Old friends knew you at your most clueless. Keeping a couple of them around keeps you honest.

Someone who met you before you had any polish remembers the rough draft of you. That memory works like a mirror you cannot argue with. Around a person like that, performing is pointless, which keeps you from drifting into a version of yourself you invented for an audience.

Text one person from your old school or old team this week about something you both remember. Notice how fast you stop managing how you come across.