Dale Carnegie's Quotes

Applause is a receipt, not a bill.

There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.

You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.

There is only one way... to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it.

If you want to be enthusiastic, act enthusiastic.

The ideas I stand for are not mine. I borrowed them from Socrates. I swiped them from Chesterfield. I stole them from Jesus. And I put them in a book. If you don't like their rules, whose would you use?

Your purpose is to make your audience see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel what you felt. Relevant detail, couched in concrete, colorful language, is the best way to recreate the incident as it happened and to picture it for the audience.

Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success.

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude.

If you want to conquer fear, don't sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

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

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.

If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.

When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.

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.

The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.

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.

Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment.

Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.

Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think.

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

Fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind.

When fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade.

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.

Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.

There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it.

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

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