Self – Help

I’ve never read the book. “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. The title is just a little too creepy. I think I’d even be embarrassed to sign it out of the library or the have it show up on a store receipt. What would people think? Perhaps they would be afraid to talk to me. That I was just going to use some sneaky trick to get something I want out of them.

What’s really strange about my avoidance of this book is that I’ve got a serious habit of reading such “self-help” books. Dale Carnegie wrote about winning friends in 1936. It can really be called the first of the whole motivational genre.

A former boss exposed me to the whole mess. I was in my young and impressionable days. The fact that I had no job and was actually getting sick of eating no – name macaroni dinner could have weakened by resolve. But this man called me up and after he told me I didn’t get the job for the position I interviewed for, he still wanted to hire me. Was I open to selling cars? I was surprised by the confidence this man showed in me so I said yes, went out and bought some ties.

The manager of dealership was a motivation fanatic. He used sales charts to spark competition between us salesman. We were split into teams. There were cash bonuses for any variety of goals that fluctuated with the seasons. Mostly what he promoted was self-motivation. He encouraged me to borrow books from his office. He let me listen to his extensive tape collection.

During that time of commission sales I listened to Anthony Robbins’ smooth voice give me lessons on releasing my inner power. In the cold month of February when I only sold two cars (and returned to eating macaroni dinner) I read “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. I’d have to say all that has changed my outlook on many things. I even have Steven Covey’s new book “The Eighth Habit” by my bed – partially finished.

I know I shouldn’t be too embarrassed to want to “win friends”. Clearly I’m not alone. Just consider the size of the self-help section at your nearest Chapters bookstore. I just can’t help but think that the real meaning of self-help books is that the author just helped his own bank account by drawing from mine.