The sun and wind quarreled about which was stronger. The wind said, “I’ll prove I’m stronger. See that old man down there with the coat? I can get that coat off him quicker than you can.” The sun went behind a cloud and the wind blew until it was almost a tornado. The harder it blew, the tighter the man clutched his coat to him. Finally, the wind calmed down and gave up. The sun came out from behind the clouds and smiled kindly on the old man. He wiped the sweat from his brow and eventually removed his coat. The sun then told the wind that gentleness and friendliness are always stronger than fury and force. 

I heard this fable in the audiobook How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. The principle he was discussing was to begin in a friendly way. If you want to persuade people, starting out in a forceful or argumentative fashion is not as effective as being kind and friendly. I would have saved myself a lot of fighting and stress had I used this principle in my dealings with people over the years. 

A drop of honey gathers more flies than a gallon of gall. –Abraham Lincoln