How to Win Friends and Influence People

by Dale Carnegie | Simon & Schuster © 2009 · 320 pages

Dale Carnegie wrote this book in 1937. The publisher originally only printed 5,000 copies. It was an immediate best seller and went on to sell over 30 million copies. I’ve always had a very strong allergy to the idea of “networking” and trying to “win friends” and/or “influence people” so this one never quite resonated but I loved it. It’s packed with Big Ideas on how to Optimize our relationships and, perhaps in the process, win some more friends and influence some people as better humans and leaders. We explore: The #1 indispensable quality you need for Optimizing, Principle #1 of How to Win Friends (Never criticize!!), how to make a great first impression, the Golden Rule (you living it), what to do when you make a mistake, and what to think when you meet people today!


Learning is an active process. We learn by doing. So, if you desire to master the principles you are studying in this book, do something about them. If you don’t you will forget them quickly. Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind.
Dale Carnegie

“‘Compared to what we ought to be, said the famous Professor William James of Harvard, ‘compared to what we ought to be, we are only half awake. We are making use of only a small part of our physical and mental resources. Stating the thing broadly, the human individual thus lives far within his limits. He possesses powers of various sorts which he habitually fails to use.’

Those powers which you ‘habitually fail to use’! The sole purpose of this book is to help you discover, develop, and profit by those dormant and unused assets.

‘Education,’ said Dr. John G. Hibben, former president of Princeton University, ‘is the ability to meet life’s situations.’

If by the time you have finished reading the first three chapters of this book—if you aren’t then a little better equipped to meet life’s situations, then I shall consider this book to be a total failure so far as you are concerned. For ‘the great aim of education,’ said Herbert Spencer, ‘is not knowledge but action.’

And this is an action book.”

~ Dale Carnegie from How to Win Friends and Influence People

Dale Carnegie wrote this book in 1937.

The publisher originally only printed 5,000 copies. It was an immediate best seller and went on to sell over 30 million copies. (I read the 80th Anniversary edition. Get a copy here!)

This is Note #477. Although I loved Carnegie’s How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, for whatever reason I was turned off by the title of this book and kinda refused to read it until now. I’ve always had a very strong allergy to the idea of “networking” and trying to “win friends” and/or “influence people” so this one always seemed a little cheesy to me.

As I was preparing for Connection 101, I realized it was time to give it a shot. And, I’m glad I did!

Carnegie writes with a fun, super-energized and equally practical style. The book is packed with Big Ideas on how to Optimize our relationships and, perhaps in the process, win some more friends and influence some people as better humans and leaders. :)

I’m excited to share a few of my favorite Ideas we can apply to our lives today so let’s jump straight in!

Unlock this PhilosophersNote

Create your account to get more wisdom in less time. Personal development made simple so you can flourish in energy, work, and love. Today.

Sign Up Today

About the author

Authors

Dale Carnegie

famed author of How to Win Friends and Influence People