An excellent book that remains relevant today, written as if somebody is interviewing Andrew Carnegie, the successful Steel magnate. Similar format to Napoleon Hill’s Outwitting the Devil, personal choice prefer the Devil interview book but this is also great.
To be successful you need:
1. positive mental attitude
2. definitive purpose such as goal to work towards
3. have a group of masterminds around you who are all aiming for the common goal
Suggest skipping the slightly unusual bit at the end of avoiding medicines to keep healthy, think this section is inserted to make it appear authentic but otherwise a very worthwhile book.
Being liked is important as it allows you to obtain your mastermind group who can work together to achieve the common goal. You should always go the extra mile, be friendly and you will achieve what you set out to achieve by unlocking the super power of your subconscious mind!
Book contains several useful lists such as:
Qualities of likeable people
- Positive Mental Attitude
- Flexibility (the ability to adapt one’s self to quickly changing circumstances, and emergencies, without losing one’s sense of balance)
- Sincerity of Purpose
- Promptness of Decision
- Courtesy (respect other people’s feelings under all circumstances; develop the habit of going out of one’s way to help any less fortunate person whenever and wherever possible)
- Control your Tone of Voice
- Habit of Smiling
- Appropriate Expressions of the Face
- Tactfulness (the habit of doing and saying the right thing at the right time)
- Tolerance (open-mindedness to new knowledge and viewpoints on all subjects)
- Frankness of Manner and Speech
- Keen Sense of Humour
- Faith in Infinite Intelligence
- Keen Sense of Justice (intentional honesty)
- Appropriateness of Words
- Control of your Emotions
- Alertness of Interest (in persons, places and things)
Qualities of an Attractive Personality
- Effective Speech (with thorough knowledge of the subject)
- Versatility (including at basic knowledge of human nature)
- Genuine Fondness for People
- Humility
- Good Showmanship (utilise combination of facial expressions, tone of voice, appropriate clothing, choice of words, control of emotions, courtesy, effective speech, versatility, mental attitude, sense of humour, emphasis, and tactfulness. This enables you to to dramatize any circumstance or occasions as to attract favourable attention)
- Clean Sportsmanship (win without gloating and lose without being a sore loser)
- Shake Hands Properly
- Develop Personal Magnetism (sex energy)
Lack of tactfulness
- Carelessness in the time of the voice, often speaking in gruff, antagonistic tones that offend.
- Speaking out of turn, when silence would be more appropriate.
- Interrupting others who are speaking.
- Overworking the personal pronoun.
- Asking impertinent questions, generally to impress others with the questioner’s own importance.
- Injecting intimately personal subjects into the conversation where such action is embarrassing to others.
- Going where one has not been invited.
- Boastfulness.
- Flaunting the rules of society in matters of personal adornment.
- Making personal calls at inconvenient hours.
- Holding people on the telephone with needless conversation.
- Writing letters to people whom one has no reasonable excuse for addressing.
- Volunteering opinions when not requested, especially on subjects with which they are not familiar.
- Openly questioning the soundness of the opinions of others.
- Declining requests from others is an arrogant manner.
- Speaking disparagingly of people in front of their friends.
- Rebuking people who disagree with one on any subject.
- Speaking of people’s physical afflictions in their presence.
- Correcting subordinates and associates in the presence of others.
- Complaining when requests for favours are refused.
- Presuming upon friendship in asking favours.
- Using profane or offensive language.
- Expressing dislikes too freely.
- Speaking of ills and misfortunes.
- Criticizing our form of government or some other person’s religion.
- Over-familiarity on all occasions with people.
Main risks if you behaviour with intolerance
- Can make enemies of those who would like to be friends.
- Stops the growth of the mind, by limiting the search for knowledge.
- Discourages imagination.
- Prohibits self-discipline.
Prevents accuracy in thinking and reasoning.
