Winning Friends Cheat Code #1: Don't criticize, condemn, or complain

Look, your friend just messed up your group project.

Again.

Most kids would do this: "UGH you ALWAYS forget! This is SO typical of you!"

Smart kids?

They do something completely different.

Here's what actually happened in 1931:

Dale Carnegie was teaching adults how to deal with people. He told them about a guy who had the meanest dog in the neighborhood.

The dog bit everyone.

Translation: Think of that one kid at school who's always causing drama.

People tried everything:

• Yelling at the owner ❌

• Complaining to parents ❌

• Posting mean stuff ❌

Nothing worked.

Then one person tried something wild.

Instead of complaining, he just... stopped.

He started being nice to the dog owner instead.

Weird, right?

Here's the thing nobody tells you:

Truth: Complaining makes people defend themselves harder.

It's like when your parents criticize your room. Do you suddenly want to clean it?

Nope.

You want to explain why it's NOT that messy.

The pattern Carnegie discovered:

Most people: Criticize → Other person gets defensive → Nothing changes → Everyone's mad

Smart people: Stay quiet about the bad stuff → Find something good to mention → Actually get what they want

Real talk: The kid with the messy dog? Once people stopped criticizing him, he actually WANTED to train his dog better.

Because nobody was attacking him anymore.

Your move: Next time your friend messes up, try this:

Don't say what they did wrong.

Just focus on what you need next.

"Hey, for tomorrow, could you handle the intro slide? You're really good at starting things off."

Watch what happens.

Here's your challenge: Can you go one whole day without complaining about ANYONE? (It's harder than you think!)

Reply and tell me if you made it 👊

Stay tuned for the next cheat code!