How to Stop Worrying and Start Living [Mass Market Paperback]

Dale Carnegie (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 15, 1990

This book can change your life!

Through Dale Carnegie's six-million-copy bestseller recently revised, millions of people have been helped to overcome the worry hobbit. Dale Carnegie offers a set of practical formulas you can put to work today. In the fast-paced world of the 1990's -- formulas that will last a lifetime!

Discover how to:

• Eliminate fifty percent of business worries immediately
• Reduce financial worries
• Avoid fatigue -- and keep looking you
• Add one hour a day to your waking life

Find yourself and be yourself -- remember there is no one else on earth like you!

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living deals with fundamental emotions and ideas. It is fascinating to read and easy to apply. Let it change and improve you. There's no need to live with worry and anxiety that keep you from enjoying a full, active and happy life!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Those who don't know how to fight worry, die young." This ominous advice begins Dale Carnegie's bestseller, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, an eight-part treatise on the follies of worrying. Like other Carnegie books, this one is packed with good old-fashioned common sense, illustrated with examples drawn from research on historical figures and interviews with business leaders. Somehow, even the most simple advice--such as Carnegie's four-step method of problem solving--is presented in a way that makes you want to write it down and post it on the employee bulletin board. Narrated by the resonant and engaging voice of Andrew McMillan and loaded with relevant real-life examples, this unabridged audiobook maintains interest throughout. (Running time: 10.5 hours, eight cassettes) --Sharon Griggins --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) described himself as a "simple country boy" from Missouri but was also a pioneer of the self-improvement genre. Since the 1936 publication of his first book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, he has touched millions of readers and his classic works continue to impact lives to this day.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Revised edition (September 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671733354
• ISBN-13: 978-0671733353
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (285 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Emotions
  • #39 in Books > Self-Help > Stress Management

More About the Author

Dale Breckenridge Carnegie (originally Carnagey until 1922 and possibly somewhat later) (November 24, 1888 ??? November 1, 1955) was an American writer and lecturer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking and interpersonal skills. Born in poverty on a farm in Missouri, he was the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, first published in 1936, a massive bestseller that remains popular today. He also wrote a biography of Abraham Lincoln, titled Lincoln the Unknown, as well as several other books.

Carnegie was an early proponent of what is now called responsibility assumption, although this only appears minutely in his written work.[citation needed] One of the core ideas in his books is that it is possible to change other people's behavior by changing one's reaction to them.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#8 in Books > Self-Help

#8 in Kindle eBooks > Business & Investing

#10 in Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#16 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#19 in Books > Business & Investing

#8 in Books > Self-Help

#8 in Kindle eBooks > Business & Investing

#10 in Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#16 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#19 in Books > Business & Investing

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

101 of 103 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book is Like Compound-W for Worry Warts November 11, 2008

By Claire

Format:Paperback

Dale Carnegie wrote some great books back in the 30's and 40's, and this book is one of them- Carnegie fans won't be disappointed.

The writing style is classic Carnegie. To put it simply, the guy just writes like he talks. This makes for a very friendly and easy to understand book, rather like a good friend giving you a piece of advice.

And a lot of advice he gives. The book is divided up into ten sections, each one tackling some aspect of worrying. I could give you a rundown of the topics, but you don't really need me to repeat the table on contents to decide if you want to read the book. Rather, let me just say that book covers just about every major "worry issue" that might be causing a troubled mind, such as your work, your finances, other people's criticisms- and them some.

While there are no earth-shattering, never-before-seen tips in the book, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to recommend it to anyone who is looking to ease their mind a bit. That's because it does a GREAT job of conveying simple wisdom that really make you think good and hard about why you're worrying and if those things are really worth worrying about at all.

In short, its a bestseller because it makes a lot of sense and its advice can do a lot to re-frame your thinking about things. And if you can re-frame your thinking, well, you've about found the best "Compound-W" for worry warts. Readers who enjoyed this book might also enjoy "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World".

154 of 161 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If the principles are so obvious... June 18, 2001

By JRK

Format:Mass Market Paperback

...why doesn't everyone following them? Because that's the biggest knock I've heard regarding this book. Some people are reading each chapter and coming away saying "well that's obvious." Folks, there isn't anything groundbreaking about this book. There isn't some type of genius method of instantly transforming your life around. It was written decades ago but the solid principles still apply today. For example, if you want to add years to your life, take a nap for an hour each day. Carnegie is then going to tell you exactly who did this and how it helped them transform their life. Read this book once, then twice, then a third time and start living these principles. They are simple but effective and they will, as the title implies, help you start living your life.

96 of 100 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars In many ways, just what the doctor ordered April 2, 2006

By Sarah VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

If "How to Win Friends..." was about interpersonal skills, this book is about intrapersonal skills. People have criticized Dale for stating the obvious, but hey, as my mother says, "common sense isn't common." Most of these ideas run counter to human nature's way of responding to conflict and criticism (defensiveness, blame, guilt, self-righteousness, etc). Instead, we are invited to replace these typical responses with non-threatening admissions of having been in the wrong if indeed we were in the wrong or water-off-a-duck's back/unshaken poise if the criticism was unjust, unwarranted, and unreasonable. To be honest, I often haven't thought about things the way Dale states them much less practiced his principles with consistency. Self-improvement in terms of handling my feelings is still a long-term goal of mine. I've made good progress, but I have a ways to go.

I think this book is very good, but I think "How to Win Friends & Influence People" is the better of the two books. Also, Dale can come off as preachy at times. I think he was a wonderful, considerate person with the best of intentions, so I hesitate reproaching this "guru" of emotional intelligence.

I did enjoy listening to stories about personal transformation. People who had hit rock bottom were able to rebound from their falls. John D. Rockefeller turned his life around, much in the style of "Silas Marner," and no longer fretted about losing money. Thanks to his Rockefeller Foundation, countless good causes have had ample funding. I also like the story Dale shares about J. C. Penney. Penney felt that even his intimate loved ones believed the worst about him after he was implicated with the stock market crash of 1929. He became so worried that his health deteriorated.... Then one day he stumbled into a chapel as the choir was singing, "God will take care of you." He recognized the truth of those words and within 20 minutes, snapped out of his despair.

Dale really revered Abraham Lincoln, and so do I, based on Dale's account of him. Abraham Lincoln would select men who disliked him if he thought those men were the best qualified for a given position. Someone asked Lincoln why he would consort with men who freely criticize him. Lincoln responded, "You have more of a feeling of personal resentment than I have. Perhaps I have too little of it. But I never thought it paid." He also said, "A man doesn't have the time to spend half his life in quarrels. If any man ceases to attack me, I never remember the past against him." Wow! Those are the words of an enlightened and secure human being.

I think that my problem has been that I took too personally the criticism of others (both just and unjust). I'm not a vindictive person; however, I hate feeling threatened, and my self-esteem--while it has improved, it is still vulnerable. It was the feeling of self-doubt that I hated--not really the person attacking me. I made the mistake of interchanging a person for his or her mistakes at my expense. If you no longer feel threatened by criticism and believe in yourself and your potential no matter what, then I think forgiveness is easy and natural. Dale warned that we pay too dearly for grudges with our lost peace of mind.

I like how this book among others can give us the tools to completely overhaul our unhelpful (or rather hurtful) ways of thinking about things. "How to Stop Worrying..." revisits platitudes and shows how they are less trite sayings than distilled truths. Turn lemons into lemonade. Count your blessings. Don't cry over spilled milk. He also talked about putting a "stop-loss order" on resentments, having our thoughts work for instead of against us, and how knowledge isn't power until it is applied. Forgive and forget our enemies. No person can humiliate or disturb us; a person really humiliates him/herself when s/he attempts to humiliate others. Or Eleanor Roosevelt's insight that no one can make us feel inferior without our permission. "If possible, no animosity should be felt for anyone." Edith Cabbal: "I realize now that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness toward anyone." "Everynight I forgive everything & everybody." "Forget yourself by becoming interested in others." "Serving others is a sure way to forget our own troubles." "We hurt ourselves with thoughts of revenge." "Sympathy and compassion are the best antidotes to enmity."

The helpful quotes go on and on, and any of the above could become a person's mantra, depending on what issues s/he is working on. Ben Franklin had the great idea of working on one of his eight severest character flaws every week. He would alternate what vice he was trying to eliminate or at least, ameliorate. He would self-reflect upon his improvement or lack thereof. I've decided to imitate good old Ben and try this for myself.

I am grateful for Dale Carnegie and other helpful emotional intelligence gurus (Wayne Dyer, Deepak Choprah, and David Burns come to mind) for spelling out tools for emotional health and personal transformation. We all have great potential. As Dale said, we all live well within our means in terms of intellectual and emotional intelligence. Financially, it's great advice to live within our means, but we pay dearly to do so intellectually or emotionally. Read more ›

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Was Like A Life Preserver... December 22, 2003

By D. Charles

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Tossed to me at a time in my life when I was drowning in my worries. Oh, my worries were real enough, I had good cause to worry! Everyone said so. My husband died suddenly, then my teenage daughter got into drugs, dropped out of school and ran away! I worried so much my hair fell out!! And this went on for several YEARS! In this book I met other people who had good cause to worry, too. Those who shared their life experiences with Dale Carnegie, and gave him their best coping techniques so that he could compile them in a single text. They talked about how they dealt with the fear of war, or illness, or poverty, or lonliness and the worst one of all: despair. I read it over and over. I clung to the stories of people rising above their circumstances and making it through hard times. This book is FILLED with things you can do IMMEDIATELY to improve your life, practical concepts that REALLY WORK. Even though I am in a happier place in life at this time, I thank God for this book and the calm it brought me during my toughest years.