Everyone should read this book.

It is the world’s first great self-improvement book, written by a philosopher and Jesuit priest of 17th century Spain named Baltasar Gracian.

When it came to how you have to behave to be successful, Gracian hit the nail on the head – every word is as true today as it was 400 years ago.

The problem is the style.

There are a lot of translations out there, but they all transport Gracian’s baroque, convoluted style into English. I find myself rereading sentence after sentence.

In addition, there are a few anachronisms: For example, Gracian speaks only to “men.”

So I took an older, classic translation and re-edited it for simplicity and clarity:

My “Thoughtfully Modernized Edition” is easier to read and a bit more modern in the sense that I replaced “men” with “men and women” and explained a few outdated cultural references.

Now, the modern reader doesn’t have to reread every third sentence to figure out the meaning – and yet the prose is still as elegant and beautiful as ever.

To make this book accessible to everyone, I am going to publish it as print book, e-book, audiobook and as a video series on YouTube and Vimeo.com/HulaInk (my premium channel).

Read this book. I changed my life and it will change yours.