DAY
47
“In a Nutshelclass="underline" Six Ways to Make People Like You—
Principle 1: Become genuinely interested in other people.
Principle 2: Smile.
Principle 3: Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
Principle 4: Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
Principle 5: Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
Principle 6: Make the other person feel important—and do it sincerely.”
— Dale Carnegie
A couple of days ago, your assignment was to observe how you make others feel. What did you discover? Maybe you found out some pretty embarrassing facts about how you treat people. You might even have realized that people in general annoy you. You are not a people person, and you have no intention of becoming one.
If that is even remotely the case, it is time to readjust your thinking. You need people, and people need you. So get over yourself and start reaching out. Today you have a chance to put some principles into practice that will help you concentrate on others and help them feel great.
It is important for you to be genuinely interested in helping others and listening to their points of view if you want to have any chance of achieving success for yourself. You cannot know how rewarding it is to care about others until you make it a consistent part of your daily life. Your assignment today is to put Dale Carnegie’s principles to work. Forget about yourself for awhile and take a real interest in the people around you. Start with people you see every day. Do you even know the names of your neighbors? You can’t fake this task through half-hearted efforts at sincerity. You must be authentic.
DAY
48
“I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I was for it regardless of the possible outcome.”
— Golda Meir
It is impossible to predict whether or not a particular undertaking will be successful. So how do you choose which goals to strive for? Golda Meir has a terrific rule to go by: Ask yourself which one is the right thing to do.
There are many ways in which you can measure achievement. Happiness, influence, money, charity, and love are just a few ways in which you can evaluate your success. But the evaluation usually comes after the endeavor. You want to develop a clear sense of direction long before you look back on your choices. How do you know that you are on the road to success?
Think about what goes into your choices. Why did you choose your current job? How did you end up with the friends who surround you? Why do you choose to get up at a certain time in the morning or sleep in? Why did you decide to spend a holiday away from your family?
The most important test is to ask yourself if you did the right thing. The outcome really doesn’t matter if you know that you did what was right. If a project fails miserably, but you know you did the right thing, then you are still successful. If you are not selfish, and you reach out and help a person in need, you are successful.
Your assignment today is to ask yourself with each decision you make if you are doing the right thing. Change course if the answer is no.
DAY
49
“Those whom you can make like themselves will, I promise you, like you very well.”
— Lord Chesterfield
The last few days you have been concentrating on others. You may be starting to feel like you are trying to win some sort of popularity contest. What is the big deal about getting people to like you?
It is a big deal to want people to like you, because if they do, it means you make them feel good about themselves. Who wants to hang around someone who makes them feel small or ugly or incompetent? If you are well-liked, then you are successful at helping others feel good about who they are when they are with you.
It is important to stress again that this should never be a disingenuous undertaking. You have to honestly cultivate a desire to bring out the good in someone else. Highlight their strengths and compliment their achievements. Lift them up. Don’t make up things that aren’t true and fill people with hollow compliments just to complete this task and move on to your own success.
When you really search for the good in others, you end up finding out what is good about you. If you are able to have empathy with another human being, you have the right stuff to be a strong leader, a good friend, and a valuable person to be around.
Your assignment today is to continue to develop your skills in making people like themselves. Practice the delicate balance between compliment, encouragement, and belief in someone or something other than yourself.
DAY
50
“Life is about becoming more than we are.”
— Oprah Winfrey
Fifty days ago, you picked up this book and made a commitment to yourself to become more than who you thought you were. You knew that deep down you had more to contribute to the world, so you chose to explore new avenues of success through these pages. It is time to review your progress thus far.
First, you wrote down your dreams. Then, you took note of the choices you have made so far in life. You practiced a few random acts of kindness, and you took initial steps toward achieving your destiny. You followed those first steps with actions that would lead you toward new and exciting goals.
Next, you reviewed your partnerships and the people you spend time with on a regular basis. You started to define yourself and had fun imagining the impossible. You jotted down your thoughts and ideas in your journal and noted all of the things for which you are grateful. Gratitude was paid forward when you helped someone else.
You conducted experiments by trying something new and searching for your hidden talents, and then you re-examined your goals in life. You cultivated your sense of humor and played with the power of music. You took risks, practiced fearlessness, and seized opportunities. Finally, you paid attention to others and how you could be of service to them.
Congratulations! You have accomplished quite a lot in a few short weeks. Are you still reaching for more? Can you imagine what the rest of the year will hold?
DAY
51
“It’s loving and giving that make life worth living.”
— Anonymous