> Never assume the motives of others are, to them, less noble than yours are to you. Never? And what if the other is lying, cheating and stealing? Motives, not

> Never assume the motives of others are, to them, less noble than yours are to you. Never? And what if the other is lying, cheating and stealing? Motives, not actions. Odds are pretty high that the shared motivation for you and the lying, cheating, stealing other is to achieve the best outcome possible for yourselves, you're just going about it in different ways. One way this advice manifests practically is that, as a rule, people are not "out to get you", they're just looking out for themselves, and it's much easier to deal with them when you understand that.