• Associate only with the best - better than you at whatever it is; the greater the disparity, the more valuable the association.
  
• Select mentors carefully and be absolutely open with them.
  
• Listen. Shut up and listen.
  
• Observe. Don't watch. Observe.
  
• Speak and write the truth. Or don't speak and write.
  
• Make no enemies before their time, but know them for whom they are. Eschew your enemies; pay attention to what you're doing. Some of our most disagreeable first contacts have grown into meaningful, purposeful relationships. And some of our warmest introductions have turned to bitter dust.
  
• Don't beg, whine, victimize, bitch, slavishly or selfishly grasp, act in desperation, exceed negatively, disparage or otherwise give up on your passion.
  
• Look forward, not backward. Ask of yourself how whatever it is you're up to is expected to get you better at what you do.
  
• Be acutely, currently aware of the technologies of your work, and experience the best and newest of them. If you're really good at what you do, you'll reach a point where there are real, physical limits to your days and the strength in your sinews, and the only way to achieve more or achieve it better is to be more productive. Technology is a tireless engine of individual productivity.
  
• When you're ready, teach your craft to others. This is best done personally. You don't need a podium or tenure to perform; if you get really good at what you do at this or that, folks who give a damn will seek you out. Teach with both honor and humility. And answer the question you're asked. You'll be continually surprised at how much you don't know about what you know when keenly inquiring minds start inquiring.
  
• Take courageous, considered risks; do not take brave, foolish risks. You will be known for your successes and your failures. Failing at courageous, considered risks is OK. Failing at brave, foolish risks is not OK.
  
• Constantly be careful to define and be keenly aware of your competition.
  
• Be prepared to be lucky. We sometimes refer to this precept as knowing which train to board. In this metaphor, lucky trains don't stop at one's station very often in a lifetime.
  
• Really competent people easily share their competence, though they may not have the time in their lives to share it all or say it twice. So listen hard.
  
• The lowest bid may not be the best bid. It's just the cheapest.
  
• Truth sets both of us free.
• You want it really cheap and easy and right away? You want it somewhere else.

The Autocad Granddad (quoted with permission from www.beforethearchitect.com)