The Dale Carnegie Course

So you might ask, "What is the number one most effective thing I can do to jumpstart my career as a Young Leader?" To this I can unequivocally say, "Take the Dale Carnegie Course, it will change your life forever!"

How can I make such a bold statement? Because I know it works. OK first off. This you need to understand that is not an "easy fix". It is not a magic pill. And you can't treat this course like an average lecture, taking notes and expecting to "pass the exam". It is a course that you can get as much out of as you put into it. My instructor likened it to "filling your pockets with sand, in which after the 12 weeks, they will transform into priceless jewels."

OK, one more caveat. This course is pretty expensive (about $1400 when I took it 4 years ago). Though, if you are currently working, most probably your employer would be more than happy to pay for or at least subsidize the tuition. The course also counts for something like 3 "continuing education" credits. I'm not 100% what that means, though I think it might be transferable to college credits.

So again why is the Dale Carnegie Course so great? (or Are you getting kickbacks for referrals? - No I am not getting referral kickbacks from the Dale Carnegie people, though I wish I could because so many of my friends and family that I told about the course have now taken it). In short, the Dale Carnegie Course is a tool for bringing about a paradigm shift. I would call it the shift from being task oriented or self oriented to becoming people oriented and ultimately towards being a LEADER.

If you find yourself tending to be shy, this course will help support you and gain the confidence to shine. If you need help with public speaking, this course forces you (in a nice way) to give speeches every class. If you need help "connecting" with people and working on those "soft skills" the Dale Carnegie course puts a number of tools at your disposal. And perhaps the reason why the course is so successful, is that it makes use of the power of positive peer pressure.

The course creates an air of positive energy that is contagious. Every week, your fellow classmates will motivate you to set high goals for your personal achievement and smash through them. By the end of the course you will have made 20 or so new close friends. It is not uncommon for people to reveal a lot of pent up emotions and a lot about themselves as they go through their "transformation". In my class we had a state trooper who wanted to be less "emotionally retarded. He started out very gruff and matter a fact, but near the end of the course he was standing at the front of the class in tears as he recounted a personal story.

Compared to the other numerous "leadership seminars" which merely throw different tools at you, the Dale Carnegie Course is 12 weeks of "personal transformation". Sure, you can still read the books by Dale Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People and Stop Worrying and Start Living (which I also highly recommend), and any of the multitude of books on leadership to get the tools you need to be an effective leader. However, it is infinitely more difficult to bring about the change on your own.

So, please please please take this course if you can! And if not, check the books out and make it a goal to take the course when you can.

-Jason