1

00:00:00,009 --> 00:00:08,070

How to Win Friends and Influence People

2

00:00:08,079 --> 00:00:13,330

On Saturday morning, April 15, 1865,

3

00:00:13,339 --> 00:00:18,140

Abraham Lincoln lay dying in a hall bedroom of a cheap lodging house

4

00:00:18,149 --> 00:00:20,430

directly across the street from Ford’s Theater,

5

00:00:20,439 --> 00:00:22,180

where Booth had shot him.

6

00:00:22,189 --> 00:00:25,140

As Lincoln lay dying, people said,

7

00:00:25,149 --> 00:00:30,500

“There lies the most perfect ruler of men that the world has ever seen.”

8

00:00:30,509 --> 00:00:35,750

What was the secret of Lincoln’s success in dealing with men?

9

00:00:35,759 --> 00:00:40,450

I studied the life of Abraham Lincoln for ten years,

10

00:00:40,459 --> 00:00:42,970

and devoted all of three years to writing

11

00:00:42,979 --> 00:00:47,340

and rewriting a book entitled Lincoln the Unknown.

12

00:00:47,349 --> 00:00:51,930

I believe I have made as detailed and exhaustive

13

00:00:51,939 --> 00:00:54,230

a study of Lincoln’s personality and home life

14

00:00:54,239 --> 00:00:57,190

as it is possible for any human being to make.

15

00:00:57,199 --> 00:01:01,670

I made a special study of Lincoln’s method of dealing with men.

16

00:01:01,679 --> 00:01:04,300

Did he indulge in criticism?

17

00:01:04,309 --> 00:01:07,910

Oh, yes. He not only criticized

18

00:01:07,919 --> 00:01:11,190

but he wrote letters and poems ridiculing people

19

00:01:11,199 --> 00:01:15,350

and dropped these letters on the country roads where they were sure to be found.

20

00:01:15,359 --> 00:01:20,160

One of these letters aroused resentments that burned for a lifetime.

21

00:01:20,169 --> 00:01:24,100

In the autumn of 1842,

22

00:01:24,109 --> 00:01:28,360

he ridiculed a vain Irish politician by the name of James Shields.

23

00:01:28,369 --> 00:01:33,280

Shields, sensitive and proud, boiled with indignation.

24

00:01:33,289 --> 00:01:36,450

He challenged Lincoln to fight a duel.

25

00:01:36,459 --> 00:01:38,930

Lincoln didn’t want to fight,

26

00:01:38,939 --> 00:01:41,550

but he couldn’t get out of it and save his honor.

27

00:01:41,559 --> 00:01:43,960

On the appointed day,

28

00:01:43,969 --> 00:01:47,010

he and Shields prepared to fight to the death,

29

00:01:47,019 --> 00:01:48,760

but at the last minute,

30

00:01:48,769 --> 00:01:51,160

their seconds interrupted and stopped the duel.

31

00:01:51,169 --> 00:01:57,290

This accident taught Lincoln an invaluable lesson in the art of dealing with people.

32

00:01:57,299 --> 00:02:00,900

Never again did he write an insulting letter.

33

00:02:00,909 --> 00:02:03,640

Never again did he ridicule anyone.

34

00:02:03,649 --> 00:02:05,820

And from that time on,

35

00:02:05,829 --> 00:02:09,220

he almost never criticized anybody for anything.

36

00:02:09,229 --> 00:02:15,780

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

37

00:02:15,789 --> 00:02:21,130

But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.

38

00:02:21,139 --> 00:02:23,130

A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little man.