by Dale Carnegie: My mission in life is to change the world. More specifically, it’s to spread the truth about health and wellness to every living human on planet Earth. I will be seeking the truth for life but I strongly feel that I know more truths than most human beings.
If I am going to accomplish this bold goal then I need to learn how to win friends and influence people. One of my all time favorite books – How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie – teaches me just that. It is one of the most famous books in history for the right reasons. The book is layed out into 3 parts with 30 different principals. What follows are those 30 principles written word by word from the book.
- Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.
- Give honest and sincere appreciation.
- Arouse in the other person an eager need or want.
- Become genuinely interested in other people.
- Smile.
- Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
- Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
- Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
- Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.
- The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
- Show respect for other person’s opinions. Never say, “You’re wrong.”
- If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
- Begin in a friendly way.
- Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately.
- Let the other person do a a great deal of the talking.
- Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
- Try honestly to see things from the other persons point of view.
- By synthetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.
- Appeal to the other nobler motives.
- Dramatize your ideas.
- Throw down a challenge.
- Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
- Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.
- Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
- Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
- Let the other person save face.
- Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your appreciation and lavish in your praise.”
- Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
- Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
- Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
In future articles that will be published on Sunday’s, I will elaborate on each principal. Many of you reading this have the same life mission as me. If you’re a member of Toad’s Primal Tribe then you certainly do. Arguing with vegans will never change their mind; talking with them and trying to understand their point of view will.
Let’s win friends and influence people together. Why? So we can change the world into a better place.
Have you read How to Win Friends and Influence People? Did you like it? Hate it? What principles have you mastered and what principles do you need to work on? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.
