs:

“This book is getting a lot of press right now and deservedly so. It’s a short tale in the mold of some of the great books from Og Mandino. I read this book on the plane trip to and from Baltimore and loved it.

“Don’t be fooled by their seemingly simple story. The truths that Burg and Mann weave through their story have the power to change your life if you’re ready to accept and live them. Their Five Laws of Stratospheric Success have a brilliant way of showing us that a glorious irony of creation is that it tucks its greatest truths carefully inside of paradoxes. We don’t ever break the laws of human relations; we only break ourselves against them by trying to violate them. Must read!”

—and this, from my “from the old days” Brookline buddy David Snieckus:

“Never thought a book about business would be a tear jerker. I’m writing as I just finished wiping my tears after pages 89–94. . .”

Even macrobiotic men aren’t afraid to cry!