In On My Honor, John Ashcroft shares a lesson that is true not only in public life, but any walk of life:

One of the problems of public life is that when you are in a position to do things that people consider to be beneficial, they will befriend you; but they won’t necessarily be your friend. There is a major difference between these two realities. Unfortunately, you can never really know where you stand with someone until your capacity to benefit that person is gone. That may sound like a jaundiced view, but it’s all too true.

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Roger Horchow in the book he wrote with his daughter Sally, The Art of Friendship relates the following great story to illustrate the point that active listening opens up a world of potential relationships—and you might learn something.

My friend Dick Bass (now in his 70s) has traveled far and wide and had many adventures. His achievements include being the first person to climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents, as well as being the oldest person (by five years) to climb Mount Everest (at the age of 55.)

He once told me a story of a plane ride, on which he sat next to a nice man who listened to him go on about the treacherous peaks of Everest and McKinley, the time he almost died in the Himalayas, and his upcoming plan to reclimb Everest. Just before the plane landed, Bass turned to the man sitting next to him and said, “After all this, I don’t think I’ve introduced myself. My name is Dick Bass.” The man shook his hand, and responded, “Hi, I’m Neil Armstrong. Nice to meet you.”

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It seems we are hearing more about "wisdom." I'll pass along some words to the wise:
Bertoly Brecht, in The Caucasian Chalk Circle: "Mixing one's wines may be a mistake, but old and new wisdom mix admirably."
Simeone Weil: "It is a fault to wish to be understood before we have made oursleves clear to ourselves."
A. A. Milne, in Winnie the Pooh: "Owl hasn't exactly got a Brain, but he Knows Things."
Goethe: "Whoso shrinks from ideas ends by having nothing but sensations."
Flannery O'Connor, in The Habit of Being: "Learn what you can, but cultivate Christian skepticism. It will keep you free—not free to do anything you please, but free to be formed by something larger than your own intellect or the intellect of those around you."

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Heard a great question the other day concerning relationships: "What are you willing to give up to maintian a relationship?" Relationships are really about giving up some of the self. They are about the other person.

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Real estate sales trainer Mike Ferry seminar attendee shouts, "Got any new material?" Mike gently replies, "Got any new problems?" Then, persistent questioner, "Are you gonna cover the same thing as last year?" Mike replies, "Are you still doing the same thing as last year?"

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