Never affect to be other than you are—either richer or wiser. Never be ashamed to say, 'I do not know.' Men will then believe you when you say, 'I do know.'

Never be ashamed to say, whether as applied to time or money, 'I cannot afford it.'—'I cannot afford to waste an hour in the idleness to which you invite me—I cannot afford the guinea you ask me to throw away.'

Learn to say 'No' with decision, 'Yes' with caution; 'No' with decision whenever it resists a temptation; ‘Yes’ with caution whenever it implies a promise. A promise once given is a bond inviolable.

A man is already of consequence in the world when it is known that we can implicitly rely upon him. I have frequently seen in life a person preferred to a long list of applicants for some important charge, which lifts him at once into station and fortune, merely because he has this reputation—that when he says he knows a thing, he knows it, and when he says he will do a thing, he does it.

Tweet

More quotes about:

• character
• reputation