Never be afraid to contact people no matter how important or authoritative you think they are. I've made amazing contacts using this mindset.

For example, I'm now in direct contact with the CEO of a major $300m publishing business.

And all because I followed up on an invite put out on a podcast. As a result I've got a meeting with their international business director.

I didn't say anything special, I just asked about something he'd mentioned and that I was doing a keynote in London next week.

You might say "Oh, you're a keynote speaker. Well that's not surprising then…" – but it is surprising. Keynote speakers are two a penny (never be afraid to contact keynote speakers).

The one thing I realised a decade ago was that under our clothes we're all human. Strip away the glamour and trinkets and that's all that's left.

We're all fearful of certain things. We all get excited about certain things. We all get sad. We all get happy.

But above all, we all need others around us (the real recluse is an extremely rare beast).

I had "respect" for authority beaten into me at school (literally) and it took me 35 years to beat it back out again.

This is why compassion and empathy are the most important mental tools I know. You cannot fail in business if you adopt these things.

If you're a copywriter or want more stories from the trenches, please do join my Facebook group over here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/scienceofcopywriting/