Dale Carnegie

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Dale Carnegie (born November 24, 1888 as Dale Carnagey in Maryville , Missouri , † November 1, 1955 in Forest Hills , New York ) was an American communication and motivational speaker in the field of positive thinking .

Life

Carnegie grew up in a modest family on his father's farm. At times he earned his living as a strawberry picker. A quote from Carnegie describes his young life:

As a young man in New York, I was very unhappy. I sold trucks for a living, and I had no idea how they worked. But that wasn't all: I didn't even want to know. I hated my job. I hated my cheap, furnished room on 56th Street, which was teeming with roaches. I still remember hanging my ties on the wall and when I reached for a fresh one in the morning the cockroaches would scamper away in all directions. [...] I knew that I had everything to gain and nothing to lose by giving up the job I disliked so much. [...] My decision was this: I would give up the hated job and teach adults at night school. Finally, I had four years at the State Teachers College at Warrensburg in Missouri studying to become teachers.

His applications to Columbia University and New York University , where he wanted to give evening classes in free speech , were rejected. For this reason, Carnegie began in 1912 in Manhattan in the Christian Association of Young People on 125th Street to offer further education courses in free speech on their own. In addition to free speech, he tried to instill self-confidence and a positive attitude towards life in his course participants.

An optimal marketing measure was to change the spelling of his name from Carnagey to Carnegie, although the millionaire Andrew Carnegie was not a relative. In 1916 Dale Carnegie was able to perform in front of crowded houses at Carnegie Hall . His first book was Public Speaking and Influencing Men In Business: A Practical Course for Business Men (1926).

His greatest success in addition to his courses is to this day How to Win Friends and Influence People (German How to win friends ). The book became an instant bestseller in 1937. The German edition was translated by Hermann von Wedderkop , who later also appeared as a co-author. At the time of Carnegie's death (1955) five million copies had been sold in 31 languages. 1948 appeared How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (German concern not you - live! ). To date, over 50 million copies of his books in 38 languages ​​have been sold worldwide.

Carnegie died in 1955 of uremia with Hodgkin's lymphoma .

criticism

Carnegie's views were already criticized by his contemporaries, for example as naive optimism or bigotry . Critics, who see this as a considerable potential danger, only came forward in the 21st century. The psychotherapist and writer Günter Scheich believes that a happy life is always at the same time a fulfilled life, in which not all life problems are inhibition thresholds that can be resolved with a boost in motivation. Every action always contains both opportunities and risks. Ignoring these risks, also contemptuously called worries by Carnegie, through positive thinking would lead to them not being sufficiently heeded. The consistently positive attitude would lead to the latent underestimation of dangers, whereby the final goal is smashed in the end. Especially in the case of uncritical people, they can also lead to a loss of reality . In addition, equating success and happiness is wrong.

Contrary to the opinion of the Sheikhs, Carnegie outlines in the book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (German don't worry - live! ), However, the approach of first systematically looking at every concrete problem from several sides, taking into account the risks. Method "to realistically objectify problems:

  • What is the problem?
  • What are the causes of the problem?
  • What are the possible solutions?
  • What is the best possible solution?

Other recommendations Carnegie, based on proverbs such as "do not cry over spilled milk" and "Do not worry to them!" Some negative to ignore thoughts or fears (even just unrealistic), have the clear intention ongoing fruitless brooding about to prevent the resulting depression and anxiety disorders. They can be assigned to a simple concept of mental hygiene .

Works

  • Public Speaking and Influencing Men in Business . Association Press
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People. A self-help book about interpersonal relations : How to make friends. The art of becoming popular and influential. Scherz-Verlag, ISBN 3-502-15109-1 .
  • How to Make Friends. The art of becoming popular and influential. Audio book, read by Till Hagen and Stefan Kaminski, Argon Verlag, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-86610-496-9
  • How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. A self-help book about stress management : don't worry, live! The art of finding a life free from fear and excitement. Scherz-Verlag, ISBN 3-502-15107-5 .
  • Don't worry, live! The art of finding a life free from fear and excitement. Audio book read by Till Hagen and Stefan Kaminski, Argon Verlag, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-86610-277-4 ( 1st place on the Spiegel bestseller list from April 6th to 19th, 1998 )
  • Lincoln the Unknown. A biography of Abraham Lincoln , Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc.
  • The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking : Better to talk to each other. Scherz Verlag, 1969, ISBN 3-596-50689-1 .
  • The Leader In You. How to Win Friends, Influence People, and Succeed in a Changing World , dt .: Rejoice in life! The art of becoming popular, successful and happy , Bertelsmann.
  • How To Enjoy Your Life And Your Job , Vermilion, ISBN 0-7493-0593-2 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Oxford Desk Dictionary of People and Places, p. 63 [1]
  2. ↑ Dale Carnegie, Don't worry - live !: The art of finding a life freed from fears and excitement, Frankfurt am Main 2003, 9 f.
  3. ↑ Dale Carnegie. Retrieved November 12, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Günter Scheich: Positive thinking makes you sick. From dizziness with dangerous promises of success, Cologne 2001 ISBN 3-8218-3904-X
  5. ↑ Cf. Dale Carnegie, Don't Worry - Live !: The Art of Finding a Life Freed from Fears and Excitement, Frankfurt am Main 2003, 76–81.

literature

  • Giles Kemp, Edward Claflin: Dale Carnegie - The Man Who Shows How to Make Millions of Friends . 1st edition. Goldmann-Verlag, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-442-11694-5 .
  • Tom Sant: The Giants of Sales: What Carnegie, Patterson, Wheeler, & Girard Can Teach You About Real Sales Success . Mcgraw-Hill Professional, ISBN 0-8144-7291-5 .
  • Irving Dart Tressler: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People . New York 1937.
  • Günter Scheich: Positive thinking makes you sick. About dizziness with dangerous promises of success . Eichborn, Frankfurt am Main 2001, ISBN 3-8218-3904-X .

Web links

Wikiquote: Dale Carnegie  Quotes
personal data
SURNAME Carnegie, Dale
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Carnagey, Dale (until 1922)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer and personality trainer
DATE OF BIRTH November 24, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Maryville , Missouri
DATE OF DEATH November 1, 1955
Place of death Forest Hills , New York