Truth is most often seen, rarely heard. Lies flood our ears but avoid our eyes. Conflicts of interest abound; but, deeply buried, become difficult to see. Psychologists have become highly paid advertising executives playing on our emotions and vulnerabilities. Since we live and act based on our trust in the information we receive, some of the most important skills include testing for exaggeration and falsehood. Information inevitably comes to us tinged by the desires and emotions of the people who share it with us, understanding the intentions of our sources can supersede the content. Maintain more skepticism and caution with those who praise than with those who criticize.

Successes of ability and attainment become insipid when clung to and not forgotten. Conceptual identifications and cultural truisms easily become stale attachments that limit and blinder. The more something is heard, the less importance it holds. Semi-relevant "breaking news" easily overshadows much more important but older accounts. For these reasons, always work on reinventing yourself, your opinions, your fortunes. Like the sun, arise reborn each day, if possible each moment.

Integrity grows from the discipline of warding off extremes. Even the most commendable virtue becomes a vice when it goes too far. If you squeeze an orange too much, the juice becomes bitter. Best to stop before drinking the dregs, expanding a theory ad absurdum, bloating enjoyment to decadence, over-pursuing justice until it becomes injustice, indulging pleasure until it becomes pain, milking a cow until it bleeds.

Envious people—the more polite, the more poisonous—see our good qualities as failings, consider themselves perfect but slander and libel trying to build themselves up. Like lightning striking the highest tree, the more perfect we seem, the more of a target we become for criticism, blame, and backbiting. Sometimes, for these reasons, a little carelessness, neglecting a detail, or permitting an imperfection proves the best strategy.

A wise person benefits more from their enemies than a fool does from their friends. While flattery and friendly kindness ignores our faults and mistaken decisions, ill-will points them out and brings them to our attention. This makes flattery more dangerous than hatred and malevolence a more true mirror than affection. This more clear seeing often solves mountains of difficulties that would otherwise arise from our arrogance, delusions, and unrealistic impressions. Like when catching the handle rather than the blade of a knife thrust at us, we can use the threat to increase our caution, our insight, and our integrity.

The more exceptional your success, the more important to hide it. The more light a torch gives out, the quicker it burns away. The more diverse and accomplished the skills and the more success; the more envy, competition, and ill-will engendered. Many believe that bragging about success and flaunting it brings approval and esteem; but instead, it more often only increases resentment. Avoid the limelight and over-familiarity; avoid the extremes of both jack-of-all-trades and incompetence.

The small-hearted mob finds it much easier to tear those above them down than to improve and raise themselves up. Because much more numerous, this group spawns multiple prying eyes of malice, malicious tongues of slander, and avid ears searching for faults. Seizing on or inventing a small defect, they propagate demeaning nicknames, cultivate rumors, and destroy reputations. Imagined scandals attract much more interest and belief than more mundane and envy-inspiring accomplishments. Easier to prevent than heal, only careful and skillful vigilance avoids these negative consequences.

Born with humanity's lawless nature formed from millions of years hunting, fighting, and killing; only culture raises us above this lawless barbarism. Aggressive violence and self-serving greed helped humans survive in a hostile environment with ferocious animals and neighbors. And though now the environment has radically changed, those same basic human impulses remain. Civilization only arises when these remain in check and culture inspires the means for that accomplishment. Culture defines the person, polishes conversation, and creates a more refined, better world.

Watch carefully over the details of life always avoiding pettiness and elevating your interactions. But take a more tolerant view of others without prying into unpleasant matters. Superficial chattering always annoys and becomes harmful when hovering around unpleasant topics. Often the most wise and skillful response rests in pretending to not notice. Most irritations stay small when not attended to, expand when focused on.

It's easy to see our outer image and qualities but much more important to see clearly our inner selves—our talents, passions, short comings, inclinations, character flaws, intellect, our levels of understanding and wisdom. Without an undistorted view of who and what we really are, we can't improve ourselves, our families, our communities, or the world. By default, most of us fall into the arrogance of self-deception, the distortions of projection, and the delusions of ego-centrism. Forging a mirror that reflects our true qualities requires deeply honest self-reflection, a brave resolve, and careful consideration.

Inner integrity colors our experience, our health, even our bodies. Holding fast to a strong strength of purpose filled with virtue, honesty, and wisdom sustains longevity and supports a full and rewarding life. In a similar but opposite way, vice becomes its own punishment undermining health and shortening our years. Foolish, corrupt, and selfish action destroys our sense of purpose and hastens the death of both body and spirit.

Often the most well thought-out plans fail, the most inner-vetted decisions turn out badly. But they do extremely well compared to ventures undertaken with doubt and uncertainty. Better to forgo projects when doubts stay high, when the path forward unclear, when judgment wavers. If you have deep doubts about success, rivals and others who watch you will quickly turn the fear of failure into a conclusion. Therefore never start a new venture when reason and intuition don't confirm the choice.

Passion and variety spice up, deepen, and enrich life. Cultivated skills, taste, and intellect create a microcosm of nature herself that brings delight, passion, and success. By recognizing opportunities, solutions, and practicability; one person can accomplish as much as many. And this person's enthusiasm, inspiration, and appreciation spreads and influences many others giving them an accessible energy and a more vivid sense of meaningfulness.

Cleverness seduces us with quick rewards and easier successes. But these remain vulnerable and easily reverse. Wisdom takes a slower, more thoughtful, but stronger and more deeply rooted approach. Even a small amount of genuine wisdom goes much further than a deluge of clever but superficial exploits. This understanding extends to all of our words, thoughts, and deeds and—although it doesn't often entice immediate applause—it wins approval from the wise which is the true benchmark of genuine success.

Never let the world plumb your depths. The world disregards and diminishes the clearly known but projects much more than the reality on the implied, on the unknown, and the mysterious. Let people see the surface but not the inner core, the results but not the causes, the accomplishments but never the full capacity, the extent of your skills, or the depths of your insight and wisdom. Much more admiration arises when people have to guess the extent of your skill no matter how great the reality.

One of the great arts of managing people involves keeping expectations alive without letting them devolve into disappointment. With too little expectation, people lose inspiration and get lazy. With too much, they become disillusioned and get lazy for that reason. By finding a middle ground between these two extremes, leaders keep motivation high, discouragement low. Instead of contributing too much, too soon; spread out the acknowledgment of accomplishments and rewards in small increments over a longer period of time. For every success, keep a vision of further success clear.

Under the surface of our prejudice, our culturally-influenced opinions, confused conclusions, and false beliefs; we have a wise voice of reason, an intuitive clarity, an accurate psychological awareness. Without listening to this—even with impressive qualities, intelligence, and skills—our decisions undermine our goals. Nothing else lacking in our character has so many unfortunate consequences. With an egoless attention to this inner voice of reason, all the activities of our lives become more satisfying, more truthful, and more successful.

Achieving and maintaining a good reputation has a difficult and high cost because a genuine one only arises from exceptional qualities which are as rare as mediocre traits are common. Borrowed from fame, it develops not from egotistic striving but instead from merging with innate wisdom. Though possible to fake, only a well-founded reputation based on substance endures. This kind of recognition comes with high expectations and demands but also confers influence and opportunity.

The most practical skills involve disguising intentions. Imitate the inky cuttlefish to hide your cards, to keep your passions unknown, to conceal even your tastes. The more obvious your goals, the more easily rivals can subvert them or use them to manipulate. Defend your aspirations by balancing caution and reserve against malicious curiosity and competition. This helps avoid both backbiting and flattery.

Few see deeper than the surface of people, events, and procedures. Good acting and marketing normally claim a much larger influence than the realities. Skillful illusions often change attitudes and actions much more quickly and effectively than the truth. For this reason, reality needs support. It is not enough to be right and have integrity, it must also look that way.