  Cultivate relationships with those who can teach you. Know how to take a hint. Have a reputation for being gracious. Know your strengths. Think things over, especially those that are most important. Never exaggerate.
Use, but do not abuse, cunning. Know how to say, "no. " Do not vacillate. Do not be unapproachable. Do not always be joking. Drain nothing to the dregs, neither good nor bad.
Do not parade your position. The shortest path to greatness is along with others. Have the art of conversation. Get used to the failings of those around you. Find the good in a thing at once. Do not be a bore.
Be able to stomach big slices of luck. Do not wait until you are a setting sun. Make yourself sought after. Do not be the slave of first impressions. Always act as if others are watching. Do not believe, or like, lightly.
Do not make mistakes about character. Be careful in speaking. In all things keep something in reserve. Never contend with someone who has nothing to lose. Do not live in a hurry. Reticence is the seal of capacity.
Do not carry fools on your back. Recognize faults, however highly placed. Be the bearer of praise. Find consolation in all things. Adapt yourself to those around you. Watch out for people who begin with another's concern to end with their own.
Have reasonable views of yourself and of your affairs. Do not waste influence. Words and deeds make the perfect person. Know the great people of your age. Do not turn one blunder into two. Be expressive.
Do not seize occasions to embarrass yourself or others. Do not be inaccessible. Plan out your life wisely. Never let things be seen half-finished. Have original and out-of-the-way views. Do not explain too much.
Do good a little at a time, but often. Never let matter come to a breaking point. Be able to forget. Have no careless days. Set difficult tasks for those under you. Know how to renew your character, both with nature and with art.
Have the gift of discovery. -excerpted from "The Art of Worldly Wisdom" by Baltasar Gracian (1637) urlLink Buy: The Art of Worldly Wisdom 
