By Dale Carnegie. This book can be found here.

Carnegie walks us through a list of time-tested rules/ideas/guidelines to help us stop our greatest enemy, worry. When you have gone through this list, you'll realize that this is nothing novel and everyone before us have been trying to tell us the same thing! However, the uniqueness in his book is that he shows us the examples from real people who have been able to put some of these techniques in order to conquer their worries.

intro

leadership gravitates towards those who can stand up and speak what they are thinking

live in "day-tight compartments"

Thomas Carlyle: our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand
today's bread is the only kind of bread you can possibly eat. By all means prepare for tomorrow, but don't have anxiety about it
anyone can do their job or handle their responsibilities for one day
everyday is a new life to a wise man

a magic formula for solving worry situations

3-step solution to come out of worry and anxiety: (Carrier formula)
- Step1: imagine the worst that could happen
- Step2: reconcile with the worst case
- Step3: calmly start working towards solutions

what worry may do to you

people who don't know how to fight worry, die young
you don't get stomach ulcers from you eat, but from what's eating you

how to analyse and solve worry problems

six honest men: what, when, why, how, where and who - Rudyard Kipling
basic steps in problem analysis
- get the facts
- analyze the facts
- come to a decision and then act on it
confusion is the chief cause of worry
if one gathers all the facts in an objective way, the problem usually solves itself!
it is hard to collect facts when our emotions are running high due to worry. So, do this:
- think that you are collecting these facts for another person
- now pretend that you are a lawyer trying to bring you down and collect all facts against you
a problem well stated is problem half solved
but once the decision has been made, don't self-doubt

how to eliminate 50% of your business worries

answer these questions:
- what is the problem?
- what is its cause?
- what are all the possible solutions?
- what solution do you recommend?

how to crowd worry out of your mind

keeping yourself busy can drive out anxiety
remember: idle mind is devil's workshop!
worried person must lose himself in action, lest be wither in despair

don't let the beetles get you down

we often face the most difficult hardships with extreme courage, but always let us down due to silly trifles!
only few of us are greatly wronged. It is the small hurt to our ego which lead to fights and murders
a giant tree withstands centuries of avalanche and storms, only to be brought down due to incessant attacks by tiny insects and beetles!
don't dwell on trifles. Life is too short to be little.

a law that will outlaw many of your worries

most of our worries are due to imagination
when you find yourself worrying about some possibility ask yourself, what's the chance of it happening

co-operate with the inevitable

it is so. It can't be otherwise
when unpleasant things happen to us, we can either accept them and adjust ourselves or live a life of rebellion
acceptance of what has happened is the first step towards overcoming the consequences of a misfortune
circumstances alone do not make us happy or unhappy, but our reactions.
it's only miserable of we cannot endure our circumstances
this doesn't mean we should shy away from adversities! It means when we have a chance a fighting back we must.
when I can't handle events, I let them handle themselves - Ford

put a "stop-loss" order on your worries

just like we put a stop-loss order on the purchased shares to minimize loss, we should do the same on our worries, impatience, etc.
things happen, but we shouldn't be paying them back at the cost of our peace of mind.
most of our miseries are due to the false estimates we have on things
when you find yourself worrying too much, ask yourself:
- what is it worth to me
- at what price should I put a stop-loss order on it
- have I already paid enough

don't try to saw sawdust

there's only one way to benefit from our past, ie to calmly analyze it for any mistakes, benefit from it and forget it!
don't cry over spilt milk!
- all the fuss and cry in the world will not bring back that milk
- we can only try to avoid trying to get it spilt the next time
let the past bury it's dead

eight words that can transform your life

our mental attitude is the X factor that determines our fate
thus out biggest problem is choosing the right thoughts!
our life is what our thoughts make it
we need to b concerned about our problems, not worried
Our mental thoughts can also affect our physical powers
nothing can bring you peace but yourself
think and act cheerfully and you will fell cheerful

high cost of getting even

we don't have to be saintly and love our enemies. But atleast, for our own health's sake, let us forgive them and forget them
a man is a fool who can't be angry, but a man is wise who won't be angry
no one or thing can humiliate or disturb us, unless we let them
one way to not hate our attackers is to have mission much bigger than ourselves and be completely involved towards it

if you do this, you'll never worry about ingratitude

an angry man is always full of poison
it is natural for man to forget to be grateful
the biggest mistake we make is to expect gratitude in return to our supposed good deeds
both gratitude and love can't be demanded
ingratitude is our nature. So, gratitude as a quality needs to be cultivated from an early age
our children will become what we make them to be
if we want our children to be grateful, then we should be grateful

Would You Take A Million Dollars For What You Have?

~90% of things in our lives are right. So, if you want to be worry-free, then concentrate on these
think and thank: think of all things you are grateful if and thank God for them
we seldom think of what we have but what we lack
Count your blessings not your troubles

Find Yourself And Be Yourself: Remember There Is No One Else on Earth Like You

we bring a lot of misery upon ourselves by trying to fit in someone else's shoes
you won't get far by playing ape

if you have a lemon, make lemonade

one of humanity's greatest powers is to turn a minus into a plus
a superior man not only bears up under necessity, but loves it
anybody can capitalise on their gains. The real challenge is in turning our loses into profit.
our infirmities help us unexpectedly

how to cure melancholy in 14 days

the cure is simple: everyday try to think how to make someone happy
doing so helps to take off the focus on ourselves
when you're good to others, you are best to yourself

how my mother and father conquered worry

Man is made not to understand life, but to live it
sovereign cure for worry is religious faith
faith is one of the forces by which man lives. thus an absence of it leads to a total collapse
Prayer:
- helps by putting our problems into concrete words
- helps by giving us a feeling that we are not alone
- it is the first action towards fixing our problems

remember that no one ever kicks a dead dog

When you're getting kicking and criticized, it basic means that you're accomplishing something important
vulgar people take huge delight in the faults and follies of great people
unjust criticism is actually a disguised compliment

do this and the criticism can't hurt you

We take the little jibes taken at us, far too seriously!
in the long run, it's pointless to keep scores
if you put your head above the crowd you'll be criticized. So, just learn to ignore unjust criticism

fool things I have done

we ourselves are to be blamed for our misfortunes, no one else
setting up a regular and continued self-analysis process is very helpful in helping us grow
every man is a fool for atleast 5 minutes in a day. Wisdom lies in not exceeding that limit!
opinions of our enemies come closer to the truth than those of ourselves.
if the criticism is genuine and done with honest intentions, no matter who gives them, we need to take them seriously
We are not perfect. So let's ask for unbiased and constructive criticism

how to add one hour a day to our waking life

Fatigue lowers our physical as well as mental resistance.
rest often and always before you get tired

what makes you tired and what you can do about it

mental work alone can't make us tired. Our brains are tireless!
Most of our fatigues are derived from our mental and emotional attitudes
worry, tenseness and emotional upsets are the main reasons behind fatigue of a sedentary worker
eyes consume about a quarter of nervous energies in our body. So, start by relaxing eyes.
don't make an effort to relax, as relaxation is the absence of any effort or tension

how the housewife can avoid fatigue and keep looking young

talking about your worries with someone else can help reduce anxiety
keeping a note of inspiring quotes and referring to them often can give you the much needed lift
quiet your nerves with slow, steady and deep breathing

four good working habits that will prevent fatigue and worry

Keep only the things that are needed for your immediate task on your desk
do things in the order of their importance
when you face a problem solve it then and there if you have all the facts to make the decision. Don't keep putting off making decisions
learn to organize, deputise, delegate and supervise

how to banish the boredom that produces fatigue, worry and resentment

one of the chief causes of fatigue is boredom
boredom causes exhaustion far earlier than the physical activity itself
where you find your interests, you'll also find your energy too
our life is what our thoughts make it

how to keep from worrying about insomnia

worrying about insomnia will be much worse than insomnia itself
every person needs a different amount of sleep. So, it's not worth fretting about this
feeling of security is the first pre-requisite for a sound sleep
Relaxing your body is also helpful to fall asleep

major decision of your life

for youngsters, there are 2 major decisions that'll define the rest of their lives:
- what'll be your vocation
- who'll be the father/mother of your children
a man can succeed at almost anything in which he has unlimited enthusiasm
it's a real pity if all that a person gets out of his work is pay and nothing else
get guidance from your parents, vocational guide, teachers, etc. But at the end, you decide your career based on what you think is interesting for you

70% of all our worries...

Are about money
below are the rules to help you budget your money wisely
keep a ledger of your expenses to know where your money is going
get a tailor-made budget that really fits your needs
learn to spend money wisely
don't increase your headaches with your income
try to build credit for when the case you have to borrow
protect yourself against illness, fire and other exigencies
don't have your life-insurance proceeds paid to your survivors in lumpsum. Instead, arrange for a monthly income of sorts
teach your children a responsible attitude towards money
if necessary, find another source of income
don't ever think of gambling as a way for earning money
if we can't change our financial situation, let's atleast be good to ourselves and don't fret over things that can't be changed