Best known for his hugely popular book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” (1936), Carnegie taught that a positive attitude is critical for success. His “self-help” philosophy took many forms – lectures, brochures, books, a syndicated newspaper column, a radio show, and worldwide branches of the Dale Carnegie Institute for Effective Speaking and Human Relations. His other books include “Little Known Facts About Well Known People” (1934) and “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” (1948).

Born into poverty on a Missouri farm, Carnegie tried sales and acting and was, surprisingly, unsuccessful at those professions. He found his niche when he began teaching public speaking at the YMCA in New York in 1912. His success as a lecturer led to his pamphlets, which were later developed into books. Carnegie served in the army in World War I and then managed Lowell Thomas’s lecture tour before beginning his own lecture tours. Carnegie was his own best success story, rising from rural poverty to the point where, by the time of his death in 1955, his name was synonymous with self-help and success.