“No man is an island” is a well-kno

“No man is an island” is a well-known line from John Donne’s Devotion, written more than three hundred years ago. Even now people still agree with him. No one can live a completely isolated life. Without other people, life became empty and sad. We all need friends.For some of us, though making friends is not difficult, feeling shy, we may not want to make the first move. It is also difficult at times to keep the friends we already have.There are many books about friendship, but Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence (影响) People, written in 1936, is the most famous. This “how to” book about getting along with other people became a best-seller. It was later put into 28 languages.Dale Carnegie’s advice (劝告) seems to be simple, but can his advice help you? Do you need to change the way you act? Here is the list of advice from his book.1. Be friendly and polite.Always greet with a smile. Begin with “excuse me” or “would you please”, when you want to ask somebody. Remember to say “thank you” and try to be as helpful as you can.2. Go out of your way to be nice.Find some time to do special things for other people. Making some soup for a sick neighbour may seem like a little thing to you, but it will make your neighbour feel a lot better.3. Remember names.They say that the sweetest music to a person’s ears is the sound of his or her own name.4. Be open-minded.Try to understand other people’s ways and ideas and learn something from them.5. Listen patiently.When someone is talking to you, look at him or her, listen carefully and say something when necessary.