365 Days of Living the Dale Carnegie Principles
Day 23. April 17, 2011
Last Sunday I used a Dale Carnegie principle without realizing it. I threw down a challenge. I suggested to my friend Sara that she use her talent to make money.
Today Sarah showed me the six beautiful scarves she knitted this past week. Then we went to the yarn shop to pick up special yarns and supplies for more projects. You could see Sara getting excited – looking at all the wonderful colors and varieties. She was like a kid in a candy store. While I don’t knit—I found myself also getting wrapped up in all the pretty yarns and the potential scarves they could become with Sara’s talent.
Sara went on and on describing the different knitting techniques. I listened and let her do most of the talking. You could see her eyes light up as she described the next set of scarves she was going to make.
The Dale Carnegie Principles I used is from How to Win Friends and Influence People:
Principle 4. Become genuinely interested in other people.
Principle 15. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
Principle 21. Throw down a challenge.
When you take interest in what someone likes to do you can have such a profound impact on their growth as a person and their pursuit of happiness.