WIST Quotations

Carnegie, Dale -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The most important thing in life is not simply to capitalize on your gains. Any fool can do that. The important thing is to profit from your losses. That requires intelligence, and makes the difference between a man of sense and a fool.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
(Attributed)

Carnegie, Dale -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

You can make more friends in two months by becoming more interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
(Attributed)

Carnegie, Dale -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

One of the most 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.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
(Attributed)

Carnegie, Dale -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
(Attributed)

Carnegie, Dale -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
(Attributed)

Carnegie, Dale -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:46:49 +0000

If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
(Attributed)

Carnegie, Dale -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 15:14:23 +0000

Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
(Attributed)

Widely attributed to Carnegie. The only place I can find this phrase actually used by him "officially" is in Dale Carnegie's Scrapbook (1959) [ed. Dorothy Carnegie], where (four years after his death) the quote is described as "from the writings of Dale Carnegie" but with no further citation.

I was unable to find it online in any books by him. I did find a variant in an essay (1938-09-12) published in newspapers, regarding Alexander de Seversky (possibly one of Carnegie's "5-Minute Biographies" columns):

What are the qualities that make for success? Superior knowledge? Yes, sometimes; but more frequently it is flaming enthusiasm backed up by horse-sense and persistence.

The article also ran in papers on 1946-07-29.

In the 1946 (Vol. 68-70) archive of the Fireman's Fund Record, I did find text reading "... they have flaming enthusiasm backed by horse sense and dauntless courage," but could not confirm the context or whether it was attributed to Carnegie.

Carnegie, Dale -- How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1944)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put the past together again. So let’s remember: Don’t try to saw sawdust.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1944)

Carnegie, Dale -- How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Part 10 “How I Conquered Worry” (1948)

Dave — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 23:23:25 +0000

Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Part 10 “How I Conquered Worry” (1948)
(Source)

Final note by Carnegie on the story "Six Major troubles Hit Me All At Once" by C. I. Blackwood of Oklahoma City.

The phrase was a "rule" Carnegie taught in his adult courses, and he collected many reports from students about how the various rules taught in the course actually worked in their lives. Thus the "remember" above and how the phrase is also mentioned, quoted in the past tense, in the story "I Now Look for the Green Light," by Joseph M. Cotter of Chicago: "I was told over and over that 'today was the tomorrow I had worried about yesterday.'"

Carnegie, Dale -- How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936)

Dave — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 13:23:54 +0000

There is only one way under high heaven to get the best of an argument — and that is to avoid it.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936)

Carnegie, Dale -- How to Win Friends and Influence People, “Seven Rules for Making Your Home Life Happier” (1936)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

1. Don’t, don’t nag.
2. Don’t try to make your partner over.
3. Don’t criticize.
4. Give honest appreciation.
5. Pay little attentions.
6. Be courteous.
7. Read a good book on the sexual side of marriage.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
How to Win Friends and Influence People, “Seven Rules for Making Your Home Life Happier” (1936)

Carnegie, Dale -- How to Win Friends and Influence People, 2.6 (1936, rev. 1981)

Dave — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:28:20 +0000

In a Nutshell: Six Ways to Make People Like You —
Principle 1: Become genuinely interested in other people
Principle 2: Smile.
Principle 3: Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
Principle 4: Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
Principle 5: Talk in terms of the other person’s interest.
Principle 6: Make the other person feel important — and do it sincerely.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
How to Win Friends and Influence People, 2.6 (1936, rev. 1981)

Carnegie, Dale -- How to Win Friends and Influence People, Part 1, ch. 1 (1936)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain — and most fools do.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
How to Win Friends and Influence People, Part 1, ch. 1 (1936)
(Source)

Also attributed to Ben Franklin; this may be due to the preceding paragraph quoting Franklin.

Carnegie, Dale -- In Dorothy Carnegie, The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking (1962)

Dave — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 23:35:48 +0000

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 discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer, lecturer
In Dorothy Carnegie, The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking (1962)