117 Legendary Quotes By Dale Carnegie
“I Am Deeply Convinced That Our Peace Of Mind And The Joy We Get Out Of Living Depends Not On Where We Are, Or What We Have, Or Who We Are, But Solely On Our Mental Attitude.” - Dale Carnegie
When it comes to self-improvement and personal development, there are few names as recognizable as Dale Carnegie. In this article, you can know about some famous Dale Carnegie Quotes!
Born in Missouri in 1888, Carnegie made a name for himself as an educator, author, and motivational speaker who was passionate about helping people become the best versions of themselves.
Carnegie's journey to becoming a self-improvement icon started when he was struggling to make ends meet as a salesman in New York City.
He realized that the key to success in sales (and in life) was not just about having the right product, but about connecting with people and building relationships.
This realization led him to start teaching public speaking and self-confidence courses, which eventually evolved into the famous Dale Carnegie Course in Effective Speaking and Human Relations.
The course, which Carnegie first taught in 1912, covered a wide range of topics including public speaking, interpersonal skills, leadership, and personal growth.
Carnegie's approach was unique in that he emphasized the importance of positive thinking, personal charm, and the power of genuine human connection.
He believed that anyone could become successful and happy if they were willing to put in the effort to develop their skills and character.
The popularity of Carnegie's course skyrocketed, and he soon became a sought-after speaker and consultant, traveling the world and delivering his message of self-improvement to thousands of people.
In 1936, he published his best-selling book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People," which distilled many of the ideas and lessons he had taught in his course into a single volume.
The book remains one of the most popular self-help books of all time, and has been translated into countless languages and sold millions of copies worldwide.
In addition to his work as an educator and author, Carnegie was also known for his charismatic personality and his infectious enthusiasm for life.
He had a unique ability to connect with people from all walks of life, and his message of self-improvement inspired countless individuals to take control of their lives and become the best versions of themselves.
Although Dale Carnegie passed away in 1955, his legacy lives on through his books, courses, and the countless people whose lives he touched.
If you're looking for inspiration and practical advice on how to improve your life, you can't go wrong with a dose of Dale Carnegie.
Whether you're struggling with self-confidence, looking to improve your relationships, or just trying to be a better person, Carnegie's message of positive thinking and personal growth is as relevant today as it was over a century ago.
Quotes By Dale Carnegie
24 Happiness Quotes
1. “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 it.”
2. “If you want to keep happiness, you have to share it.”
3. “Happiness doesn’t depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude.”
4. “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.”
5. “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 the happiness that you had thought could never be yours.”
6. “We may not be saintly enough to love our enemies, but, for the sake of our own health and happiness, let’s at least forgive them and forget them”
7. “Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, ‘I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you.”
8. “If you want to keep happiness, you have to share it.”
9. “When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness.”
10. “Everybody in the world is seeking happiness—and there is one sure way to find it. That is by controlling your thoughts. Happiness doesn't depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner conditions.”
11. “The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.”
12. “Happiness doesn’t depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner conditions.”
13. “Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
14. “Act as if you were already happy and that will tend to make you happy.”
15. “Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, ‘I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you”
16. “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.”
17. “One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses.”
18. “When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us – power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness.”
19. “First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.”
20. “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.”
21. “You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world’s happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or is discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.”
22. “The person who seeks all their applause from outside has their happiness in another’s keeping.”
23. “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.”
24. “Many people think that if they were only in some other place, or had some other job, they would be happy. Well, that is doubtful. So get as much happiness out of what you are doing as you can and don’t put off being happy until some future date.”
14 Teamwork Quotes
25. “Three-fourths of the people you will meet tomorrow are hungering and thirsting for sympathy. Give it to them and they will love you.”
26. “Don’t be afraid of enemies who attack you. Be afraid of the friends who flatter you.”
27. “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him.”
28. “Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not.”
29. “The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.”
30. “Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still.”
31. “People like people who help them like themselves.”
32. “Winning friends begins with friendliness.”
33. “The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.”
34. “There is only one way… to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it.”
35. “You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people that you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”
36. “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.”
37. “Be concerned with your character than with your reputation, for your character is what you are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
38. “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.”
9 Public Speaking
39. “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.”
40. “It is the way we react to circumstances that determines our feelings.”
41. “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.”
42. “Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident.”
43. “Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation, for your character is what you are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
44. “Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness. "To know all is to forgive all.”
45. “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.”
46. “Tell the audience what you’re going to say, say it; then tell them what you’ve said.”
47. “The difference between appreciation and flattery? That is simple. One is sincere and the other insincere. One comes from the heart out; the other from the teeth out. One is unselfish; the other selfish. One is universally admired; the other universally condemned.”
31 Influential Quotes
48. “You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.”
49. “When the fierce, burning winds blow over our lives – and we cannot prevent them – let us, too, accept the inevitable. And then get busy and pick up the pieces.”
50. “No matter what happens, always be yourself.”
51. “Two men looked out from prison bars, one saw the mud, the other saw stars.”
52. “The expression one wears on one’s face is far more important than the clothes one wears on one’s back.”
53. “By fighting you never get enough, but by yielding you get more than you expected.”
54. “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.”
55. “If you tell me how you get your feeling of importance, I’ll tell you what you are.”
56. “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”
57. “If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep.”
58. “All men have fears, but the brave put down their fears and go forward, sometimes to death, but always to victory.”
59. “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”
60. “Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire.”
61. “Why talk about what we want? That is childish. Absurd. Of course, you are interested in what you want. You are eternally interested in it. But no one else is. The rest of us are just like you: we are interested in what we want.”
62. “Everybody in the world is seeking happiness—and there is one sure way to find it. That is by controlling your thoughts. Happiness doesn’t depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner conditions.”
63. “You can’t win an argument. You can’t because if you lose it, you lose it; and if you win it, you lose it.”
64. “Flattery is telling the other person precisely what he thinks about himself.”
65. “Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment.”
66. “One of the 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.”
67. “Control your temper. Remember, you can measure the size of a person by what makes him or her angry.”
68. “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”
69. “Be wiser than other people if you can; but do not tell them so.”
70. “Names are the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”
71. “Talk to someone about themselves and they’ll listen for hours.”
72. “Flaming enthusiasm, backed by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.”
73. “Even God doesn’t propose to judge a man till his last days, why should you and I?”
74. “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.”
75. “Let’s not allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. Remember ‘Life is too short to be little.”
76. “The world is full of people who are grabbing and self-seeking. So the rare individual who unselfishly tries to serve others has an enormous advantage.”
77. “If you are not in the process of becoming the person you want to be, you are automatically engaged in becoming the person you don’t want to be.”
78. “We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.”
38 Famous Quotes
79. “If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.”
80. “One of the worst features about worrying is that it destroys our ability to concentrate”
81. “Pay less attention to what men say. Just watch what they do.”
82. “Half the worry in the world is caused by people trying to make decisions before they have sufficient knowledge on which to base a decision”
83. “When we stop fighting the inevitable, we release energy which enables us to create a richer life”
84. “As much as we thirst for approval, we dread condemnation.”
85. “When we have accepted the worst, we have nothing more to lose. And that automatically means – we have everything to gain!”
86. “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.”
87. “The only way on earth to influence other people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get it.”
88. “Every day is a new day to a wise man”
89. “Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.”
90. “Let’s not imitate others. Let’s find ourselves and be ourselves.”
91. “Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind.”
92. “Once a decision is carefully reached, act! Get busy carrying out your decision – and dismiss all anxiety of the outcome”
93. “There is only one way under high heaven to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it.”
94. “Ask questions instead of giving orders.”
95. “I am deeply convinced that our peace of mind and the joy we get out of living depends not on where we are, or what we have, or who we are, but solely on our mental attitude.”
96. “To be interesting, be interested.”
97. “Instead of the question 'What must I do for my employer?' substitute 'what can I do?'”
98. “Every successful person loves the game. The chance to prove his worth, to excel, to win.”
99. “There is only one way to get the best of an argument -- and that is to avoid it.”
100. “Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”
101. “The difference between good thinking and bad thinking is this: good thinking deals with causes and effects and leads to logical, constructive planning; bad thinking frequently leads to tension and nervous breakdowns”
102. “Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.”
103. “Criticisms are like homing pigeons. They always return home.”
104. “Find yourself and be yourself: remember there is no one else on earth like you.”
105. “Those who do not know how to fight worry die young”
106. “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”
107. “The average person is more interested in her own name than in all the other names on earth put together.”
108. “Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a person’s precious pride, hurts his sense of importance and arouses resentment.”
109. “If a person will devote their time to securing facts in an impartial, objective way, their worries will usually evaporate in the light of knowledge”
110. “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it within himself.”
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111. “Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.”
112. “Every act you have ever performed was performed because you wanted something.”
113. “In our interpersonal relations we should never forget that all our associates are human beings and hunger for appreciation.”
114. “People are not interested in you. They are not interested in me. They are interested in themselves – morning, noon and after dinner.”
115. “We sit there and complain that we're not being given opportunities or chances. Meanwhile, moments like these are there to be seized–the chance is there, take it!”
116. “Did you ever stop to think that a dog is the only animal that does not have to work for a living?”
How Quotes Can Help Make Positive Change
Quotes can be helpful in many ways. They are effective for helping us to make changes in our life because they capture a feeling, thought or idea in a brief phrase. The fact that quotes are short, makes us able to read them quickly and digest their meaning.
We can surround ourselves with an important quote, reminding us each time we see it of its meaning and significance for our life.
We can put a quote on a mug, on a wall hanging, in our phone, and be reminded of it regularly throughout the day.
By reflecting on the quote and incorporating it into our life in an intentional way, the message can play an important role in helping us make change in our life.
Next Steps
These quotes by Dale Carnegie are amazing, and it’s enjoyable and inspiring to just sit and read through them, but if you want them to really make a difference in your life, then
follow this list of ‘next steps’, and you’ll soon be seeing a positive change in your life.
- The first step is to read the quotes - with an open mind. You may not really know what sort of quote you want or need. Simply reading the quotes will help you focus your attention and develop an area in your life you want to improve, or a goal you want to achieve.
- An essential part of making the quote ‘work’ for you is making sure your brain registers the quote’s message repeatedly so that it can become part of how you think and act. In other words you want to internalize the message.
- Focus on the key places where you spend most of your time and display the quote so you will see it again and again. This will help to reinforce the message.There are many ways to display a quote. Try having the message on your coffee mug, or maybe on a sticky that you put on the corner of your laptop. Don’t limit yourself to one spot to put your quote. Make it the wallpaper on your phone, have it embroidered on a cushion you love to hold, stencil it on a wall in your home, have it engraved on a bracelet or inside a ring.
- Another ‘must’ to reinforce the quote’s message is to read it through and consciously think about what it is saying, and how you are going to live that message today. Carve out time in the morning so you start your day off in that mindset. Do a check-in at night as well. Take a few moments to reflect on how you were able to infuse your day with the quote’s message, and pat yourself on the back for your efforts.
- Say the quote out loud whenever you get the chance. This affirmation of the message will help you commit to it. Intention is key to success!
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Golden Rules Of Dale Carnegie?
Carnegie believed and taught that we should:
- Not criticize or complain about our situation.
- Be sincere and honest in our appreciation of people and things.
- Show a genuine interest in people.
These ‘rules’ are reflected in the quotes of Dale Carnegie. He taught that we can all improve our lot in life if we stopped whining and complaining and took positive action instead; that our relationships, both in business and in our personal life, would be more rewarding and fulfilling if we acted and reacted toward others with sincerity, not taking for granted the world and those in it, but actively showing care and interest.