Last night I sat and talked to a man that knew both of us, long ago. He predicted my path then, in a way that you wouldn't expect from a man with a wild beard, tattoo's and burn marks on his arms. His outward appearance is intimidating to most, but he's the sort that will break up a fight when it happens near him, not participate. He's calm and collect in situations that prove he's confident enough to not validate himself by overcoming other people, but rather by making them at peace with himself. 

"You and I are the same", he said, not meaning that we reacted the same in every situation, but that we've come from the same places, encountered people's preconceived notions and grown into our selves in such a way that when we look back on every situation, we'll do so with pride in how we handles it. 

He's giving to a fault, willing to accept a lot from people and forgive them for it. He doesn't preach to you about what you should do, but rather uses his own life as an example, letting you connect the dots in your head and take away from it what you need to see.