After a few days of research, I have managed to find mailing addresses for all but two of the people on my list.
Mostly, they are the actual home addresses (and I think I will keep secret the way I found those). In some cases, I used a business address. In all cases, there is a reasonable chance that the person — or at least an assistant — will actually hold the letter in her/his hand. I am assuming 10-20% of the addresses are outdated and I will get the letters back, but that is still a pretty good start.
Below, I have pasted the letter I am sending. I’ll keep you posted on any response I get, and whatever the next step is.
Hi Warren! [Maybe you can guess who this one is to?]
I have made a list of 60 people who I find to be the “Most Interesting People in Business” and you are on the list.
Like you, I am a person of action and audacity. So, it is not enough to just have a list like this; I need to do something with it. I need to leverage it to create value for someone other than myself.
What that means in this case is that I have set the goal of meeting everyone on my list, and I am going to write a book about the experience. At this point, it would be my second book – my first, self-published, is about event planning – but I suspect that by the time I meet everyone on the list, there will be several other books (my goal is to write two each year).
At this point, I can think of a few reasons you might want to participate in my project:
- A book written from interviews with the 60 people on my list will add something important to the world.
- Having a connection to the 59 other people on my list could have value for you.
- Getting together and talking to me will take 30-60 minutes and it will be fun (I am very fun – or, at least, fun enough for 30-60 minutes).
- It will be a nice thing to do, and that is what successful people do.
All of that said, here is the ask…
Would you please ask an assistant to e-mail or call me so that we can schedule a time to meet? I will happily go wherever is most convenient for you in the continental U.S. I am not rich, but I can afford plane tickets or gas and I own my company, so I can take off whenever I want. I can be reached at sean@caledonvirtual.com or 573-823-1308 (cell).
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Sean C. Spence