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50 Quotes by Dale Carnegie to inspire you today

01/29/2026 by

Today I’ve curated some inspirational quotes By Dale Carnegie.

Dale Carnegie was an American writer and lecturer, and the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills.

Born into poverty on a farm in Missouri, Dale Carnegie went on to write some of the best self-help books I’ve ever read. His book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” should, in my opinion, be mandatory reading for any young person who wants to succeed in the world. If you haven’t read it yet, then you should.

Anyway, with further ado, here are 50 great quotes by Dale Carnegie, and I hope at least some of them will inspire you.

Quotes by Dale Carnegie (1-10):

Act enthusiastic, and you will be enthusiastic.

Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.

Most of us have far more courage than we ever dreamed we possessed.

The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.

Tell the audience what you’re going to say, say it; then tell them what you’ve said.

Our fatigue is often caused not by work but by worry, frustration, and resentment.

We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.

The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

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Quotes by Dale Carnegie (11-20):

If you want to be enthusiastic, act enthusiastic.

Fear not those who argue, but those who dodge.

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.

Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain – and most fools do.

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.

If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

There is only one way to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it.

Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.

If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.

Today is life; the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.

Quotes by Dale Carnegie (21-30):

Applause is a receipt, not a bill.

Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident.

If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.

The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.

The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.

You never achieve success unless you like what you are doing.

When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.

Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.

You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

Quotes by Dale Carnegie (31-40):

Speakers who talk about what life has taught them never fail to keep the attention of their listeners.

The expression a woman wears on her face is far more important than the clothes she wears on her back.

Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire.

First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.

If only the people who worry about their liabilities would think about the riches they do possess, they would stop worrying.

Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.

Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.

Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success.

There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it.

Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one, it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.

Quotes by Dale Carnegie (41-50):

Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still.

Each nation feels superior to other nations. That breeds patriotism – and wars.

The royal road to a man’s heart is to talk to him about the things he treasures most.

Happiness doesn’t depend on any external conditions; it is governed by our mental attitude.

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.

You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.

If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done.

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.

Your purpose is to make your audience see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel what you felt. Relevant detail, couched in concrete, colourful language, is the best way to recreate the incident as it happened and to picture it for the audience.

Phil Sutton

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