So that was two years ago today. And one year ago today? We were unavoidably on opposite sides of the globe. Oops. Ana was in Malaysia. I was in Massachusetts. We spoke by Skype. (It was romantic . . . kinda.)

I celebrated by posting this post, reprinting the vows we wrote and spoke a year earlier.

This year, we did better: we’re in the same place! A few days ago, we were in California. Tomorrow, Ana will be in North Carolina, and I in Florida. But for this day, at least, we have managed to converge two crazy summertime schedules.

In a few minutes, we’ll drive over to The Blue Heron, the cozy restaurant where we held our wedding reception exactly two years ago tonight, clinking a glass together an sampling some of the same incredible we shared with our friends on that great night.

It took approximately 50 years to find each other. (Counting both of us, that’s about a century’s worth of searching.) It was worth the wait.

To anyone out there, wondering if the perfect soul mate exists somewhere — I have it on good authority: the answer is, Yes.

There’s this riveting scene at the opulent temple of Balshsazzar on the eve of the Babylonians’ ruin (of course they don’t know it’s the eve of their ruin, at least not yet), where this disembodied finger eerily appears and writes on the wall:

Mene, Mene, Tekel, u-Pharsin (or Peres)

It’s a prophecy, couched in the language of economics. These are Aramaic terms for various units of currency. (Tekel, for example, is an alternate spelling of shekel.) Daniel gives the interpretation: it has to do with King Balshazzar, and it is not especially good news: the King’s days are over.

“…You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.”

That very night the kingdom was invaded. Balshazzar didn’t live to see the sun rise.

The part of this I’ve been thinking about is that phrase, “You have been found wanting.” Which brings us to Mick Jagger:

You can’t always get what you want.

It’s that word, want.

It seems to me, it isn’t just that you can’t always get what you want. It’s that you can’t ever get what you want. Because wanting and having are two mutually exclusive states of being.

The word “want” originally meant “to lack,” that is, to not have. And it meant this for at least a good five hundred years before anyone thought of persuading the word to mean to desire, to wish for. That’s a lot of years. This is in our phonetic DNA. Whether you are consciously aware of it or not, when you say “I want…” you are saying “I lack….”

“I want dinner…” I lack dinner.

“I want to succeed…” I lack success.

“I want to be loved…” I am not loved, nobody loves me, I must not be lovable.

You see the trap? We think we’re articulating a wish, a desire — and what we’re secretly doing is articulating our failings, the emptinesses and unfulfillments of our lives.

This is why the prayer of petition is often so self-defeating. Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz, is really just another way of saying, Lord, you won’t buy me a Mercedes Benz.

I want, I want, I want…. The perfect way to keep ourselves in poverty.

The alternative?

I’m so grateful for having …

The other day I sat at the computer, mute and mesmerized, and listened to him for a full 15 minutes: he warbled and tweeted (the real kind), burbled and sang, chortled and crooned. This little avian dude went through an operatic literature that would have made Pavarotti verde with envy.

What held me captive was this: he never repeated himself. Not once.

It sounded like he was finding thousands of ways to say the same thing, over and over:

“Ain’t life grand?
Damn fine day!
Lookit me — can I sing, or what?”

People do the same thing. Tens of thousands of years in, and we’re still finding all sorts of new ways and words to say the basic human messages.

This morning in the shower I noticed the label on a bottle of Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture® Daily Treatment. It says, “Hydrates and revives dry hair,” and then goes on to repeat this message in French, Spanish, Italian and German. Let me give you just the first word, Hydrates, in those translations:

French: Hydrate
Spanish: Hidrata
Italian: Idrata
German: Feuchtigkeitsspendend…

Hang on — Feuchtigkeitsspendend? Yes, you read that right. That’s practically one separate letter for each hair.

This is a great word to know. The next time I’m on hold for 45 minutes with the Customer Service department of my local telecom, as I hang up in wretched resignation with my issue yet unaddressed, I will mutter loudly, Feuchtigkeitsspendend!

As Steve Martin said of the French on a comedy album I heard years ago, “They have a different word for everything!”

The other day Ana and I went to shop at the local Whole Foods here in Tampa, Florida. On a sign above the main road, the smaller print reads, “Painless Hemorrhoid Treatment • Saturday Colonoscopy Appointments.” And the headline above, in big bold letters?

You Rectum, We Fix ’Em

Again: right across the street from the Whole Foods. One street, two distinctly different approaches to staying digestively ship-shape.

All of which brings me to Lera Boroditsky.

Ms. Boroditsky is a brilliant and controversial cognitive scientist at Stanford who has spent the last decade embroiled in research demontsrated a hotly contested scientific assertion: that the way we use words (and the words themselves) shape the way we experience the world.

In English, for example, if you knock over a cup and it breaks, we would say, “You broke the cup” regardless of whether it was intentional or an accident. In Japanese or Spanish, however, intent changes the verb: if it were accidental, we would say something that would more accurately translate, “The cup broke itself.”

Now, think about those nuances of language in the context of a court trial. Hmm.

Boroditsky (whose passion for argument earned her the nickname “Red Fury” in high school) is a fascinating figure. My dear friend Josephine Gross, editor in chief at Networking Times, sent me this article about Boroditsky and her work.

Did you know, for instance, that about a third of the world’s languages do not rely on words for right and left? Instead, they use what are called absolute directions: north, south, east and west. The upshot of the need to constantly stay oriented in order to communicate the simplest concept, says Boroditsky, is that in communities where these languages are spoken, everyone is constantly aware of their spatial relationships to their larger environment — and even small children can perform phenomenal feats of navigation.

Fascinating stuff.

Have to run. The catbird is singing again.

“It’s easy to get distracted by daily headlines and nightly newscasts that focus on the exploits of the well-heeled corrupt in high places. But far from the TV camera’s glare, the great majority of genuinely successful people quietly carry on with their lives in ways that bear a surprising resemblance to Pindar, Ernesto, Nicole, and Sam.

“But don’t take our word for it. Our fondest hope is that as you read Go-Givers Sell More, you’ll put its ideas to the test and find out for yourself. And as you do, we invite you to share your experiences with our growing Go-Giver community in the Scrapbook section of the Go-Giver blog: www.thegogiver.com/scrapbook.”

At the time we wrote those words, there was no Go-Giver Scrapbook. We hoped that if we invited people to share their stories, they would.

They did.

Of the 18 stories that have been posted so far, here are brief excerpts from the most recent half-dozen. (You can see all 18 at The Go-Giver Scrapbook.)

We wrote about Heather in Go-Givers Sell More. A director and vice-president at CitiMortgage, Heather was an accomplished, successful executive who suddenly found herself downsized and looking for work.

She and a few colleagues founded ExecLink, a networking group for out-of-work executives based squarely upon Go-Giver principles: the group adopted a mission statement and vetting process that included the question: “Are you committed to helping other executives first?”

Now, a year later, all seven founders have landed new jobs — and their monthly ExecNet meetings are SRO with 500 members.

When 12-year-old Alex Hines got into trouble with his mom, she made him read The Go-Giver. (Whether this was couched as punishment or rehabilitation, Alex doesn’t specify.)

He didn’t just read it: he wrote a report on it, which he shared with us. It contains insights that blew us away. A 7th-grader, Alex pointed out things about how we constructed our Pindar character that not a single adult has ever noticed (or at least, ever mentioned to us).

In Go-Givers Sell More, we talk about the MacGuffin — the thing you think you’re selling, the thing you think the story is about. For Tara Gignac, the MacGuffin is especially personal: natural health care.

A naturopathic doctor based in a town on the outskirts of Toronto, Tara wrote to us and said that the book has helped her immensely in reframing the business side of what she does.

“Every time I would think about sales — developing my ‘pitch,’ contacting prospects, dealing with objections, closing the sale — it would make me cringe. Now I know why: it takes the focus away from the other person, which goes against the very grain of my training as a naturopathic doctor.

“Your book has given me permission to stay in my core genius as a naturopath when thinking about growing my business: focus on the other person, listen and add value. I will definitely be recommending it to my colleagues who are struggling with this part of their careers.”

Julie Sando’s grand plans to become a graphic designer took an unexpected detour more than a decade ago, when she began working with Trent, a 4-year-old boy with autism. Today she runs a business called Autistically Yours.

“I have read The Go-Giver three times. One of those times I read one law a night, along with my two best friends. Each day we put that law into practice.”

Julie’s exercise of the Law of Compensation (#2) led to an outpouring of support for her work on Facebook — and her reporting of this on the Scrapbook led to a heartwarming series of comments here as well, including one from a volunteer worker in Nigeria.

We get notes from people in all sorts of businesses and organizations, but this is the first time (that we know of) that an entire Chamber of Commerce has adopted The Go-Giver as a guiding philosophy. Writes Carlsbad, California Chamber CEO Ted Owen:

“Each member is taught the Five Laws, and then asked to put them into practice. At the beginning, the committee members spend as much time (if not more) finding business for their fellow committee members as they do for themselves.”

Here’s what Colleen Gibbs, the Chamber’s Director of Communications, told us:

“In a down economy when other chambers in California are losing members like water from a sieve, we have managed to be in growth mode every month. I think we all agree that this is because we are go-givers.”

Now this one we really did not see coming: as of May of this year, every county coroner in the state of Ohio has a copy of The Go-Giver — given to them personally by the President of the Ohio State Coroners Association (OSCA), Dr. David T. Applegate.

“It has been a perfect message to my peers. Not just to investigate death as the law instructs us, but using this knowledge and compassion to help the living. Giving — the ultimate business deal with the public. And I believe we will receive respect and appreciation in return — something not many government figures earn these days.

“I know you wrote it with a business purpose, but it is truly is a little gem for general principles in life. I have also used your message on occasion in the office (I am a family doc in my other job). The message of not keeping score is powerful to those with marital or relationship problems.”

Last week, at Bob Burg and Thom Scott’s annual Extreme Business Makeovers event, Bob and I awarded the great Zig Ziglar with our first annual Go-Giver Lifetime Achievement Award.

Zig, of course, is best known for his pronouncement, “You can get anything in life you want, if you just help enough people get what they want.” Which is a pretty succinct, vivid bit of wisdom that stands as an obvious source of inspiration for our books, The Go-Giver and Go-Givers Sell More.

Zig was in attendance, along with Mrs. Zig (actually named Jean) and Zig Junior (who in reality goes by the name of Tom).

In bestowing the award, Bob treated us all to his pitch-perfect Zig Ziglar impression. And I did my very best Harpo Marx impersonation (or was it Marcel Marceau?).

I also got to meet in person a whole passle of people whom I’d known before only by name and email, including a cast of characters right out of Go-Givers Sell More and The Go-Giver Scrapbook, including:

the delightful Joe and Renee Vizi, whose story appears in the book:

the lovely and wonderful Dixie Gillaspie, whose story does likewise:

the huge-hearted Don Gandy and Randy Stelter of Wheeler High School in Valparaiso, Indiana, whose story has appeared in the Go-Giver blog and Go-Giver Scrapbook:

plus the intrepid Brian Tomkins, one of the four musketeers of the Internet, otherwise known as the architects of last years’s Go-Giver Tour, as described in the book (haven’t got a picture yet); and the inimitable supernetworker and rags-to-riches memoiress author of White Pearl and I, Svetlana Kim (also no picture).

It was a blast. Next year, come if you can!

(Wonder who will be Award recipient next year?)

Here are the first four to hit the shelves.

(Hint: Clicking on any title will take you to a web site where you can order that edition.)

Chinese (traditional): 我跟有錢人一樣富有

French: Votre rapport secret à l’argent

Portuguese: A Linguagem Secreta do Dinheiro

Russian: Тайный язык денег

(“That which we call a chronic financial dysfunction viewed through rose-colored glasses, by any other name, probably smells as sweet.” Apologies to Shakespeare.)

Okay, we may be pushing a metaphor here.

On to the book.

Robert Kiyosaki, legendary author of the wildly bestselling Rich Dad Poor Dad and its spawn of sequels, is one of the most-oft-cited “mainstream” champions of network marketing.

“I came to appreciate this business as an outsider,” as Robert says in the new book, “and only after I had already built my own wealth and established my own financial freedom. All the same, if I had to do it all over again today and start from scratch, rather than building an old-style business, I would start out by building a network marketing business.”

As the economy began crashing in late ’08 and early ’09, he decided it was time to write the definitive Kiyosaki book about network marketing. However, a dilemma presented itself: at the time he was also working on a book for the general marketplace, which would be published in the fall of ’09 as The Conspiracy of the Rich.

Writing two books at once: not an easy task. To stay on track with the Conspiracy book and also complete a network marketing book at the same time, a writer was needed to do some of the heavy editorial lifting.

Hmmm.

As they said in Ghostbusters, “Who ya gonna call?”

Thus it befell this earnest scribbler that during the summer months of ’09, I found myself working with the good people at VideoPlus to help Robert create a hard-hitting, timely take on the current state of the economy and why network marketing, born and raised from infancy through adolescence in the 20th century, has emerged to become one of the great forces for personal economic freedom and, yes, even economic democracy and a more peaceful society, in the 21st.

(Try reading that last sentence aloud without taking a breath; your voice starts sounding pretty urgent near the end.)

The result? The Business of the 21st Century.

A brief excerpt, from the book’s conclusion:

“I flew helicopter missions over the jungles of Vietnam, and I know from firsthand experience what war is like. I also know that inequity is one of the core causes of war.

“As long as the gap between the rich and the poor widens, it is going to be tough to create conditions of peace. We can march for peace, give speeches endorsing peace, form committees to study peace, and promote peace, but it’s going to be impossible to actually create that peace we talk about unless and until we can begin to bring substantially more economic opportunity to many millions of people. And as huge a goal as that sounds, that is exactly what network marketing is doing.

“Today, many network marketing companies are spreading peace through economic opportunity all over the world. Not only are network marketing companies thriving in all the major capitals of the world, but many are also working in developing nations, bringing financial hope to millions of people who live in impoverished countries. Most traditional corporations can only survive where people are rich and have money to spend.

“It is time that people all over the world had an equal opportunity to enjoy a rich and abundant life, rather than spend their lives working hard only to make the rich richer. It’s time you had that opportunity.

“Welcome to the 21st century.”

In the meantime, Tim has relocated, from far south to far north: he is now Associate Dean at the North Dakota State University, where among other things he has been tasked with developing a leadership program.

He asked if I would come do it again. And this morning, I had the distinct pleasure of giving a talk on the principles of The Go-Giver to a most attentive, appreciative and wonderful group of college students from Fargo, North Dakota.

What an inspiring location! The good folks at SteelCase, Inc., the office supply people, donated their location right off Columbus Circle. Located stratospherically at the top of the building, the room we met in has a stunning view of Central Park (you can just barely see it in this pre-talk photo).

The kids were fantastic. They asked great questions and had light burning in their eyes.

If this is the face of the future, the future looks stratospherically good.

If not, you will soon have nine more opportunities to sate your curiosity. The book is now being prepared for publication in nine foreign-language editions, including:

• Chinese (modern)
• Chinese (traditional)
• French
• German
• Japanese
• Korean
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Spanish

If you are wondering why you had not heard about this before, the answer is simple. Whether Japanese, English, Portuguese or Russian, it’s still a secret language.

The network’s online book review column, “Bullish on Books,” features a guest post by Bob Burg and me, titled “Everything You Learned About Sales Is Backwards.”

Bullish on Books is the creation of Gloria McDonough-Taub, CNBC’s Editor of Blogs. Here is how Gloria describes her task:

“I read recently that about 11,000 business books are published per year. That’s a lot of books! You don’t have time to read all of them, but I’m trying. Here at Bullish on Books I will be your guide to the best business books on the market today.”

According to her bio, in Gloria’s 30-ish years of television experience (including local and national news, documentaries, talk shows and syndication) she has interviewed “presidents, pundits, and pampered princesses” — and now she just wants “to kick back and read a good book.”

And we’re honored and delighted that Go-Givers Sell More turned out to be one of them.

Thanks, Gloria!