The desire to excel! The challenge! Throwing down the gauntlet! An infallible way of appealing to people of spirit.  – Dale Carnegie

challenge!

To encourage action consider throwing down a challenge! An appropriate challenge will galvanize action like nothing else! A human’s ego is a very sensitive appendage, touch it in the right way and it’ll make the human do the unexpected. It goes without saying that the challenge must be a genuine effort and not manipulation.

life principles

20th Dale Carnegie Principle: Throw down a challenge!

Here’s a story from the book:

Sing Sing, at the time the most notorious penitentiary west of Devil’s Island, was without a warden. Scandals had been sweeping through the pristin walls, scandals and ugly rumors. Smith needed a strong man to rule Sing Sing – an iron man. But who? He sent for Lewis E. Lawes of New Hampton.
"How about going up to take charge of Sing Sing?" he said jovially when Lawes stood before him. "They need a man up there with experience."
Lawes was flabbergasted. He knew the dangers of Sing Sing. It was a political appointment, subject to the vagaries of political whims. Wardens had come and gone – one had lasted only three weeks. He had a career to consider. Was it worth the risk?
Then Smith, who saw his hesitation, leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Young fellow," he said, "I don’t blame you for being scared. It’s a tough spot. It’ll take a big person to go up there and stay."
So Smith was throwing down a challenge, was he? Lawes liked the idea of attempting a job that called for someone "big."
So he went. And he stayed. He stayed, to become the most famous warden of his time. His book 20,000 Years in Sing Sing sold into the

hundred of thousands of copies. His broadcasts on the air and his stories of prison life have inspired dozens of movies. His "humanizing" of criminals wrought miracles in the way of prison reform.

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM a challenger!

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