The first product of self-knowledge is humility," Flannery O'Connor once said. This is how we fight the ego, by really knowing ourselves.

Para parafrasear a Epicuro, quienes tienen ideas narcisistas viven en una “ciudad sin muros”. Nuestro frágil sentido del yo está bajo constante amenaza. Las ilusiones, los logros, eso no sirve de defensa. No cuando tenemos esa sensible antena especial entrenada para recibir (y crear) las señales que desafían nuestro precario balance.Es una miserable manera de vivir.

Find canvases for other people to paint on. Clear the path for the people above you and you will eventually create a path for yourself. Greatness comes from humble beginnings; it comes from grunt work. It means you’re the least important person in the room - until you change that with results.

Our own path, whatever we aspire to, will in some ways be defined by the amount of nonsense we are willing to deal with. It doesn’t matter how talented you are, how great your connections are, how much money you have. When you want to do something - something big and important and meaningful - you will be subjected to treatment ranging from indifference to outright sabotage.Those who have subdued their ego understand that it doens’t degrade you when others treat you poorly; it degrades them.

Pride takes a minor accomplishment and makes it feel like a major one. From the start, it drives a wedge between the possessor and reality, subtly and not so subtly changing her perceptions of what something is and what it isn't. It is these steering opinions, only loosely secured by fact or accomplishment, that send us careering toward delusion or worse.

Is that to say that managing your image isn't important? Of course not. Early in your career, you'll notice that you jump on every opportunity to do so. As you become more accomplished, you'll realize that so much of it is a distraction from your work - time spent with reporters, with awards, and with marketing are time away from what you really care about. Who has time to look at a picture of himself? What's the point?

Leaders like Belichick and Merkel know that steak is what wins games and moves nations forward. Sizzle, on the other hand, makes it harder to make the right decisions.

The only real failure is abandoning your principles. Killing what you love because you can't bear to part from it is selfish and stupid. If your reputation can't absorb a few blows, it wasn't worth anything in the first place.

The question to ask, when you feel pride, then, is this: What am I missing right now that a more humble person might see? What am I avoiding, or running from, with my bluster, franticness, and embellishments? It is far better to ask and answer these questions now, with the stakes still low, than it will be later.