An authentic charisma gives life to thoughts, words, and actions. More innate than arising from effort or education, it gives meaningfulness to work, heart to speech, and inspiration to understanding. Without it, even beauty becomes shallow and the most refined manners seem empty. It deflects embarrassment, quickens success, multiplies majesty, fulfills confidence, and increases perfection itself.

The source of generosity, heroic inspiration, and genuine virtue; a high-minded inner character elevates the mind, improves taste, ennobles the heart, and inspires courageous attainments. When the bitterness of fate brings defeat and failure, this spirit evades discouragement and holds onto an undiminished confidence. Envied even by bad luck, it brings dignity and resolve to breakdowns, embarrassments, and setbacks.

Though a feeling of complaint often arises of it's own without forethought or choice, the expression of that complaint seldom helps, normally only makes situations worse. In unexpected but consistent ways, complaining draws attention to our faults and discredits our reputation. Our complaints don't dissuade but—like advertisements—encourage our listeners to act in the ways we're complaining about. Instead, advertise the words and actions that create benefit. Praise people who support us to people who don't. Recount the good deeds done for us and the favors we owe those absent to those present. This encourages them to follow those examples and wins more support and favor.

Few see things clearly, as they are. Most become easily duped by external and superficial appearances. Deceit rules, frauds proliferate, advertisers brainwash, and delusion sways more than truth. Without attention to our image however; to the presentation of our abilities and accomplishments, little is gained or influenced. The invisible and the non-existent share a similar regard. To achieve and accomplish and to be positively seen achieving and accomplishing doubles or triples the impact.

We seldom meet someone with a deep and genuine integrity. When we do, however, it inspires high-mindedness, noble words, courageous action. This quality shines brightest when an opportunity for revenge arises and the impulse is not only rejected but also inspires unexpected generosity. It speaks well of enemies, does not exaggerate or pretend, makes no pretense of victory, and conceals its merits.

Before acting, take a deep, second look at your decisions exposing them to your inner court of reflection. This lets more information filter in giving more confidence for choices without much clarity. It injects time for more verification and proof. It instills more appreciation for gifts that become more valued because more well-considered. The longer anticipated, the more highly appreciated. When you have to communicate a denial, a rejection, a disapproval; more time allows emotions to dissipate, a better time and place to emerge, and more possibilities for softly saying no and arousing less bitterness. The more pressed for an answer, the more beneficial a delay.

Politicians preach conformity and a preference for being with the status quo over being right. They say people see solitary wisdom as a kind of folly, that it's better to be deluded with the crowd rather than clear-seeing alone, that we have to live with other people and they are mainly ignorant, that ignorance comprises the greatest wisdom, or at least the pretense of it. The truly wise prefer the opposite: better sane with the rest of the sane, wise with the rest of the wise than insane alone, a fool by ourselves.

Mutability permeates all of life, everything changes, nothing stays the same—so don't count on current successes or advantages to continue. Prepare for the unexpected, double your resources, never depend on only one system of support. As nature duplicates essential body parts—eyes, hands, arms, legs, ears, feet—reserve extra quantities of natural resources, insight, goodwill, personal qualities—all the essentials for success, esteem, profit, and happiness.

Intelligence sees the flaws most miss. It understands the problems and shortcomings in the most popular and enthusiastic endeavors, ideas, and personalities. The uncensored pointing out of these failings, however, only displays a foolish ignorance. It turns allies into enemies, pleasant conversations into contentious skirmishes, smooth-running projects into resentment-generating disasters. Keeping insight into unacknowledged issues private increases skillfulness while too freely expressing them undermines success.

Become your own universal friend, stop needing to become dependent on anyone else, and achieve the highest happiness. Be like Stilpon who—after he lost all his wealth, his wife, and children in a fire—remarked, 'Now I have all my possessions with me.' Like Cato who represented all of Rome, represent the rest of the world. Those who can happily live alone stop resembling a wild beast in any way and start looking like a sage in every way.

Emotional hurricanes in private, business, and political life tend to seduce our attention and provoke self-defeating action. Often, the more we try to solve problems, the worse they become. Like a doctor pressured to but not prescribing a medicine, the wise hold themselves back. The greatest skill paradoxically becomes not doing. Small disturbances muddy a pond and only inaction, disengagement lets the water clear, lets emotions run their course, the storms of passion settle. Strategic withdrawal today may represent the best way for success tomorrow.

The best plans undertaken at the wrong times fail. Beauty has its day; even wisdom fails when applied too early or too late, when it does too much or too little. This is why for most, nothing ever seems to work out well and others always seem to have the best luck. When the time is ripe, insight shines, lucky stars rise, and success becomes effortless. At such times, don't waste a moment or lose the smallest opportunity; seize the day. To discover these creative moments, take small steps to test the response and watch carefully. If roadblocks and unexpected problems quickly arise, quickly withdraw. If instead unanticipated good fortune appears, advance with haste.

Almost everything includes a list of both positive and negative qualities. Some immediately focus on the good points, others the bad ones. Have good taste and become more like the honeybee that immediately goes toward the sweet; not like the poisonous snake that at once goes for its venom. Many fixate on the one defect out of a thousand good qualities and fill up their sad lives with complaint, criticism, and blame. Much better to experience life with the opposite approach—finding and developing the one good quality out of a thousand bad ones.

Seductive details easily capture our attention and distract us from what's important. Most people endlessly rehash unimportant trivialities, see the trees but not the forest, the leaves but not the roots, and then have no time for the important priorities. Instead, focus on the cause instead of getting side-tracked by the symptoms. Immediately go to the heart of the issue instead of getting confused by the surface appearance. Distinguish clearly between issues best left alone and ones important to prioritize.

Self-satisfaction only leads to contempt. Unlike genuine confidence, conceit always looks for applause, for constant approval, for a flattering “Bravo!” after every word. Always only listening to themselves, the arrogant and vain speak with an echo only hearing themselves, ignoring those around them. Infatuated with themselves, they try to monopolize all the credit but only increase their debt. They may fool the foolish but only receive disdain from the wise.

Many tend to automatically take the other side of an opponent or an adversary's opinions—even when it's clear the rivals are in the right. This means losing before beginning. It's almost impossible to find success without good resources. Doing this in words has less detrimental consequence but doing it in action can bring catastrophe. The obstinate and stubborn often make this mistake when they contradict and quarrel with the truth for misguided personal gain. The wise hold fast to reason instead of passion, either focus on finding the best way first or on improving it later if someone else does. This way they lead their foolish competitors into making and letting their own obstinacy undermine their strength.

Like a horse rider staying in the saddle in spite of intense bumps and twists, don't let sensationalism seduce you. Never promote the sensational in order to not seem trite. At first, it may gain attention from its novelty or outrageousness but soon the deceit becomes known and the promoter only looks foolish. Both of these extremes—adherence to only status quo conformity and enthusiastic excitement about outrageous propositions—only bring disgrace. Enthusiasm based on uncertainty is like building on sand instead of a firm foundation. Instead, the wise always align their undertakings with the reasonable and sure. They don't sacrifice their integrity for short-term and unfounded attention.

Especially when in uncertain or dangerous territory, only advance under cover. Find the goals of others that align with your own so that helping them without notice also advances your own plans. This provides an unseen advantage that continues after initial goals are met. While helping others, you more effectively further your own ends by avoiding the skepticism that would arise if it looked like you were only working for yourself. This disguised intent easily evades the resistance of the skeptical and those who always at first say "no." [Chapter 13 expands on this maxim and chapter 193 warns against others taking this approach.]

Do not show your wounded finger, for everything will knock up against it. The wise never confess to being hit. If you wish the one to cease and the other to endure, never disclose the source of pain or of joy. Complaining only makes us into a target for malice to shoot against because ill will searches for wounds to inflame. The wise hide harmful events and experiences—personal, biological, business—never nurturing with attention and talk memories best forgotten.

Lies always come first and drag the foolish into webs of hazardous pitfalls. Deceit normally manipulates the surface and so easily lures in the superficial. The wise, however, wait for the truth's slow emergence. It lives beneath the surface distorting the truth and making things often much different from what they seem. The wise remember that duplicity normally comes first and let one of their inner ears hear the presentation and patiently reserve a second ear for the truth's slow emergence. [cf. #13]