Don’t Forget the Classics

I don’t know anything about cars, but I do know that when you see an old car, you stop and admire it. There’s just something amazing about seeing a classic car that someone has taken care of or restored. If you are in a group of people, you know someone is going to say, “They just don’t make them like that anymore”.  I can’t explain it, but no matter how old you are, everyone loves looking back at the good old days. That’s what led me to this week’s article. Most people know that I read a lot of books, listen to podcasts, and watch YouTube videos. It all started probably thirteen or fourteen years ago. I was stuck and I needed to figure out a way to get moving again. Around that same time, I heard someone say that if a person with a degree does nothing else to further themselves and a person with no education keeps improving, then the person with no education can pass the other person. The easiest way for someone to keep improving is to read books. So, my journey started. When I started, I didn’t have a game plan, I just looked at a book and if it sounded interesting, I would read it. It was a very slow plan, with a lot of stopping and starting. It also meant that a lot of well-known books from a long time ago I never really paid attention to. So, back in March, I told myself that I was going to start reading a few books that I’ve have been hearing about for years, these books were what I would call the classics. These were the books that now when I watch a YouTube video, they are on the list of must-read books. I decided to start with “How to Win Friends and Influence People. Almost everyone has heard of it, but I haven’t come across anyone who has read it. When I started I had very little expectations. While I was reading the book I noticed something interesting. I’m not sure  this book was written for people who are currently doing well, I think it was written for either a young person or a person who is struggling. The other interesting part about this book, even though it should be obvious by the title, was the emphasis on people. My biggest complaint about most work areas these days is the lack of focus on people. Here is a classic book that does nothing but talk about how to be successful, no matter what, just by focusing on people. One of the principles that the book mentions is that you need to become genuinely interested in other people. He says that you make more friends in two months by becoming interested in people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you. We all know that someone who talks about themselves way too much, but they can’t figure out why something isn’t working. It’s hard to find a way to tell them they talk too much about themselves, so would this small phrase work in a way that they would understand? There was a section in the book about arguing with people that I found amazing. He talked about how hard we fight to show someone that they are wrong. He showed how we go out of our way to almost embarrass someone, just to show they were wrong. If you truly care about a person’s success, why are you belittling them all the time? It’s hard because deep down we feel like we always must prove that we are right, even if it means hurting someone else. Later, he talks about being a good listener. I think that is so easy to say, but very hard to do. The more you listen to others, the more willing they will be to listen to you. That is something that usually takes years to learn. I’ve known a few bosses who do an excellent job of learning other people and their interests, this book emphasizes that a lot. It also talks about making other people feel important. I really liked that part! It seems like what I have normally seen in the business world is a group of people who makes others feel less so that they feel more. I’ve seen lots of people try it that way, but I’ve never seen it work. Towards the end of the book, he talked about public speaking. He claims that almost any person can speak acceptably in public if they have self-confidence and an idea that is boiling and stewing within. So, if you are passionate and upset enough about something, you will want to speak out about it. But you must have self-confidence to go with that. So, what if you don’t have that? He said that the way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and to get a record of successful experiences behind you. When I hear that I think that small wins will eventually add up. I could go on and on for awhile about this book, but I will stop for now and tell you that I highly recommend this book. Reading it has motivated me to do two things. First, I will be reading another classic book very soon. Second, I went online and ordered four more of these books to hand out to other people. I’m going to start with a young person I know who just graduated from high school. I’m excited to see who gets the other three copies.