Top 10 Success Principles to Learn from Dale Carnegie
Dale Carnegie was the famous American author of the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People." He developed popular personal development courses in sales, public speaking, and interpersonal skills. Although Carnegie died in 1955, the training program he created, the Dale Carnegie Course, is still available internationally. To date, more than 8 million people have completed the course.
Carnegie was considered one of the pioneers of the self-help industry. His training programs have been very successful. Many multinational companies have sent their employees to the courses, including Audi, BMW, AT&T, Four Seasons Hotels, KPMG, Coca-Cola, Oracle, Honda, and several universities, including Harvard, the University of London Business School, and Washington State University.
In this article, you will learn the top 10 principles for success that Dale Carnegie followed throughout his life and the strategies he used in his courses and training that have impacted millions of lives worldwide.
1. Be a great listener.
Carnegie is a great listener. He believed that to become an extraordinary leader, one must learn to listen before speaking. In his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, he said, "If you want to be a good conversationalist, be a good listener." According to Carnegie, careful listening is the key to successful communication.
Most people think being a leader is about taking initiative and expressing ideas. This is only sometimes true. A great leader listens before he speaks. You must understand other people's needs before voicing your opinion. And Carnegie also said that a great listener is the king of conversation.
When you listen carefully, you will understand the needs of the person you are talking to. And the only way to influence other people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get it. Therefore, if you do not listen to other people's needs, you will not be able to understand or satisfy them.
Richard Branson, the billionaire who founded the Virgin Group, recalled his father saying, "You listen more than you talk. Nobody learned anything by listening to him. "You never know what you're talking about. What can be learned by listening to the people around you."
So, learn to be a great listener. Take your time expressing your ideas as if you are the most extraordinary person with the best ideas. First, try to understand, then understand. You must know before you ask others to understand you.
2. Enlarge Your Vision
Dale Carnegie's famous quote: "Two men looked through prison bars. 'One saw the dirt, the other the stars.'" That meant that you should broaden your perspective and believe it no matter who you are.
Highly successful people are different from ordinary people because they see things differently. Three men are working to build a church. When someone asked him about his work, one said he was laying bricks, another said he was making a wall, and a third said he was building God's house. This story tells us that what you see will become your reality. And you must choose to believe in your vision.
Even if you are a concierge working in a hotel, you should see yourself as the most important employee of the hotel. Your perspective and way of thinking will determine your reality, ultimately determining the results you achieve in life.
Unsuccessful people see the world as their current reality. They believe they can do little to achieve a high level of success. In contrast, successful people see things differently. They do not see things as they are but see them from their vision and believe there is always something better waiting for them to achieve. That is why successful people can produce the best results in life.
3. Learn from your mistakes.
"Success through failure. Discouragement and failure are two sure steps to success." This is another principle of success that Carnegie shared with his students. He said that the purpose of failure is not to stop you. Instead, failure helps you move forward, so you should learn to use it as a springboard to success.
You will face rejection, failure, and discouragement on your way to achieving your desired goals. However, you should not shy away from these obstacles or succumb to them. Instead, you must learn to be resilient and overcome them.
An important quote from Napoleon Hill says, "Every adversity, every failure, every pain carries a seed of equal or greater gain." And your job is to discover the benefit of adversity. Many fail to achieve their goals because they give up when faced with difficulties. Your ability to overcome discouragement will determine how fast you can progress and your success.
When SpaceX, the interplanetary travel company led by Elon Musk, suffered a rocket explosion during launch, they didn't give up or quit. Like all other successful leaders, he learned from his mistakes and refined his strategy. Today, SpaceX rocket launches have a 94 percent success rate. Its Falcon 9 rocket was launched 34 times in the last seven years with only two failures. This is a significant improvement and a giant leap in human history.
You must learn this to produce the best results. Treat your failures as feedback and refine your strategy to improve in the future.
4. Commit to learning.
Dale Carnegie created training programs and courses to help people who wanted to do better and better in life because he believed people should commit to learning and expanding their spirit to reach greater heights. He thought that learning is the foundation of success and the history of leadership. Highly successful people constantly strive to learn, improve, and find new ways to achieve more.
When it comes to learning, you can't wait for the "right time" or the solution to arrive automatically. Carnegie told his students, "Inaction breeds doubt and fear. The action builds confidence and courage. If you want to overcome fear, don't stay home thinking about it. Go find something to do." One of the best ways to learn is by doing.
Stop using the "ready, aim, and shoot" method. Instead, use the "ready, fire, and em" method. This means you'll be ready and taking action right away. You don't have to wait for the perfect moment to strike. When difficulties and challenges appear, you learn to face them on your journey.
Most people get stuck in the goal process for too long. He wanted things to be perfect before acting. There is no way to know when things are perfect. You need to work on it, work quickly, and learn. Carnegie used to tell his students, "Today is the tomorrow you were worried about yesterday." So, stop worrying so much and start working on your plan immediately.
When someone offers you a fantastic opportunity, you need to figure out how to do it, say yes, and learn how to do it later. There is no perfect time to start. While it's true that understanding and planning are essential, never let learning and planning stop you from moving forward.
5. Have fun doing the things you love.
You've probably heard from every successful industry leader about being passionate and loving your work. This is because having a passion for what you do is extremely important. Carnegie said that people only succeed at something if they enjoy it. And he was right.
Steve Jobs, the man who revolutionized the technology industry, firmly believed in passion. In an interview, he said that success is complicated, and many people quit or give up when they fail. Only those who are passionate and love what they do will persevere and continue to pursue their dreams. That is why you must have a strong passion for your work.
Besides, if you don't enjoy what you do, why do it? There's no point in trying to achieve something you don't like. So, choose to work on things you love. Or try to develop a passion for what you do. You must realize that you will spend most of your life at work, and if you do not enjoy your job, you will lead a miserable life.
Carnegie emphasized that passion is necessary to stand out in the market and live a fulfilling life. Richard Branson also said that a company should be engaging, fun, and able to use their creative instincts. If a company isn't fun, you'll let it go and choose not to. Put, enjoy what you do, and find passion in your life.
6. Be Empathetic
To win friends and influence people, you must learn to be empathetic. According to Carnegie, the only way to influence others is to talk about what they want and then show them how to get it. And to achieve that, you need empathy. Henry Ford also said compassion is essential to a great leader. "If there is a secret to success, it lies in the ability to understand the other person's point of view and see things from that person's point of view as well as your own," he said.
To be an effective leader, you must understand your people. Whether you run a business, lead a team, or manage your family, you should understand and show concern for others. You want others to know that you care about them. Of course, you should not do it just for the sake of it. Always be sincere and work from the bottom of your heart to help.
The most influential leaders, such as Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, did not find ways to manipulate people through deception. What they did was find ways to create a win-win situation for both parties. And that's what you need to learn to become a great leader in your field.
Whenever possible, look for a win-win situation that benefits everyone. It may not be easy, but it can be achieved, and you must be creative to develop a workable solution. People will respect you, admire you, and follow your example when you can.
7. Create Your Own Emotions
Dale Carnegie has a famous quote: "If you want to be passionate, act passionately." Studies show that your actions can create your emotions. This means that your posture, breathing pattern, and facial expressions can determine your emotions and the state you are experiencing right now.
When you change your body language, your emotions will change as well, and you must learn to use this to your advantage. Whenever you feel bad or have a negative emotion, you can eliminate it by changing your body's movement and physiology. For example, try sitting up straight, breathing more deeply, and stretching your shoulder when sleepy. You will notice a change in mood almost immediately.
Our bodies and our minds are united. This is why you will feel emotions even if they are wrong when watching a horror movie. When you vividly imagine drinking lemon juice in your mind, you will drool more because your mind makes it a reality.
You can create your own emotions, so learn to control them and create empowered states that will drive you to achieve more and better results. Superstar success coach Anthony Robbins said, "The difference between peak performance and underperformance isn't intelligence or ability. More often than not, it's your mind and body's state. That's why your emotions are essential. It's important to learn to manage the situation you're in. When you can manage your emotions well, you'll be able to move on and achieve faster than most people who don't.
8. Never criticize, condemn or complain.
Many people fall into a victim mentality and criticize, condemn, or complain when things don't go according to their expectations. Carnegie wrote in his book that there are better ways to handle things than this. He said, "Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain, and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to understand and forgive."
You cannot be a great leader without complaining, criticizing, or condemning others. Instead, try to understand and recognize other people's work and praise their achievements. Carnegie also said performance and skills wither with criticism but will flourish with encouragement. And so he advised his students to give sincere praise from the heart.
It is human nature to desire praise and recognition. Once you have accomplished something, you want others to praise you for your performance and reasonable effort. On the contrary, you will try to avoid criticism, condemnation, and complaint. No one likes to hear others say they are not good enough.
You must learn to recognize other people's results if that's what you want. Haro Ecker, author of "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind," mentions in his book that people can never have things they don't appreciate. If you didn't like dogs, would you keep a dog as a pet? Not at all, and that's what most people do with money. They resent rich people, but they want to be rich. When what you want conflicts with your values, you will never get it.
So, from now on, appreciate other people's efforts. You will never have much when you hold grudges. Most importantly, stop criticizing, condemning, or complaining about life.
9. Be sincere and honest
In the late 19th century, Charles M. Schwab rose from being a day laborer to a famous executive under industrialist Andrew Carnegie, one of the wealthiest men in history. Andrew Carnegie gave Schwab a salary of $75,000 plus a bonus of $1 million, which was a huge amount during that time. Andrew Carnegie said the $75,000 annual salary was for Schwab's work, and the $1 million bonus was for his pleasant personality that motivated others to work. This is the price of being sincere and honest.
When Dale Carnegie had the opportunity to interview Schwab, he told him: "I consider my greatest asset to be my ability to inspire enthusiasm in my people, and the best way to develop a person. The way to do that is to recognize and encourage.". Nothing destroys a person's ambition like criticism from his superiors. I never criticize anyone. I believe in motivating a person to work. So, I love praise but hate finding fault. If I like something, I am sincere in my approval and generous in my praise."
It is not enough to admire and appreciate other people's work. The most important thing is to be sincere and honest. When you praise people, people will feel it, and the result will worsen. Warren Buffett once said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to destroy it." And the billionaire investor is right. You don't want to ruin your reputation by being dishonest and unscrupulous.
10. Don't Forget to Smile
In his seminal book How to Win Friends and Influence People, Carnegie devoted an entire chapter to the power of a smile. Your little smile is bigger than the most significant intention. Smiling is accessible, and anyone can do it quickly. As you learned earlier, your facial expressions can control your mood. When you wake up every morning and smile, you've set the tone for the day. You will feel good and happy all day long.
Also, you can use your infectious smile to impress others. You will feel good when you smile and brighten other people's day when you smile at them. Science has confirmed in study after study that your smile can positively affect others, and you can use it to combat the problems and struggles you face every day.
No one likes to work with someone who doesn't radiate positive energy. Would you choose to follow a leader who smiles often, or would you instead work for someone quick to get angry? The answer is obvious. So remember, don't smile every day. It is one of our most potent weapons, but most underestimate its power.
Make it a habit to smile more often. Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church is known as the "smiling preacher." His sermons are broadcast 24 hours a day and receive over 20 million monthly views in 100 countries. He is very influential, and the main reason for his success is his cheerful personality and infectious smile.
You can learn these top 10 success rules from best-selling author and self-help industry pioneer Dale Carnegie. He was a master communicator, and if you apply the principles that Carnegie shared with the world, you can change your life and live it with passion.
