Top 10 Western Motivational Classics That Changed the Lives of Millions

Author: Zhu Yi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The Sixth Principle of Dealing with People: Don't Forget to Smile
If you want others to be happy to see you, you must meet them with happiness. In one of Dale Carnegie's training courses, there was a question: Ask thousands of business professionals to smile at everyone every hour of the day for a week, and then report to Dale Carnegie and the other participants about the effects of doing so. All the participants followed through, and one member of the New York Stock Exchange, Mr. Stanhard, was deeply moved: I've been married for over 18 years. During this time, from the moment I get up to the time I'm ready to go out and work, I rarely smile at my wife or say more than a few words. I was a grumpy person walking down Broadway Street. Because you asked me to give a speech on my experience with smiling, I decided to try it for a week. So the next morning, while combing my hair, I looked at the dull face in the mirror and said to myself, "Bill, you need to shake off your old look today. You have to smile. You need to start right now." When I sat down for breakfast, I greeted my wife with a smile. You warned me that she might be surprised. But you underestimated her reaction. She was bewildered, she was amazed! I told her that this would become the norm. Since then, up to now, I've been doing it for two months. That's how I changed my attitude. In these two months, the happiness our family has gained is more than all the happiness we had in the past year. Now, when I come to the office, I also say "Good morning" to the elevator operator in my apartment and smile back; I smile at the doorman; I smile at the cashier when I exchange money at the subway shop; when I stand on the trading floor, I smile at people who had never seen me smile before. Soon, I noticed that everyone was smiling back at me. When people complained to me, I treated them with a pleasant demeanor, listened to them with a smile, and then offered my opinions with a smile, and I found that the success rate of the cases I mediated had become higher—smiling brought me a lot of wealth every day. I shared an office with another trader, and his secretary was a lovely young person. I was very happy with the results I had achieved, so I told him about my new philosophy on interpersonal relationships. After confiding in him, he confided in me as well. He admitted that when I first came to share an office with him, he thought I was a terrible person with a bad temper, but recently he had also changed his perception. He complimented me, saying that when I smiled, I really had a warm personality. I gave up criticism and appreciated praise. I stopped asking for what I wanted and started looking at others' perspectives. These things truly changed my life. I am now a completely different person: a happier person, a more fulfilled person, and I am even more fulfilled because of the friendship and happiness I possess. P16-17