Connect with yourself before trying to connect with others.

You will not connect with others if you do not connect with yourself first. You will not like others if you don’t like yourself. If you want to build a relationship, you must always start with yourself.

1. Know yourself—improve your self-awareness.
   Very few people in the world have natural self-awareness. Most people have to work on it. Become a student of yourself. Discover your strengths and weaknesses. Ask others to evaluate you.

2. Get along with yourself—improve your self-image.
   There are many things you can improve about your self-image—work on these. There are some things that you cannot change about yourself—accept them.

3. Realize that the person who causes you problems is yourself.
   Be honest with yourself. Most likely, it’s your fault if you’re not getting anywhere. Don’t blame others, blame yourself.

4. Work on self-improvement.
   If you want to change your life for the better, the first thing you should do is change yourself for the better.

5. Realize that you are the only person that can make a difference for yourself.
   If you want to make a difference, step up and commit to taking the first step towards this difference. No one else will do it for you.