My book this month comes from the early part of the 20th century but is still a classic – selling over 10 million copies.
It’s Dale Carnegie’s – How to Win Friends and Influence People.
It’s title can sometimes rub people up the wrong way but it’s such a popular phrase now and it’s part of our lexicon. In the book, Carnegie gives some very practical and simple ways to increase your personal effectiveness and leadership skills.
Carnegie, many consider to be, one of the forefathers of the modern personal development industry. His legacy lives on with the many courses the organisation he created continues. In fact, Warren Buffet – The Sage of Omaha – often credits the Dale Carnegie courses he enrolled in early on as shaping his dealings with people – for the better.
The advice is simple, yet not always easy to apply. Take the first suggestions. Don’t criticise, condemn or complain. Not easy in the ‘like to moan’ UK! It doesn’t mean don’t fix things that need fixing. It’s more about this endless and fruitless complaining and whining that we can all be guilty of from time to time. Think about people that you might have around you that tend to complain or whine a lot. Do you like hanging around with them? A lot?
Since learning the principles in this book a number of years ago, and really living by them (for the most part, anyway), I can say that they work. I believe I’m a more pleasant person to be around, and have more influence.
You may well have already read this book. After all, it’s a classic. But are you really living it? Therein lies the challenge.
What do you think of this book? Did it influence you to be a better person? Let me know below.
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