Dale Carnegie Quotes

History has repeatedly been changed by people who had the desire and the ability to transfer their convictions and emotions to their listeners.

Confusion is the main cause of worry

The most important thing in life is not simply to capitalize on your gains. Any fool can do that. The important thing is to profit from your losses. That requires intelligence, and makes the difference between a man of sense and a fool.

Thousands of salespeople are pounding the pavements today, tired, discouraged and underpaid. Why? Because they are always thinking only of what they want. They don't realize that neither you nor I want to buy anything. If we did, we would go out and buy it. But both of us are eternally interested in solving our problems. And if salespeople can show us how their services or merchandise will help us solve our problems, they won't need to sell us. We'll buy. And customers like to feel that they are buying - not being sold.

Begin with praise and honest appreciation.

An old man was asked what had robbed him of joy in his life. His reply was, "Things that never happened."

Don't be afraid of enemies who attack you. Be afraid of the friends who flatter you.

I've found that worry and irritation vanish into thin air the moment I open my mind to the many blessings I possess.

Believe that you will succeed, and you will.

Whenever Roosevelt (Theodore) expected a visitor, he sat up late the night before, reading up on the subject in which he knew his guest was particularly interested. For Roosevelt knew, all the leaders royal road to a person's heart is to talk about the things he or she treasures most.

Psychiatrists declare that most of our fatigue derives from our mental and emotional attitudes... What kinds of emotional factors tire the sedentary (or sitting) worker? Joy? Contentment? No! Never! Boredom, resentment, a feeling of not being appreciated, a feeling of futility, hurry, anxiety, worry-those are the emotional factors that exhaust the sitting worker, make him susceptible to colds, reduce his output, and send him home with a nervous headache. Yes, we get tired because our emotions produce nervous tensions in the body.

It was this desire for a feeling of importance that led an uneducated, poverty-stricken grocery clerk to study some law books he found in the bottom of a barrel of household plunder that he had bought for fifty cents. You have probably heard of this grocery clerk. His name was Lincoln.

Our trouble is not ignorance, but inaction.

Speakers who talk about what life has taught them never fail to keep the attention of their listeners.

Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.

There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.

Close your eyes. You might try saying. . . something like this: "The sun is shining overhead. The sky is blue and sparkling. Nature is calm and in control of the world-and I, as nature's child, am in tune with the Universe." Or-better still-pray!

One of the surest ways of making a friend and influencing the opinion of another is to give consideration to [his or her] opinion, let [him or her] sustain a feeling of importance.

An effective speaker knows that the success or failure of his talk is not for him to decide - it will be decided in the minds and hearts of his hearers.

You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.

All the king's horses and all the king's men can't put the past together again. So let's remember: Don't try to saw sawdust.

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way. When you're afraid, keep your mind on what you have to do...if you have been thoroughly prepared, you will not be afraid. We all have possibilities we don't know about. We can do things we don't even dream we can do.

Criticism is futile because it puts a person on the defensive and usually makes them strive to justify themselves. Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a person's precious pride, hurts their sense of importance, and arouses resentment.

Praise is like sunlight to the warm human spirit; we cannot flower and grow without it. And yet, while most of us are only too ready to apply to others the cold wind of criticism, we are somehow reluctant to give our fellow the warm sunshine of praise.

If you disagree with them you may be tempted to interrupt. But don't. It is dangerous. They won't pay attention to you while they still have a lot of ideas of their own crying for expression. So listen patiently and with an open mind.

There is only one excuse for a speaker's asking the attention of his audience: he must have either truth or entertainment for them.

Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

The difference between appreciation and flattery? That is simple. One is sincere and the other insincere. One comes from the heart out; the other from the teeth out. One is unselfish; the other selfish. One is universally admired; the other universally condemned.

Applause is a receipt, not a bill.

The words "Think and Thank" are inscribed in many of the Cromwellian churches of England. These words ought to be inscribed in our hearts, too: "Think and Thank". Think of all we have to be grateful for, and thank God for all our boons and bounties.

Do the very best you can.

One of the most appalling comments on our present way of life is that at one time half of all the beds in our hospitals were reserved for patients with nervous and mental troubles, patients who had collapsed under the crushing burden of accumulated yesterdays and fearful tomorrows. Yet a vast majority of those people would be walking the streets today, leading happy, useful lives — if they had only heeded the words of Jesus: “Have no anxiety about the morrow”; or the words of Sir William Osler: "Live in day-tight compartments."

Life truly is a boomerang. What you give, you get.

When you face a problem, solve it then and there if you have the facts necessary to make a decision. Don't keep putting off decisions.

Be a balanced optimist. Nobody is suggesting that you become an oblivious Pollyanna, pretending that nothing bad can or ever will happen. Doing so can lead to poor decisions and invites people to take advantage of you. Instead, be a rational optimist who takes the good with the bad, in hopes of the good ultimately outweighing the bad, and with the understanding that being pessimistic about everything accomplishes nothing. Prepare for the worst but hope for the best - the former makes you sensible, and the latter makes you an optimist.

Talk to anyone about himself positively and he'll listen without interruption.

We all have possibilities we don't know about. We can do things we don't even dream we can do.

The value of a smile... It costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None are so rich they can get along without it, and none so poor but are richer for its benefits. It creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in a business, and is the countersign of friends.

Remember my name and you add to my feeling of importance.

Everyday is a new life to a wise man.

Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, ‘I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you.

This is a hurried age we're living in. If you've got anything to say, say it quickly, get to the point and stop, and give the other man a chance to talk.

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest steppingstones to success. No other element can do so much for a man if he is willing to study them and make capital out of them. Look backward. Can't you see where your failures have helped you?

For better or worse, you must play your own little instrument in the orchestra of life.

Give Honest and Sincere Appreciation.

No one likes to feel that he or she is being sold some-thing or told to do a thing. We much prefer to feel that we are buying of our own accord or acting on our own ideas. We like to be consulted about our wishes, our wants, our thoughts.

Don't criticize, condemn or complain. Constantly criticizing, condemning and complaining is what breaks most relationships. Instead of criticizing and condemning, figure out how you can solve the problem together. Instead of focusing on blaming the other person for what they did wrong, focus on how you can avoid the problem next time.

First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.