Wednesday, October 31, 2007

You don't develop courage...

You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.
- Barbara De Angelis

Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them, they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.
- Orison Swett Marden

A gypsy fire is on the hearth,
Sign of the carnival of mirth;
Through the dun fields and from the glade
Flash merry folk in masquerade,
For this is Hallowe'en!
~Author Unknown

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Make your life a mission...

Make your life a mission - not an intermission.
- Arnold H. Glasgow

Too much of a good thing is wonderful.
- Mae West


We must want for others, not ourselves alone.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

Monday, October 29, 2007

If you limit...

If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.
- Robert Fritz

Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live.
- Mae Jemison

Today is a new life. Shut the doors on the past and the future. Live in day-tight compartments.
- Dale Carnegie

Friday, October 26, 2007

You must take personal responsibility

You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.
- Jim Rohn

Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.
- Benjamin Franklin

If you have worries, there is no better way to eliminate them than by walking them off. Just take them out for a walk. They may take wings and fly away!
- Dale Carnegie

Thursday, October 25, 2007

It isn't what you have...

It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.
- Dale Carnegie

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Anything I've ever done...

Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile... initially scared me to death.
- Betty Bender

Don't waste life in doubts and fears; spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be best preparation for the hours and ages that will follow it.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.
- Confucius

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Persistence

One of my favorite examples about persistence is the story of an Asian Bamboo species that even after five years of watering, weeding and fertilizing is barely visible.

Then in a span of about six weeks it grows two and a half feet a day to 90 feet and higher. It grows so fast that you can literally "hear" it growing. The question to ask is did the bamboo grow 90 feet in six weeks or did it grow 90 feet in five years?

Obviously it grew 90 feet in five years, for all the time when growth wasn't visible it was developing a massive root system that would later support it's magnificent growth.

Can you see where the current circumstances in your life are developing your massive root system? Can you see where you must continue to "fertilize" and "water" yourself even though maybe you can't see any visible changes today?

Monday, October 22, 2007

Do the thing...

Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it... that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.
- Dale Carnegie

Wherever there is a human being there is a chance for a kindness.
-Seneca

The man who trusts men will make fewer mistakes than he who distrusts them.
-Camillo Di Cavour

Friday, October 19, 2007

Are you bored with life?

Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.
-Dale Carnegie

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Do not wait...

Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you
stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and
better tools will be found as you go along.
-Napoleon Hill

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

You don't develop courage...

You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.
- Barbara De Angelis

Jumping at several small opportunities may get us there more quickly than waiting for one big one to come along.
- Hugh Allen

Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.
- Dale Carnegie

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

A visionary is...

A visionary is one who can find his way by moonlight, and see the dawn before the rest of the world.
- Oscar Wilde

If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient observation than to any other reason.
- Sir Isaac Newton

I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.
- Mother Teresa

Monday, October 15, 2007

Instead of worrying...

Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire.
- Dale Carnegie

Friday, October 12, 2007

If you believe in...

If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done.
- Dale Carnegie

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

First ask yourself...

First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.
- Dale Carnegie

Monday, October 8, 2007

Books to Read

This is from an article that ran online in the Globe and Mail...

Business Bibles
Sean Wise
Globe and Mail Update
August 29, 2007

I started my life as an Entrepreneur at the ripe old age of 13. Since that time, I've without a doubt read hundreds of books on entrepreneurship, venture capital, angel investing, innovation and business leadership.

Often I'm asked to recommend some of the best to those looking to get a jump on their entrepreneurial education. So without further ado, here's my list:
  • The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  • Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton
  • The Monk who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma
  • Getting Things Done by David Allan

The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki

This is the book I wish I wrote. Kawasaki, bestselling author on more than a half dozen business books, outlines the what, the why and most of all the how of starting a new venture. This book covers topics including but not limited to:

  • The Art of Raising Capital
  • The Art of Pitching
  • The Art of Bootstrapping
  • The Art of Recruiting
  • The Art of Being a Mensch

The former Chief Evangelist for Apple and founder of ultra successful seed fund, Silicon Valley's Garage Ventures, has taken the blogosphere by storm these last few years, expanding his early works and leveraging his network to share insights. Kawasaki is often controversial, and sometimes arrogant, but his lessons are almost always extremely valuable. For those reasons, Kawasaki is a must read for all founders and funders.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

This was actually the first business book I read. The book has been a bestseller since the 1930s, and is still valuable even if some of the examples are slightly dated.Carnegie extols the virtues of putting yourself in the shoes of others before speaking or taking action. He also shares: why smiling is still the best (and most cost effective) form of customer service; the secret for getting any job (a secret I've successfully used many times); and how to increase employee satisfaction without increasing costs. My favorite lesson - and one I work at each and every day: Don't Criticize, Condemn or Complain.

Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton

If Carnegie's tome helps to minimize conflict, William's and Ury's treatise on negotiation theory sets out a process which, if followed, ensure efficient negotiation and effective conflict mitigation. This great book was required reading while I was in law school and helped bring terms like BATNA (Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement — i.e. what is the next best case if you fail to resolve the matter) and WATNA (Worse Alternative to Negotiated Agreement — i.e. what is the biggest downside of not resolving the matter) to the forefront. Together, these terms help to clarify the boundaries of any disputed outcome. Whether you are going to ask for a raise or acquire a company, this is your requisite prior reading.

The Monk who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma

I was attracted to Sharma's work by our similar backgrounds. Both of us are Toronto based, washed-up lawyers, who have both found rejuvenation in writing. However, that's where the similarities end. Sharma has been a bestseller in more than 42 countries and sold more than 10 million copies of his first book, The Monk who Sold his Ferrari . Me? Not so many. On the plus side, I do have better hair than Robin, but that's about it. As for the book, it's a classic parable, helping readers to discover the true meaning of life (and it does). In this "always on", "24/7" world we live in, with ever blurring lines between work and life, this book is more relevant than ever. If you are searching for your purpose, looking to refocus, or just wondering "is there something more", I'd highly recommend this story.

Getting Things Done by David Allan

Do you have hundreds of emails waiting for your reply? A to-do list that gets bigger everyday? More meetings than there are hours in the day? Then Getting Things Done (or GTD as David Allan devotees refer to it) is what you NEED to read. Yes, NEED to Read. Sited as "the premiere text" for managing time in the modern world, this book outlines how to set and follow through on your priorities.

Allan's book has spawned a cult-like following amongst tech entrepreneurs the world over, some even going so far as to create free software to take Allan's GTD to the next level.Recently, I had the chance to have a "fireside chat" with David during one of Silicon Valley's "Under the Radar" events. If I wasn't convinced before of the value of Allan's program, one need only look to the legions of devotees that swarmed him after the interview, clamoring for autographs and pictures.

David Allan has become the rockstar of organization, and rightfully so. Some readers claim double or triple increases in their efficiency and huge decreases in work -related anxiety. If you feel overwhelmed by your INBOX, take a break and read this book.

The Bottom Line: A few months ago, I shared with readers Jiu-Jitsu Master Sensei Helio Gracie's secret to martial arts and life — always keep learning. If that makes sense to you — then grab one, two or all of the above texts, turn off your blackberry and improve your entrepreneurial life by reading a chapter a day.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Feeling sorry...

Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.
- Dale Carnegie

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Any fool...

Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do.
- Dale Carnegie

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Dale Carnegie biography

Dale Breckenridge Carnegie (originally Carnegey) (November 24, 1888–November 1, 1955) was an American writer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking and interpersonal skills. Born in poverty on a farm in Missouri, he was the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, first published in 1936, a massive bestseller that remains popular today. He also wrote a biography of Abraham Lincoln, titled Lincoln the Unknown, as well as several other books.

Carnegie was an early proponent of what is now called responsibility assumption, although this only appears minutely in his written work. One of the core ideas in his books is that it is possible to change other people's behavior by changing one's reaction to them.

Biography

Born in 1888 in Buffalo, Missouri, Carnegie was a poor farmer's boy, the second son of James William Carnagey and Amanda Elizabeth Harbison.

In his teens, though still having to get up at 4a.m. every day to milk his parents' cows, he managed to get educated at the State Teacher's College in Warrensburg.

His first job after college was selling correspondence courses to ranchers; then he moved on to selling bacon, soap and lard for Armour & Company. He was successful to the point of making his sales territory, southern Omaha, the national leader for the firm.

After saving $500, Carnegie quit sales in 1911 in order to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a Chautauqua lecturer. He ended up instead attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, but found little success as an actor, though it is written that he played the role of Dr. Hartley in a road show of Polly of the Circus. When the production ended, he returned to New York, unemployed, nearly broke, and living at the YMCA on 125th Street. It was there that he got the idea to teach public speaking, and he persuaded the "Y" manager to allow him to instruct a class in return for 80% of the net proceeds.

In his first session, he had run out of material; improvising, he suggested that students speak about "something that made them angry", and discovered that the technique made speakers unafraid to address a public audience.

From this 1912 debut, the Dale Carnegie Course evolved. Carnegie had tapped into the average American's desire to have more self-confidence, and by 1914, he was earning $500 - the equivalent of nearly $10,000 now - every week.
Perhaps one of Carnegie’s most successful marketing moves was to change the spelling of his last name from “Carnegey” to Carnegie, at a time when Andrew Carnegie was a widely revered and recognized name.

By 1916, Dale was able to rent Carnegie Hall itself for a lecture to a packed house.

Carnegie's first collection of his writings was Public Speaking: a Practical Course for Business Men (1926), later entitled Public Speaking and Influencing Men in Business (1932).

His crowning achievement, however, was when Simon & Schuster published How to Win Friends and Influence People. The book was a bestseller from its debut in 1937, in its 17th printing within a few months. By the time of Carnegie's death, the book had sold five million copies in 31 languages, and there had been 450,000 graduates of his Dale Carnegie Institute.

His first marriage ended in divorce in 1931. On November 5, 1944, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he married Dorothy Price Vanderpool, who also had been divorced. Vanderpool had two daughters; Rosemary, from her first marriage, and Donna Dale from their marriage together.

Dale Carnegie died of Hodgkin's disease on November 1, 1955. He was buried in the Belton, Cass County, Missouri cemetery.

From http://www.wikipedia.org/

Monday, October 1, 2007

Welcome

Welcome to the Dale Carnegie blog for southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan. This Dale Carnegie franchise has been in operation for over thirty years and is one of the most successful Dale Carnegie franchises in the world.

This blog will attempt to add value to your day. Give you something to think about, and learn from some of the examples we come across every single day. It may even inspire you to take a Dale Carnegie program.

Though Dale Carnegie has been dad now for over fifty years, his legacy lives on, and shows that he was truly a genius and far ahead of his time.

Enjoy!