Appreciate what you do have more than what you wish you had. Live happily as you can rather than unhappily wishing to live in ways you can't. Though your knowledge and understanding may transcend the temporal, cultural whims; the expression of this insight more skillfully waits for a receptive time. Cultural consensus easily overshadows and disregards deeper truths that best lie hidden until their time arrives. Even when the best direction, swimming against a strong current may only make things worse while waiting for more accommodating times can quickly bring success. Genuine goodness brings an exception to this rule however. It never goes out of style, should never be postponed, subverted, or undervalued.

Respect from the wise and even from the foolish arises from a deep, authentic presence, a true communication from a genuine heart. It easily wins over esteem and recognition as it reveals itself in everything we do—in our words, actions, even in the way we walk and move. It cannot be faked with pompous, arrogant talk or pretentious, phony imitation. Only an honest and true expression of a selfless and skillful compassion attains this level of honor.

The wise put themselves in the background and end up in front. The more talent we have, the more merit we achieve, the more best to hide. The more difficult the challenge, the more demanding the work, the more we should hide our efforts so that they appear natural and spontaneous. Affectation, pretending to be better than we are, or even bragging about real achievements gives a degraded and artificial flavor to even the most admirable accomplishments. Arrogance repels respect while putting ourselves in the background invites it.

Much better to increase the respect of your position than to rely on your occupation for respect. Only artificial self-worth depends on credentials and that dependence just undermines esteem. Instead of worrying about what people think, use that time to increase your skills, excel in your office, perfect your talents. You then become essential to your co-workers and sought after and appreciated by the wise.

Only little known people have little known defects. Everyone has shortcomings, faults, and failings—they comprise our individuality. Only the foolish and craven focus on spreading criticism as a way of trying to build themselves up, of diverting attention away from their own misdeeds, or of making themselves feel better about their own flaws. Their libel, slander, and truthfulness form the sewers of slander and corrupt their own reputations while they degrade society. To gossip, spotlight, and catalog defects creates a contaminated life and a personality without heart.

A good reputation depends more on discretion and not-doing much more than on our actions, words, and successes. Everyone makes mistakes and experiences a multiplicity of failures. The wise hide their mistakes—even from themselves as much as possible—while the foolish focus in, obsess with, and often even brag about them. Not hiding foolish actions and words creates more foolishness than the original mistake. Resist the illusion of comfort in confession, cultivate a healthy forgetfulness, and hide your indiscretions even from your friends.

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.