This is my personal experience. I read HTWFAIP when I was in 8th grade. As a young teenager I was a timid person and I placed huge importance on what other people felt about me. As an adult in 40s, I am still timid and never say no. I say yes to everything and I usually get assigned to shitty tasks. I wish I wasn't such a people-pleaser and I wish I had the guts to say no. I attribute my current professional breakdown to reading HTWFAIP which by its very title hopes to be a book through which you can influence others. I wish I did not care so much about what other people thought about me and I wasn't such a back-bone-less people pleaser. I hate "How to Win Friends and Influence People"