Real-life stories interlace with advice about effective social strategies in Dale Carnegie’s classic self-help book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” The timeless fundamentals in this book have been helping readers succeed in the workplace and at home for three-quarters of a century. Carnegie supports his principles by detailing the lives and achievements of both famous figures and the average person. Even if you already have a lot of friends, Carnegie’s advice can help you expand your network. This guidance can also help if you are facing demotion at work or want to improve workers’ opinions of you as a manager.

Accommodating others’ needs and desires ranks highly among the book’s teachings. Carnegie further stresses humility and tact as appropriate methods of gaining favor and turning acquaintances into friends. Before writing this book, he had tested his methods personally and taught them to professionals in his courses. He noticed that knowledge and skills could only get you so far, but influence can carry you to the top. These skills are what made big names, such as Thomas Edison, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Clark Gable, as successful as they were. If you have the desire, explains the author, then you can follow in the footsteps of the greats.

Carnegie recommends that everyone re-read each chapter at least once while progressing through the lessons. He also suggests making a game out of the learning process to help you put the principles into practice. Some readers have adopted a buddy system, which the author details in the book. If you commit these 30 principles to heart, Carnegie promises that you can start to make better decisions and improve all your relationships. Generations of readers have changed the world for the better because of this guidance, and so can you.