First, arouse in the other person an eager want. He who can do this has the whole world with him. He who cannot walks a lonely way. – Harry Overstreet

motivating others

How are we motivated to do anything? We do something because we want something, like go for a movie because we want to be entertained. This essential principle applies to everyone else too. And that’s exactly what we can employ to get others to cooperate with us. Of course it has to be a genuine effort not a manipulative one…

Here’s a story from the book:

‘Andrew Carnegie’s sister-in-law was worried sick over her two boys. They were at Yale, and they were so busy with their own affairs that they neglected to write home and paid no attention whatever to their mother’s frantic letters. Carnegie offered to wager a hundred dollars that he could get an answer by return mail, without even asking for it! Someone called his bet; so he wrote his nephews a chatty letter, mentioning casually in a postscript that he was sending each one a five-dollar bill. He neglected, however, to enclose the money. That did the trick. Back came the replies by return mail thanking "Dear Uncle Andrew" for his kind note and …you can finish the sentence yourself.’

life principles

3rd Principle: Arouse in the other person an eager want.

I’m going to use this space to blog each Dale Carnegie Life Principle that I’ve come across lately. There are 2 selfish benefits:

1. I get to share them with you!
2. And get to reinforce and relive them myself!

Thank you for being such a great audience to my own self-improvement adventures and ramblings!

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM cognizant of others’ wants!

Recommendation: How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie