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Take Command
Book

Take Command

Find Your Inner Strength, Build Enduring Relationships, and Live the Life You Want

Joe Hart and Michael Crom
Simon & Schuster, 2023
First Edition: 2023
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

In what may be the most powerful self-improvement book of all time, Dale Carnegie published How to Win Friends and Influence People nearly a century ago. He offered simple but profound advice for success at work and in life. Since then, millions have benefited from Carnegie’s guidance on how to improve their ability to relate to others. This update by Joe Hart and Michael Crom, leaders of Dale Carnegie & Associates, brings Carnegie’s simple but profound principles for living to a new generation. Hart and Crom encourage and empower readers to be deliberate and proactive about taking charge of their thoughts, emotions, relationships and future.

Summary

To live well, be proactive about what and how you think.

Consciously choosing your thoughts and attitude is the first step in solving problems. For example, instead of feeling discouraged about a challenge, try to reconsider it and see it as an opportunity to grow.

Pay attention to what you’re thinking. Evolution gave human beings a cognitive inclination called the “negativity bias” – the tendency to think about what could go wrong. Instead of giving in to negativity, think about the ways you react to your thoughts. See if you can interpret a negative perception in a more helpful or positive way. Focus on your strengths and possible solutions as you guide your thinking away from helplessness.

Treat unproductive thoughts as a cue that you need to behave differently. Take one action in the context of that decision to change your mental path, such as using affirming words to solidify a new line of thinking. To prepare your mind for success, develop routines, “series of growth-oriented practices that lead to the development of a healthy mind-set.” Routines help you live intentionally. Their benefits include...

About the Authors

Joe Hart is president and CEO of Dale Carnegie & Associates where Michael Crom is a member of the board.

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