Forget Cicero and Ben Franklin and Bartlett’s quotations. What are the nuggets of wisdom and advice people you know have given you over the years that have proven the most valuable?
Think before you hit “send”.
write it out
put it away
look at it later
THEN, maybe say it
If it feels good, do it. -My grandmother.
Never admit to anything, make them accuse you first.
I don’t even know your grandmother!
“Moves don’t happen to you, they happen for you”-- my studio-roommate on the subject of moving.
Prior to going to college, I got these three gems from family members (not at the same time, over the course of a couple of years).
Brother: If you drink, drink the good stuff.
Sister: When you get to college, don’t try cocaine.
Mother: Remember, birth control is not only the responsibility of the girl.
“Never mud wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty but the pig likes it.” - Dear ole Dad
Okay, here’s mine, with a bit of a backstory: I was in some trouble at work, and was going to have to tell my boss something, or face some consequences…I don’t remember. It was one of those things that felt like a huge deal at the time that I can barely remember now. Anyway, I was all worked up and venting about it to a friend who happened to be French. He sat and listened attentively as I laid out the situation.
“So how am I going to do this, Phillippe?” I asked anxiously.
He thought for a moment, stood, then said " 'Ave courage!" in the most guttural, Maurice-Chevalier-Charles-DeGaulle style French accent ever, then walked out of the room.
And it struck me like a thunderbolt. I had a tough thing to do and I was wasting so much time and energy fretting about it, when I just had to face the music and do it. It’s a simple and maybe obvious lesson, but I’ll never forget the concise way it was expressed to me that day. Even today, when I’m in some difficult situation and there’s no way out of it, I hear Phillippe’s " 'Ave courage!" and it helps me cut through the BS and go do what needs to be done.
“Don’t dream it, be it” has got to be the best advice I ever got from a movie.
“Find all the ways you can say yes”
My sons’s first babysitter when he was an infant. She said parenting mean’s saying no a lot, so find every chance you can to say yes.
“If you tell the truth, you won’t get into trouble” is not as true as some people think it is.
:rolleyes:
Before I went back to school, I was uncertain about nursing or pharmacy, and a casual acquaintance said, “Go with pharmacy.” He was right, for me anyway. I heard he died a couple years ago.
And last year, when I found myself at a crossroads WRT my career, my mother said, “Maybe you shouldn’t do pharmacy any more.” Had she said that a few months ago, it would not have gone over well, but I replied that I was thinking the same thing. The support I’ve gotten from colleagues in this profession-in-transition-and-not-for-the-better has been 100%. 
Advice from my Father before leaving for University:
“Don’t play pool for money, you’re not good enough.”
“Pay the rent before you go to the pub.”
Both have served me well since then.
other great advice from a movie; Get busy living or get busy dying.
I had this totally psycho boss in my first job out of college. But he was known to say one sensible thing, and it was this:
We need this in a hurry, so don’t rush.
The fastest way to do something is right the first time. Its no use rushing something out the door if you just end up having to redo it. When I feel deadline panic setting in, I take that extra effort to be methodical. It’s faster in the long run.
Advice before a job interview: “Don’t say anything stupid.” Were it that simple to stop me from saying stupid stuff. It’s like “Save your money,” or “Lose weight;” it doesn’t pause to pull any of my ear hair before it’s gone.
advice I got from dad was “when things get really difficult just bite the bullet”, “always leave early to be on time”, “pay your bills on time”, .
Advice from a friend “dont go to things ( such as a family get toether ) that you really dont want to go to”… while i know there are times we need to go to certain important events, in my family my mother alwasy guilted us into attending any trivial get together, this advice helped me remember I also have my own life to live
In life there are
1: people who love you no matter what,
2: people who can swing either way
3: people who hate you.
Enjoy the first groups love
Work on the second groups opinion of you
And ignore the third groups negative press
best advice ever from a director of our business. We often spend our working lives trying to fix the haters, don’t do it just move on from them.
Think three times.
Measure twice.
Cut Once.