Everything is real. Everyone has a natural state. Everyone can get there.

Before We Begin

Come sit with me for a moment.

I have lived a long time. I have watched children grow into adults and adults grow into elders. I have seen people with every advantage ruin their lives, and people with nothing build something extraordinary. And after all that watching, I can tell you the one thing I know for certain:

The strongest person in any room is not the loudest, the richest, the tallest, or the one with the most friends. The strongest person in the room is the one who is kind when they could be cruel, honest when they could lie. The one who stays calm when they could explode and brave when they could hide.

That kind of strength does not come from luck or talent. It comes from practice. Small choices, made over and over, day after day, until they become who you are.

This book is about those choices. If I could give you only one rule before you begin, it would be this:

In private, watch your thoughts. With your family, watch your temper. In public, watch your tongue.

The stories inside are old — some of the oldest ever told. They come from a world where gods walked the earth disguised as men, where monkeys carried mountains. A world where a prince gave up a kingdom to honor his father’s word. But the lessons inside those stories are not old at all. They are about your life. About the kid who sits alone at lunch. About the message you almost sent in anger. About the moment you had to choose between the easy thing and the right thing.

Read slowly. One chapter at a time is plenty. Think about what you read. And when a story or a sentence stays with you — when it keeps coming back to your mind later that day or the next morning — pay attention. That is the book talking to you.

Let us begin.

Table of Contents

Part I — Who You Are

1. Who You Are (And Why It Matters)
2. How to Find Your Gift
3. How to Use Your Gift for Others

Part II — The People in Your Life

4. How to Treat Your Parents and Elders
5. How to Treat Your Teachers
6. How to Treat Your Friends
7. How to Treat People You Don’t Know
8. How to Treat People Who Are Unkind to You
9. Courtesy at Home

Part III — How to Communicate

10. How to Speak
11. How to Listen
12. Conversation: The Art of Talking With People
13. How to Write a Letter, Email, or Message
14. How to Behave Online

Part IV — How to Conduct Yourself in Public

15. How to Behave at Meals
16. How to Behave at School
17. How to Behave at Work
18. How to Behave in the Street
19. How to Behave When Visiting Someone’s Home
20. How to Behave in Places of Worship
21. How to Behave at Parties and Celebrations
22. How to Behave at Weddings and Ceremonies
23. How to Behave at Places of Entertainment
24. How to Behave When Traveling

Part V — How to Present Yourself

25. How to Dress and Present Yourself
26. How to Take Care of Your Body
27. Exercise, Play, and Physical Culture

Part VI — Character

28. How to Handle Money and Possessions
29. How to Handle Success
30. How to Handle Failure
31. How to Handle Anger
32. How to Be Brave
33. How to Be Honest
34. How to Be Grateful
35. True Politeness: What It Really Means

Part VII — The Last Thing

36. Before You Go

Appendix

Rules for Good Conduct