When Charles Schwab was addressing the student body at Princeton，he confessed that one of the most important lessons he had ever learned was taught to him by an old German who worked in Schwab’s steel mill.The old German got involved in a hot wartime argument with the other steelworkers，and they tossed him into the river.“When he came into my office，”Mr.Schwab said，“covered with mud and water，I asked him what he had said to the men who had thrown him into the river，and he replied：‘I just laughed.’”
Mr.Schwab declared that he had adopted that old German’s words as his motto：“Just laugh.”
That motto is especially good when you are the victim of unjust criticism.You can answer the man who answers you back，but what can you say to the man who “just laughs”？
Lincoln might have broken under the strain of the Civil War if he hadn’t learned the folly of trying to answer all his savage critics.He finally said：“If I were to try to read，much less to answer，all the attacks made on me，this shop might as well be closed for any other business.I do the very best I know how—thevery best I can；and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.If the end brings me out all right，then what is said against me won’t matter.If the end brings me out wrong，then ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
When you and I are unjustly criticised，let’s remember Rule 2：
Do the very best yon can：and then put up your old umbrella and keep the rain of criticism from running down the back of your neck.
Chapter 51
Fool Things I Have Done
I have a folder in my private filing cabinet marked “FTD”—short for “Fool Things I Have Done”.I put in that folder written records of the fools things I have been guilty of.I sometimes dictate these memos to my secretary，but sometimes they are so personal，so stupid，that I am ashamed to dictate them，so I write them out in longhand.
I can still recall some of the criticisms of Dale Carnegie that I put in my “FTD”folders fifteen years ago.If I had been utterly honest with myself，I would now have a filing cabinet bursting out at the seams with these “FTD”memos.
When I get out my “FTD”folders and re-read the criticisms I have written of myself，they help me deal with the toughest problem I shall ever face：the management of Dale Carnegie.I used to blame my troubles on other people；but as I have grown older—and wiser，I hope—I have realised that I myself，in the last analysis，am to blame for almost all my misfortunes.Lots of people have discovered that，as they grow older.“No one but myself，”said Napoleon at St.Helena，“no one but myself can be blamed for my fall.I have been my own greatest enemy-the cause of my own disastrous fate.”
Let me tell you about a man I know who was an artist when it came to self-appraisal and selfmanagement.His name was H.P.Howell.When the news of his sudden death in the drugstore of the Hotel Ambassador in New York was flashed across the nation on July 31，1944，Wall Street was shocked，for he was a leaderin American finance—chairman of the board of the Commercial National Bank and Trust Company，56Wall Street，and a director of several large corporations.He grew up with little formal education，started out in life clerking in a country store，and later became credit manager for U.S.Steel—and was on his way to position and power.
“For years I have kept an engagement book showing all the appointments I have during the day，”Mr.Howell told me when I asked him to explain the reasons for his success.“My family never makes any plans for me on Saturday night，for the family knows that I devote a part of each Saturday evening to self-examination and a review and appraisal of my work during the week.After dinner I go off by myself，open my engagement book，and think over all the interviews，discussions and meetings that have taken place since Monday morning.I ask myself：‘What mistakes did I make that time？’‘What did I do that was right—and in what way could I have improved my performance？’‘What lessons can I learn from that experience？’I sometimes find that this weekly review makes me very unhappy.Sometimes I am astonished by my own blunders.Of course，as the years have gone by，these blunders have become less frequent.This system of self-analysis，continued year after year，has done more for me than any other one thing I have ever attempted.”
Maybe H.P.Howell borrowed his idea from Ben Franklin.Only Franklin didn’t wait until Saturday night.He gave himself a severe going-over every night.He discovered that he had thirteen serious faults.Here are three of them：wasting time，stewing around over trifles，arguing and contradicting people.Wise old Ben Franklin realised that，unless he eliminated these handicaps，he wasn’t going to get very far.So he battled with one of his shortcomings every day for a week，and kept a record of who had won each day’s slugging match.The next day，he would pick outanother bad habit，put on the gloves，and when the bell rang he would come out of his corner fighting.Franklin kept up this battle with his faults every week for more than two years.
No wonder he became one of the best-loved and mostinfluential men America ever produced！
Elbert Hubbard said：“Every man is a damn fool for at least fiveminutes every day.Wisdom consists in not exceeding that limit.”
The small man flies into a rage over the slightest criticism，but the wise man is eager to learn from those who have censured him and reproved him and “disputed the passage with him”.
