How To Make Friends And Influence People, a quick review

Wow! This book blows me away, I would say it is probably one of my favorite business/psychology book I have ever read. Let me give you a quick down and dirty over view of this book and its general writing style and advice. I will say this if you are just seeing if I am going to recommend this book at the end of this post I will save you the trouble and tell you, YES!!!! You need to go out and buy or borrow this book and read it this week, especially if you are dealing with people directly; you know people like sellers, buyers, agents, contractors, investors. Of course you deal with people, I cannot imagine how anyone can be in this business and not deal with people directly on a day to day basis. I feel that this book will not only help you in negotiating your next deal but also maybe getting a better deal with a contractor ir a head start with a turnkey company or whole seller.

So let me tell you one of the best things I like about this book is each chapter or teaching is very short usually ranging from 3-6 quick pages that tells you the situation that you may encounter, give you a real life example of how the problem became one and how someone used the teaching in order to leave the situation in a better situation for everyone making it a win win. Dale Carnegie’s writing style is absolutely wonderful, for someone like me who seems to not be able to focus for more than fifteen minutes at a time he truly keeps you attention drawn to the book and wanting to continue reading to where you sit down after dinner to read a couple pages and look up at the clock and see it’s midnight. So fair warning if your significant other hates you coming to bed two to four hours after they do this book may get you in trouble.

When I started reading this book is was slapping my forehead so many times I think I lost more brain cells than an NFL linemen after a ten-year career. One of the simplest lessons he teaches is remember peoples birthdays and be sure to wish them a happy birthday when it comes around. He essentially says that if there is one date someone is obsessed with it is the day they were born. I immediately thought, “well duh! Of course they are obsessed with that day”. But think of it, when was the last time you legitatemly remembered a close friends birthday with out the help of Facebook or even yet when was the last time you remembered and wished a business associates birthday? Then remember how you feel when someone wishes you a happy birthday, remember how it makes you feel all warm and happy inside and now imagine making someone feel that way. They will have to like you at that point.

Another leason Dale teaches us is make suggestions and do not give orders to those who work for you. Think about when someone told you what to do at work or even barked the order at you. You probably did not want to do that task anymore and if you did do it it probably take you forever and you most likely Mickey moused it. Instead maybe take what you need to be done and suggest that they do it because it will ultimately need to be done and it would not only help you and the company but will also benefit them if the task is done now in a timely matter and correctly. Or even better try to make them think of the idea that needs to get done so that way they feel it was their idea and they are the genius behind it. Now they have pride in the task and want to make sure it is done in the best way possible.

I will keep this short and end it here, as you can see there are some simple lessons he has for us that we all know but fail t practice in our everyday life and as the book progresses the lessons become ones not encountered so often and are more complex when it comes to thinking about and deploying. So if there were a book you think can help you overall in your life I would recommend “How To Make Friends And Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. It is a great read that will go by fast. I am now off to read “Early Retirement Extreme” and will let you know what I think of that book

My rating for How To Make Friends And Influence People is 5 out of 5!