What accelerated your understanding of how the world works?
pasbesoin: Years ago, a brilliant if eccentric friend had one of those one-pane comics on his bulletin board.  It depicted a figure walking down a city street.  All the forms of communication around him -- I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but remember particularly items such as a bus stop bench, perhaps a TV in a shop window, newspaper vending machine, and a billboard -- displayed the word "lies".At the time, I thought it was a rather cynical take on life.  Over the years, though, I've come to be more and more in agreement with it.He's also the fellow who once, in response perhaps to my own low self-esteem, said:  "Xxx, you have to realize, most people are as dumb as rocks."  I'm still working on that bit of imparted wisdom.  Some days I agree.  Some days, I am surprised by the unexpected abilities I find in others.  (And a bit disappointed at my own lack of insight prior to such realizations.)I guess the real eye opener, although it didn't come all at once and I still fall short, is that, the more you (truly) respect yourself, the more others respect you.  Don't look to others to give you your self worth, though you can find it in part in your interactions with them.Finally, one time I said to a group, thinking it nothing terribly special, that one should not expect from others what they are unable to give you.  Another brilliant, if a bit self-centered and brutal friend, responded in a surprisingly positive fashion:  She said she had never expected to learn anything from me, but that this really surprised her.  Her feedback reinforced my own point to me.  It also showed me that you cannot always tell what someone else will find valuable.  Finally, over time, it showed me that when someone echos a sentiment to you, pay heed:  I was hoping for a relationship with her that she was willing to tease and "pretend" about, but not willing to really start.Despite the comic and sentiment about "lies", most people, when you really pay attention, are communicating fairly immediately what their interests and perspective are.  It may not always be in their words or even in their short term actions, but it is in -- pardon the use of the word -- their Gestalt.EDIT (again):  Decided to remove the previously edited in, additional portion of my comment addressing others pointing out and then my own anecdotal observations of correlations between physical attractiveness and success, as well as congregation of such attractiveness -- like seeking like.  I do seem to see such, but I'm not comfortable my observations are objective enough to warrant exposition.