Play tight in early stages, try to not fall in love with suited connectors or low pairs too much. Know how to play your positions, and observe your table. Are they playing tight, aggressive? Do they fold on almost every 3 bet, or are they like calling stations?
Ultimately, you must be willing to wait for premium hands early on. Hands like J/10 or Q/K suited will get you into a lot of trouble, especially if some players shove with KK/AA, or if you flop top pair, but a few people have raised preflop or called ahead of you. Also don't be afraid to
bluff, as that will allow you to get some extra chips in from a dry board.
Don't open limp, and don't raise preflop UTG with a weak hand like A/7 suited. Poker is all about patience, variance, and luck/skill. When you get extremely short stacked in late games, you must try to shove with the best hand you can possibly get, before you get under 10 BB's.