My last blog was about a great episode of the Ed Mylett show entitled “15 Life-Changing Tips I Would Give My Younger Self.” At the end of the show he listed 12 classic books that impacted his life. I thought I would share that list and I am going to highlight a couple that I believe are especially dynamic and valuable! In fact, I have given my kids a couple of valuable books the last year with hope that they read them. Well, at least one day they’ll read the book and then they can say “I think daddy tried to get us to read that book when we were in college… we should have listened because he was right!”
Ed Mylett’s list – 12 classic books that impacted his life:
Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
As a Man Thinkith – James Allen
How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
The Power of One More – Ed Mylett
The Richest Man in Babylon – George Clason
The Case for Christ – Lee Strobel
The Power of Positive Thinking – Norman Vincent Peale
Mindset – Carol Dweck
The Purpose Driven Life – Rick Warren
Good to Great – Jim Collins
7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
The Power of Intention – Wayne Dyer
I am going to focus on only ONE of these classic books and it was written in 1936… almost 100 years ago and yet it still is highly relevant today! Yes, the classic, HOW TO WIN FRIENDS & INFLUENCE PEOPLE by Dale Carnegie. I read it when I was about 35 or 40 years old and thought to myself, “I wish I had read this when I was about 20!” I had picked up a lot of the habits and traits over the years but would have been a lot easier to get the blueprint back when I was 20 or so! Just go read it! Trust me! However, I’ll leave you with the example of the kind of information it has. Obvious to some but not practiced by all! In fact, I am just going to give you the section names with a few of the chapter titles.
Part One – Fundamental Techniques in Handling People
- “If you want to Gather Honey, Don’t Kick Over the Beehive.” Yes, this is basic but so many people, who are 75 years old, haven’t yet figured it out!
Part Two – Six Ways to Make People Like You
- Do This and You’ll be Welcome Anywhere
- A Simple Way to Make a Good First Impression
- How to Make People Like you Instantly
Part Three – How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking
- You Can’t Win an Argument
- A Sure Way of Making Enemies – and How to Avoid it
- If You’re Wrong Admit it
Part Four – Be a leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment
- How to Criticize – and not be Hated for It
- Talk About Your Own Mistakes First
- Let the Other Person Save Face
This is just a few of the chapters. The book is packed full of good nuggets that you can imagine your grandpa telling you!
I highly recommend it!
Oh ya and why do I have a photo with TWO copies of the book? It’s literally one of the books I bought two of to give to my kids. Not sure if that’s next or Rich Dad Poor Dad!?!? Hmmmmmmm….
