Never confuse principles (be unique) and style (go with the crowd)

“In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock.”  Thomas Jefferson

If you want to be socially accepted ,keep up with the latest styles. This would be what the majority of the people are wearing.

If you want to be morally accepted and respected, be your own person. When it comes to making decisions regarding your beliefs and principles, DON’T look at what everyone else is doing but rather do what’s in your heart.

Your principles are what make you unique and special. Swimming with the current when it comes to principles is the easy way out, it means you’ve compromised your principles in order to be socially accepted.

If you want to be known as a person of principles, stand like a rock and act in keeping with your convictions. The best way to stand out in a crowd is not by wearing fashion that is different than everyones, but by having principles which are unbending, and as a result stand out.

The danger of approaching a fool

Don’t approach a goat from the front, a horse from the back, or a fool from any side. Jewish proverb

What this quote means is that there are certain things you shouldn’t do based on a certain set of rules, usually at the expense of someone else. The quote appears to have three warnings, but the first two are there to set the context for the third, to show that approaching a fool from any side is a dangerous endeavor.