How To Put Yourself Over

"One of my wife's cousins once paid us a short visit. I didn't have much time to spend with her, but after she had gone I said to Mrs. Carnegie, "What makes that woman so charming?" "I'll tell you," my wife said, "if you really want to know. She got you to talk about yourself." I realized it immediately. This cousin had asked me about my interest in Lincoln. I began to tell her about it. Her questions were skillful. I talked one evening until amost midnight. I had a chance to shine. She seemed so intelligent and receptive that I thought she was wonderful. What she did was observe one of the first principles of putting yourself over with other people. She showed an interest in one of my interests so she made a good impression on me."

Good Reading Rack Service, 1958

How Your Newspaper Fights For Your Right To Know

"The newspaper you read is your friend. It has fought your battles and those of your forebears from the day it was born. You may not know one person employed by it. You may actively disagree with some of its editorial policies. You may abhor some of its writers. But it remains your friend. Why? Because it is engaged in a daily fight to know what's happening in the world in which you live. In its columns it brings you a daily report on the world, the nation, the state, the city, the immediate neighborhood in which you live."

Employee Relations, 1957

One Moment Please

"Inspiring stories from the author's Christopher books which suggest a brief pause in the day's work to bring into our lives the strength and guidance needed to help solve our problems of living."

Good Reading Rack Service, no date

They Were There

"On my rounds as a writer, I get to hear a lot of stories. They start, say, over the cafeteria table: "There goes a guy you'll meet this afternoon. Funny how he came to be with us…" Or, watching the chattering crowd punch out at closing-time, "See that gal in the yellow sweater? One of the best. Well, last spring..." So the stories roll. Over the years one kind of story kept cropping up that fascinated me: how often the fortunate "break" for some man or woman had come just because that individual happed to be there - present, on deck and ready - when Old Man Opportunity knocked at the door. Almost, without realizing it, I started to collect such stories, the way some people save four-leaf clovers. Then friends found out and contributed more stories. Pretty soon I had a regular collection."

Good Reading Rack Service, 1957

The Man Who Delivers The Goods

"Vernon "Lefty" Gomez, stylish lefthander of the New York Yankees during the 30's and early 40's, was asked by a sportswriter at one spring training camp how many games he expected to win during the coming season. "I don't know," the mound ace grinned. "It all depends on how Johnny Murphy's arm holds up." Anyone who has followed baseball for a number of years will have no trouble remembering "Fireman" Johnny Murphy. He was among the first of the great relief pitchers in the Major Leagues, and the forerunner of such late-inning stars as Hugh Casey, Jim Konstanty, Joe Page, Clem Labine, Elroy Face, Don McMahon, Ray Narleski, Don Mossi, Dick Hyde and Ryne Duren. These are the special breed of baseball men who earn a living by their ability to enter a game in a tight situation, choke off a rival's uprising, and preserve the win for their team."

A Help-Your-Self Booklet, 1959

Who Killed The Spirit Of Horatio Alger?

"Talking with a mid-western businessman recently, he asked, reflectively, "What ever happened to the spirit of Horatio Alger?" For those too young to know, Horatio was the most widely read writer of boys' stories who ever lived. Exactly in accord with the temper of the times, his books provided inspiration for countless millions of American youth of the 1870's and 1880's. The popular Alger books pointed a moral, and his heros always triumphed over adversity by dint of great effort. Each story stressed how the innate honesty and other sterling qualities of the hero were instrumental in his reaching the fulfillment of his dreams in this wonderful lan of opportunity."

A Help-Your-Self Booklet, 1960

Making More Jobs

"Out of 65 million people in our total civilian labor force more than 62 million have jobs. In a recent month, average weekly earnings of factory workers were higher than they have been in any previous year. Because of tax reduction, moreover, take-home pay is higher still, and since the cost of living has remained virtually unchanged in the past two years, all of these financial gains represent an increase in purchasing power. Clearly these 62,000,000 are better off."

Good Reading Rack Service, 1954

Good Business Is Everybody's Business

"Life in our America of today is based on business. Business, as we use the term, is the manufacturing, the buying and the selling of goods and services. To one extent or another, every American is in business." 

A Help-Your-Self Booklet, 1960

TEAMWORK Spells Prosperity

"We hear a great deal, these days, about the iron curtain and the bamboo curtain, and about the serious threat these barriers pose to human understanding and world peace. Yet I sometimes wonder if there is not - right here in our own America - a kind of invisible curtain which separates people in business and industry from the farmers of our country, a curtain which poses an equally serious threat to our national growth and prosperity."

Good Reading Rack Service, 1956

The Man With 3 Bosses

"We are living in an age of miracles. They have become so commonplace that if a day passes without producing some new and wonderful accomplishment, we are inclined to worry about it. We wonder if maybe we aren't beginning to slip a little. At this point in the Twentieth Century, we have the miracles of television and nuclear energy andn rockets to the moon. Then there is the even greater miracle of mass production, to which we undoubtedly owe our very survival as a free nation. But now I want to point out to you another miracle. It may seem toyou to be a very minor one but, to my way of thinking, it may prove to be the most significant of them all. And that is the miraculous change which has occurred in the public attitude toward the American businessman - the Man with Three Bosses."

A Help-Your-Self Booklet, 1959

Profits Make More And Better Jobs

"If you'll look up the word profit in Webster's dictionary, you'll find that it comes from the Latin word profectus, meaning progress. At first glance, there doesn't seem to be much connection between profit and progress. But there is a link and it's a vitally important one. In our country and in our free enterprise system, the words should be regarded as practically synonymous. Profit means progress - for everyone."

Good Reading Rack Service, 1960

Are You A Good Ambassador?

"Did you ever stop to think that you are an ambassador for our company? Yes, you and everyone else on the payroll are engaged in our company's public relations program. Everything you do and say, every day, either helps or hurts our company." 

A Help-Your-Self Booklet, 1960

The Genie At Your Command

"You have a genie at your command, scarcely less spectacular than the slave of Aladdin's lamp. You call him into being by flicking a switch…to sweep floors, chill food, cook meals, power gadgets, and run factories. This genie has taken the load off the muscles of man. He has converted muscle power and skill into a capacity to produce th emany wonderful things that make our lives easier and more enjoyable. Without him, they would be a futile dream. This genie is power. His parent is capital and his grandparent is savings."

Good Reading Rack Service, 1953

Putting Public Relations To Work For You

Everybody knows someone like Harry Smith. He's the kind of guy who, at the drop of a hat, can tell you exactly what's wrong with everything - his friends, his wife, his company, even you. He rarely points the finger, though, at himself. It's a safe bet that Harry is an unhappy person. He doesn't get along well with most people. He's not getting ahead on his job fast enough to suit himself. Harry's personal appearance is usually sloppy. His shoes are rarely shined; his shirts and suits aren't usually clean. he often needs a haircut. Though appearance isn't all-important, it does reveal Harry's basic trouble. His whole attitude toward other people is one of "not caring," of self-centeredness.

A Help-Your-Self Booklet, 1959