On State and Society:
"There are three dangers in the world: To have many privileges but few virtues is the first danger. To be high in rank but low on ability is the second danger. To receive a large salary without personally accomplishing much is the third danger. So, 'People may gain by loss and may lose by gain.'" There are really more dangers than this, of course. :) But these name three that we may, on first assessment, associate with ease and luxury but that really end up not being good for you. We see these in movies fairly often - they are the sort of "And the moral of the story is..." sort of stories. But there is a very definite truth in all of them. If we get things that will make us lose sight of ourselves, it will lead us astray. If we receive things with great to-do but that we are not truly capable of following through with, it will lead us astray. If we get things we do not earn it will lead us astray. All of these things seem wonderful at first, who doesn't want to gain a lot with little cost? But the truth is, balance happens. The pendulum will swing back. The coke kings do sometimes get life in prison. You shouldn't address yourself as the glorious exception to the rule, that's a prideful fallacy that will most likely only cause you to fall harder.
Be honest, be real, be yourself.
