How to Stop Worrying and Start Living: Time-Tested Methods for Conquering Worry (Dale Carnegie Books) Paperback – October 5, 2004

As a former Dale Carnegie instructor, I read this book many times and found it to be essential to manage through tough times. There are many useful real-life tips that can fit into almost any situation. I have seen first hand how people have benefitted by reading this book, and many times it is just one idea that they are able to apply toget over an obstacle. Try it!

*A collection of stories that illustrate the human condition.*As applicable today as when it was written. News flash: The human condition has not changed significantly. We have not evolved on an emotional level nearly as much as you might hope.*Inspirational and applicable to modern-day life.*Life-changing, a must-read for every human.*Would make a wonderful high school or college graduation gift.*Effective and easy strategies to substantially decrease worry in your life.*Lifelong value.

This book, in the inner cover it has a copyright of '1944'. As of today this book is 71 Years old. That's crazy...None the less, 90 pages in, I have underlined quite a bit of the book as I make my way through it. I am using "How to stop worrying and start living" as a work book like the author suggested.Most of the advice, is golden if you don't get too caught up in the context. And it seems that some particular advice is re-iterated in another way, to add emphasis. Then on top of this, the author interviewed a ton of people.. and from today's point of view, some of the individuals that the author talked to.. are markers in history. They all did something profound.If your like myself, curious, and trying to improve your lot in life.. especially in today's climate. Everywhere you turn there is a fear monger.. from our own government to, the local associated press. They are trying to sell you "fear" by the truck loads.. Nothing wrong with being informed of the dangers that exist, but it's also very good to have the context of the situation, some hard numbers to go by. Other wise your imagination just runs off with you. And quite frankly I think that's the whole point.What's that famous quote by Rahm Emanuel."You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before."Source: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/rahm_emanuel.htmlQuote basically is getting at the fact, that you don't think at all when your worrying.. your more likely to take action in the heat of the moment and do something stupid, or do something stupid and help someone else out..Anyways, the book offers a lot of sound basic advice. So if your like me and you didn't get a well grounded common sense type of upbringing, no guidance really at all.. because your parents didn't know any better.. and public school is definitely the kind of place you don't get a well grounded common sense education.. this book is worth checking out. Because the truly smart person knows, that there is always something around the next corner, as far as little nuggets of wisdom go. Always something worth learning. Always ways to improve your odds.I'll leave this review with one of my favorite quotes from the book:'I keep six honest serving-men(They taught me all I knew);Their names are What and Why and WhenAnd How and Where and Who.' -Rudyard kiplingIf you find yourself overwhelmed by worry..your mind tends to drift toward the negatives too much. Check this out. Definitely worth the money.

Although the book is dated and the references to men and women are arguably sexist, the advice Dale Carnegie gives is just as relevant today as it was when written in the 50’s. I am a business woman and I dearly loved this book and will be applying its principles. At times it’s laughable given the references but it was written post-WWII so you need to appreciate the context. If you can do that then this book will change your life!

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My husband loves this book.

One of my biggest problems with this book is that I didn't really need it in the first place. I don't worry very much, at least not in the sense that this book addresses. This book is for people who are paralyzed by fear, either due to a destructive mental attitude or some unintended external factors. Since I am generally confident in myself, am mostly concerned with school or other work that I am intrinsically motivated to handle, and have thankfully never had to deal with anything I would call a real tragedy or highly traumatic experience, I don't find myself in the desperate situations that plague the many subjects of "How to Stop Worrying". Similarly, most of the advice on "How to break the Worry Habit Before it Breaks You" (Part 3 of the book) is not particularly useful for me.That being said, for people who do need to stop worrying (as I wish my parents would), Carnegie's advice is mostly sound. True, it's nothing we all haven't heard before (e.g. "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade"; "count your blessings"; etc.), but it's nevertheless worth internalizing and practicing in our daily lives. Some of Carnegie's tips are more practical. When you're faced with a tough decision, he suggests writing out your problem and logically evaluating your options for how to proceed. Carnegie also recommends putting a "stop-loss order on your worries," exercising to alleviate stress, and not expecting gratitude from people, all solid methods to reduce worry and frustration. I found the section on "Six Ways to Prevent Worry and Fatigue and Keep Your Energy and Spirits High" (Part 7) especially useful.Many of Carnegie's suggestions, however, are too abstract and idealized to be useful to highly rational, analytical-type people. (It's worth noting that scientists and engineers seemed to make up a very small percentage of Carnegie's examples; he mostly focused on businessmen and housewives.) For example, Chapter 16, "Find Yourself and Be Yourself" warns against emulating role models, but this is an essential part of the path to success for many great people. Chapter 18 outright claims that one can "cure depression in fourteen days" by simply doing good deeds for other people, which is ridiculous to anyone with even a partial understanding of the complex disease that is depression.But undoubtedly the worst offense is the unrelenting promotion of Christianity (despite some failed attempts to seem liberal and open to all faiths). I was able to ignore these references, chalking them up to the book's age, until I got to Part 5, "The Perfect Way to Conquer Worry". The entire section is literally a sermon proclaiming that the ultimate solution to all of life's misery is to resign all our worries to God and trust His judgement on how things should turn out. What if God is too busy to heal your dying child? What if you're forced to turn to a medical doctor? Or worse, what if you yourself have to take responsibility for your own life? Carnegie even recommends going to church on weekday afternoons to pray, as if the rest of us have nothing better to do. He goes as far as asserting that even people who don't follow the Christian faith are Christians simply by virtue of being decent people. This is both infuriating and absurd. All Christians are supposed to be good people, but not all good people are Christians. After forcing myself to read through the whole section, I quickly lost my patience with the constant Jesus references. If you're already devoutly Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, or are looking to be converted, none of this will be a problem for you. If you fancy yourself the more open-minded, self-reliant type, you've been warned.In the final analysis, this book deserves at least an "okay" rating for offering some sound advice and helping millions of people in the many, many decades since it was written. As much as Carnegie's religious vitriol angered me, I will have to keep some of his more practical suggestions in mind. If nothing else, the book is a quick and easy read, even when rereading and marking up each chapter. If you find yourself worrying frequently or severely, this book is absolutely for you. If you consider yourself more legitimately concerned than irrationally worried, I would recommend turning instead to books on productivity.