Bit Better Book Club ๐ŸŽ‰

Weeks 13 and 14: How to Win Friends and Influence People ๐ŸŒŸ

Welcome to weeks 13 and 14!

Time to read:

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

People skills are essential. The world is connected and it is very rare that a person can work on oneโ€™s own. Being a rocket science genius is not enough when you canโ€™t communicate your ideas with others.

This classical book on the topic should be a good starting point to learn some people skills. Keep in mind it has been written almost 100 years ago and the world around us has changed a lot. If youโ€™re interested in the ideas present in this book, you may also like Influence by Robert B. Cialdini or Captivate by Vanessa Van Edwards.

Last year, we read Susan Cainโ€™s โ€œQuietโ€. In it, the author suggested that Dale Carnegie may as well be responsible for the extroverted culture we live in today (at least in some parts of the world). Now we have a chance to compare the two worldviews.

Just 21 pages (or 32 minutes for an audiobook) a day to finish it in 2 weeks :raised_hands:

I started this book today 70/250 pages. Hope Iโ€™m not late to the party

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Weโ€™re just starting today, so youโ€™re definitely on time :smiley:

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Iโ€™m halfway through the Iโ€™m just wondering if itโ€™s even practically possible for the world today. What I feel with most of these books are that itโ€™s fair only if everyone operates on Win-Win mentality. Unfortunately thatโ€™s not true.

What do you mean by โ€œif itโ€™s even practically possible for the world todayโ€?

The book is 84 years old. We are moving towards an individualistic society. I share this conversation as an example to most people,

Me at an indian wedding

Scenario 1

Person: Why are you not wearing a bindhi?
Me: I donโ€™t want to
Person: Makes a face moves on never brings it up in any other wedding

Scenario 2

Person: Why are you not wearing a bindhi?
Me: might have fallen down
Person: Here I have a spare
Me: No aunty itโ€™s okay
Person: Pushes the bindhi to my head, wait youโ€™re not wearing flowers let me get that for you, and a million other โ€œHow to be a perfect girl lessonโ€

In this case I am better off being snarky than being the person they want me to be.

I read this again after 3-4 years and still found it fresh. I could relate to many situations where I mishandled them in the past. The ideas presented in this book are simple yet effective. Iโ€™ve seen them work for many people, including myself. The secret is to not treat them as life hacks! If youโ€™re praising, do it sincerely.

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If youโ€™re interested in the โ€œwhy?โ€ behind the โ€œwhat?โ€ then Iโ€™d recommend reading โ€œInfluenceโ€ by Cialdini :slight_smile:

Added to my to-read list. :vulcan_salute: