Dale Carnegie Still Sells

(Published in Banking Services Chronicle February 2004)

In a world of unshiftable deadlines, cutthroat competition and burning ambition, what is it that leads to success? Times have changed and so, one is led to believe, the success mantras must have changed. Interestingly (or rather boringly), however, the basic mantras do not change.

That the recipe for success remains the same is evident if you read the various how-to books. No wonder Dale Carnegie still sells. Because when you read Shiv Khera, who is much removed from Dale both in terms of place and time, you realise that the more things change, the more they remain the same. You feel as if you have revisited Carnegie.

Go through the biography of any two great persons and you will find most of their basic values common. Though the comparison may seem absurd, I dare say Akbar the Great practised the same virtues as film actor Manoj Bajpai. So let us learn from the five basic mantras Bajpai gives to us:

1. Hard work: How often have you envied the achievements of the man next door? And then maybe even cursed for not being as blessed as he. “You know what, there is something called luck. If Lady Luck smiles, even a pauper can become a prince.” You thought there was some power inimical to you, jealous of your progress, unwilling to grant you success.

The next time you get such feelings, just try to ponder over the difference between your efforts and your neighbour’s. More often than not, you will realise that you slept or laughed away your time. While your neighbour burnt the proverbial midnight oil.

2. Honour your commitments: “Commitment” is a word that should not be used loosely. Take your time to decide whether you are committed. This applies as much in your relationship with a person as with an idea. Or, with an assignment. As Bajpai advises: “Don’ take more work than you can possibly handle.”

If there is a surfeit of assignments, you are bound to fail. Imagine the plight of a lad at Sahitya Sehwas Apartments if he had decided to pursue a number of sports. He might have been a golfer, a shooter, an athlete, a footballer, a cricketer—all rolled into one and with the adjective “ordinary” before each of these. But he just could not have become what he is today—cricket genius master blaster Sachin Tendulkar.

There is a Hindi proverb which says: “Eke saadhay sab sadhe, sab saadhe sab jahi.” That is, if you concentrate on one thing, you will get everything. But if you decide to get everything, you will get nothing.

3. Never say die: Life is not a 100m race. Or even 400m for that matter. So don’t get upset if you are not among the forerunners in the first lap of the race. It is a marathon where stamina matters more than speed. Had Amitabh Bachchan left Bollywood, upset at his failures, before Zanjeer came his way, he would never have become the Big B—the star that we honour, admire, even revere.

4. Honesty: Honesty is the best policy. I can already see the sneer on your faces. You think the statement has lost its relevance. But if you think so, you are mistaken. If you are not honest to the world, you will be dishonest to yourself also. And this can lead you to severe trouble.

5. Be nice: All your success goes in vain if you are not nice. You lose the respect that you have earned so hard. But, more than that, it is difficult to get success without being nice. Because most of the jobs today involve inter-personal relationships.

So if you want to get success, follow the age-old values. They have not failed the successful persons of the past and the present. They shall not fail the successful persons of the future. Don’t you want to be one of them?