[This is the first of two blog posts.]

Dale Carnegie. Norman Vincent Peale. Tony Robbins. Stephen Covey. Much of the insights of our current era’s self-help gurus were better articulated more than 400 years ago.

 Rare indeed is an author that 400 years on still has insights—in this case, bacon bits—that remain relevant for today.

 Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was a philosopher, politician, lawyer and, interestingly, a contemporary of Shakespeare. In his work titled, The Essays, Bacon addresses various topics which would be today considered within the realm of self-help literature.

 The writing of The Essays took almost 30 ears to perfect—and it shows.

 Bacon has an uncommon economy of prose; every word counts. He has a deft touch in summarizing thoughts and principles that are relevant to this very today.

 Here are the top ten Bacon bits for today:

1.  FINANCE - There is common sense advice about living within your means: “But ordinary expense ought to be limited by a man’s estate, and governed with such regard as to be within his means.” [145] (references are from the Penguin Classics edition)
2. READING - He offers advice on how to read books. One of his most-often quoted sayings, occasionally used by book reviewers, is that: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly and with diligence and attention.” These principles apply today. Not every book you have purchased deserves to be read.
3.  EDUCATION - His pithy comments are often seen on posters. One of his best lines: “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” [209] That sums up a liberal arts education in one sentence.
4.  PRIDE - One of his essays is, “Of Vainglory.” This is not a commonly used word, but it means excessive pride. He states, “So are there some vain persons that, whatsoever goeth alone or moveth upon greater means, if they have never so little hand in it, they think it is they that carry it.” [217] So, it is comforting to know that some people have been taking the credit for the work of others for centuries. Remember that when reading job applications.
5.  HUMILITY - How to stay humble? Don’t think it was all about you. “Envy, which is the canker of honour, is best extinguished by declaring a man’s self in his ends rather to seek merit than fame, and by attributing a man’s successes rather to divine Providence and felicity, than to his own virtue of policy.” [219] This is sage advice. Those who succeed should realize that bigger factors were at play than their own ability. Would we know the name of Steve Jobs if his adoptive parents were Iowa corn farmers?