Last night was the final session of the Dale Carnegie class, where I was a coach. Since first taking the course in the fall of 2003, I have coached three times. It’s a great way to spend 12 evenings—in the midst of successful people focused on reaching their goals. Dale Carnegie (the man, not the course) was an excellent writer and historian. His biography of Abraham Lincoln is still considered a definitive work. He taught his first class in New York City in 1912. The classes were for businessmen (they were all men then) and were designed to help them with public speaking. In the nearly 100 years since, Carnegie has changed the way the world speaks by moving the concept of “public speaking” from the florid words and pomposity of the nineteenth century to today’s conversational style. He also was one of the founders of what we call the self-help industry today. What a legacy for a writer to leave.
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