# What is the best advice you were ever given? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 16, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915 "2012-03-16T00:27:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![mskatied](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mskatied](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mskatied)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/61 "2012-03-16T22:17:24Z")
Some advice for the ladies… and men I suppose… is something I just learned on my own in reguards to bouncing from relationship to relationship. “When you are broken hearted, don’t try to fall in love with **someone** else. Fall in love with **something** else.” ie; your career, reaching your dreams, or a nice new hobby. ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/62 "2012-03-16T22:28:46Z")
Not advice, exactly, but I’ve found it to be true: “If you take in a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.” _–Mark Twain_ ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/63 "2012-03-16T22:50:10Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > Don’t love the company you work for, it will never love you back. One of my old bosses. I was sick. I had things to do at work. She said “go home,” I said “but I have all this stuff.” “If the stuff you are doing was that important, we’d pay you a lot more.” I now try and give a little more value than I get - I want to be kept around. But I’m not going to put in VP hours when I’m not a VP. And if I can’t get the job done in the hours I’m willing to give it, that is a problem that needs to be solved by someone making more money than me. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/64 "2012-03-16T23:16:28Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > When certain personalities rub me the wrong way and I wish they were never born: > > “It takes all kinds.” From my Grandad: “It’s not so much that it takes all kinds, it’s that there ARE all kinds.” (So get used to it.) ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/65 "2012-03-17T01:03:38Z")
My father always says: “When riding a dead horse, generally the best strategy is to dismount.” (It’s a Sioux proverb, I think) Not really advice, I suppose, but I try to think of the last thing my grandfather said to me before he died: “Love is the most important thing. Everything comes from love.” I took it as a form of advice and I try to incorporate it into my life. My mother says: “I don’t want my obituary to read ‘she kept a clean house’”, which it certainly won’t. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/66 "2012-03-17T01:13:20Z")
The best advice that somebody actually gave me was: “When all else fails, do it the right way.” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/67 "2012-03-17T01:24:27Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Sometimes you win by letting the other person think they’ve won…It gets wordy when I write it out, but it all boils down to “Sometimes you win by letting the other person think they’ve won.” _“Diplomacy is the art of letting other people have your way.”_ (Daniele Vare) ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/68 "2012-03-17T01:35:30Z")
My Dad told me ever since I was a little kid to “ **conduct yourself in a manner that is above reproach at all times**.” He said that’s what they told him in the army. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/69 "2012-03-17T01:45:16Z")
My fifth grade teacher explained this to the class: Being an adult is different from being a grownup. Being a grownup only requires time, and doesn’t say anything about your maturity level; being an adult means thinking ahead and doing what is the right thing even if it results in less immediate gratification. Similarly, there is a difference between being childish and being childlike. Being childlike means keeping your sense of wonder at the world, and not allowing yourself to be bitter and cynical. Being childish means thinking only about what is good NOW for YOU and to heck with everything else. She encouraged all of us to, as we grew up, work toward becoming more adult and less childish, but also to keep within us a part which was childlike. I’m not putting it into words well, but it had a profound effect on me. ---
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/70 "2012-03-17T02:08:11Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Here’s one just for women I am still learning. Upon being asked "What is the most basic thing anyone can do to further women’s rights? the answer given us > > “Always be good to other women. Never badmouth them to another women, don’t gossip about them.” > > That’s not to say you should just lie down and take it, but address the problem straightforwardly and with the woman involved. Or: Don’t assume they support your professional success just because they’re women. An evil woman will stab you in the back just as fast as an evil man will. There is no secret sister society in the business world. There _should_ be one, but there isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/71 "2012-03-17T02:26:54Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > . . . Being an adult is different from being a grownup. Being a grownup only requires time, and doesn’t say anything about your maturity level . . . I once had a lengthy (and pointless) debate with someone. It wasn’t for a long time that I figured out that they were only using the literal definition of “maturity,” and so, to them, “growing up” and “being mature” meant the same thing. Once I did figure this out, I walked away from the debate. I thought about a parting shot, “Oh, grow up!” but…decided against it. I’d bet that everyone here knows a handful of twelve year old kids who are fully mature enough to vote responsibly…and a handful of people in their thirties or forties or fifties who are so immature that the idea of their voting is entirely disturbing! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/72 "2012-03-17T02:46:47Z")
From my mom when I was worried about going back to school at age 40: “Well, you’ll still be 40 whether you go or not.” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/73 "2012-03-17T04:28:33Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > From Mr. Ko: arguing with strangers on the internet is a complete waste of time. 🙂 I read this on the Dope a long time ago, and it’s stuck with me - “Don’t forget that the person you’re arguing with on the internet is probably a 12 years old.” Good advice. I don’t remember where I picked this up, but it’s almost always true - “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/74 "2012-03-17T05:40:56Z")
“Shut up and play yer guitar some more” by unk Frank. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/75 "2012-03-17T07:02:45Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I don’t remember where I picked this up, but it’s almost always true - “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” I try to stick by that one. It surprises me how many people think there’s a way around it. It kind of explains the lack of quality in a lot of modern products. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/76 "2012-03-17T14:11:21Z")
If you are going to carry a weapon make it a chocolate one because someone out there is going to make you eat it. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/77 "2012-03-17T14:18:48Z")
Just do it. A corollary to **Mangetout** ’s “Since you have to do it anyway, do it now.” You can do anything for 15 minutes. (Thanks to Flylady, I think.) Do the distasteful stuff first and then reward yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/78 "2012-03-17T14:32:05Z")
From the attending neurosurgeon during my residency training about 30 years ago, after I’d made some flip comment: “Qadgop, nobody likes a smartass”. Words to live by. One needs also to be kind if one is trying to be clever and funny. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/79 "2012-03-17T14:35:51Z")
Measure twice, cut once. And it’s real-life companion: cut it large and beat it into place. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915/80 "2012-03-17T15:54:10Z")
“Money isn’t everything. But it sure helps.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-advice-you-were-ever-given/615915.md?page=5)