Have It Your Way

While some self-help books get old, others become classics. Originally published in 1936, How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie is one of the classics.

Everyone - from my dentist to a waitress at Bertucci's - had something positive to say when they saw me reading this book. Most often the comment was, "Great Book!" I heartily agree.

In How to Win Friends & Influence People, Carnegie begins by covering two things that are important to all of us: 1) how to get people to like us and 2) how to get them to do what we want. He concludes with an essential: How to change people without offending them. Hint: Being nice goes a long way.

Using real-life examples to illustrate his points, Carnegie offers 22 principals that you can use to get better results in every part of your life. My favorite section is Six Ways to Make People Like You, which includes chapters on how to be considered a great conversationalist and why it's important it is to remember people's names.

This struck a cord with me because I often was guilty of forgetting names. It was a bad habit I finally realized I needed to break. And I have found that taking the time to remember, and use, people's names is well worth the effort.

Always practical, often humorous, How to Win Friends & Influence People already is one of my favorites. A book destined to be thumbed through and reread often. Because it's filled with simple truths which will never go out of style.