Always Be Yourself – Carnegie's Wisdom Advice

Author: Lan Feng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: On November 24, 1880, Dale Carnegie was born in a small town near Maryville, Missouri. His father ran a small farm. The family was very poor, struggling to get enough to eat and wear. Due to malnutrition, young Carnegie was very thin but had a pair of large ears that didn’t match his head. The small school he attended was named Rose Garden, a very rustic place with only one classroom. He wasn’t a well-behaved student at school. Due to his mischievous behavior and pranks, he was nearly expelled several times. His wide and large ears were often targets of ridicule from his classmates. Once, a classmate named Sam White had an argument with Carnegie. Carnegie made some harsh remarks, and White was provoked, threatening, “One day, I’m going to cut off those annoying big ears of yours.” He was terrified and couldn’t sleep for several nights, fearing that White would cut off his ears while he was asleep. Even after Carnegie became famous, he never forgot Sam White. He summarized a life philosophy: “If you want others to be kind to you, if you want to get along harmoniously with colleagues, and if you want to handle relationships between superiors and subordinates well, then you must never touch the scars in others’ hearts.” Carnegie also discovered that he had an innate melancholic personality. He once confided in a friend: “Trouble has accompanied me throughout my life. I’ve always wanted to understand where my worries come from. One day, while helping my mother collect cherry blossom seeds, I suddenly burst into tears. Mother asked, ‘Why are you crying?’ I replied, sobbing, ‘I’m worried that I might end up buried in the soil like these seeds.’” In my childhood, I had many fears: worrying about being struck by lightning during thunderstorms, fearing there wouldn’t be enough food to eat during bad harvests, and even worrying about going to hell after death. The personal success philosophy pioneered and advocated by Carnegie has become a stepping stone for ambitious young people in this era. Through his teachings and, countless people have understood the meaning of living positively and have changed their destinies. What Carnegie left us is not just a few books and schools; his true value lies in: teaching the techniques of personal success to every person who aspires to achieve it. In America, I think, aside from Lady Liberty, Carnegie might be our American symbol! The compiler has gathered the most important and richest experiences in Carnegie’s life regarding self-expression, self-development, relying on oneself, and self-success in this book, “Always Be Yourself.”