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What's the best advice you have ever received? (1 Viewer)

You have to spend money to make money and a penny saved = a penny earned. That's two conflicting ideas that shouldn't be paired together and the worst advice I ever received. When I read it I think it was carved into something, maybe the bathroom, but the BEST advice I ever received was from a nun. An actual nun. She lived in our town, technically a former nun - my best friend's adoptive mom. Anyway, I am one hundred percent sure that she liked me more than she liked him and she took me to the side one day - I was ten years old and she was our teacher and she told me, "Put yourself in a position to do that which you want to do," as in, "Do things in life because you want to do them, not because you have to do them." Framing. It was the way she framed it. Because we had a dude in our town who was a nuclear physicist but spent all his time and made all his money running a little Best Western motel that he owned. And this was back when they had the old logo on the sign, back before all the signs turned and started using italics.
 
Don't get married. If you do get married, have a pre-nup.

*In retrospect, I should have listened.

Dentist alias?

I wondered about this as you made a post somewhere about your GF and I was thinking, wasn't Rich married at one time?? Either way, sorry to hear it and I hope things are better now.
 
Best business advice I have ever received was from my father-in-law when I was struggling to maximize my case fees when I was new to private practice. I had a bad habit of stating my intended case fee (which was reasonable) then continuing to talk about how I would take a payment plan, maybe take less, etc.

He told me, "state your price and shut up."
 
"Can you look yourself in the mirror"...unless you are a sociopath it covers every aspect of life

Favorite sports quote is from Jack Parker, the old BU hockey Coach..."it's easy to coach someone else's team"
 
I'm not sure where I heard it but it was a long time ago and I've tried to live it ever since. When something happens to you, think: "If in 5 or 10 years you'll probably laugh about it, why worry about it today"
Along the same lines, when you are contemplating trying something new: "where will you be in 5 years if you don't try?"
 
From my first boss in sales: "When you get the answer you want, shut up." And also "learn to take yes for an answer".

From my dad (to my teenage sisters back in the day, but I'm saving this for my own daughter as well). "Don't take criticism from someone that you wouldn't take advice".
 
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My old boss on managing people .. "Don't tell employees what to do, instead ask them for their help"

Been doing it ever since.
Works well in all facets of life in my opinion. Works with my students, works with my wife. “I statements” would be the technical term. Good advice.
 
Hit it and quit it. Sadly, I never took that approach and often ended up in entanglements that were hard to get out of.
 
my pop had two sayings he always used first he would say you gotta dance with the girl who brung ya and it meant remember where you came from and dont get too big for your britches or chase the next shiny thing and second he would say good enough for the girls i go with and it meant dont be too high falutin and remember where you came from and i miss that big sob and the stuff he said like that so damn much take that to the bank brohans
 
My father probably gave me the best advice (along with some of the WORST advice) in my life. One of the best ones I remember was when I was 23 and was thinking about breaking up with my fiancé. He told me "Yep. Everyone thinks the grass is greener on the other side of the fence until they get there and realize it's still just grass." He was right. We get caught up chasing things that we think are going to be better when we need to just look at what we have. I've been married to my best friend since I was 25.

He also gave me terrible advice/catch phrases things like:
"JUST CUT THAT BEAM LIKE I TOLD YOU TO!"
"I've heard ducks fart in water before"
"Don't piss on my leg and say it is raining"
" I don't shiv-a-git, know what that means?"

Another piece of advice my old man told me one time was "If you wasn't there, they can't say you were." He told me that when I got arrested when I was 17. I lived by that in my late teens, early 20s. If the the situation was sketchy, GTFO.

On a related note, the best advice a lawyer ever gave me was after I was arrested at 22 for drag racing, reckless operation and disorderly conduct. - "You know, I can take care of the drag racing and the reckless op, but I saw the video. YOU NEED TO LEARN TO SHUT THE _______ UP AND JUST CALL YOUR LAWYER."
 
IMHO the greatest American who ever lived was **** Winters. I would say I learned more about myself and how to be a good person from studying him than any other single person that wasn’t my grandfather who was very **** Winters-esk in how he lived.

You can read a lot of his quotes here but I think the biggest piece of advice from him would be to just to do the right thing, not sometimes, every time.

IMHO, if a person follows this they will be rewarded far more than the usually easier but wrong decision or action would have benefited them.
 
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My father didn't dole out much advice when I was a kid; he more led by example, and even though I missed most of what he was demonstrating, one thing I got from him was that being early means being on time, and being on time is to be late.

I got most of my advice from the world around me via other people, books, tv, etc., though I guess movies provided the most memorable:

Wherever you go, there you are.~Buckaroo Bonzai.
 
A baseball player that a cartoon bear was named after was prone to give good advice.

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

“Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours.”

"If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else."
 
From, by far, my worst roommate ever. Freshman in college; "Get it done, whatever it takes, stay up late. Finish it and get it turned in."
 
When I was younger I used to be deathly afraid of tornados. When the TV beeped for even a Tornado Watch I'd get all anxious and worried our house would be washed away within 10 minutes.

Finally my Dad said something that sticks with me today...

Son, if a tornado does come, there's absolutely nothing you can do about it.
Don't waste time and energy worrying about things you can't control.
 
I was being a little to full of myself on a consulting job thinking they couldn't let me go because of a solution I built and my manager from the consulting company told me " No position is secure, anyone can be replaced"
I didn't take it to heart and, feeling I was so secure, I didn't try learning any new skils.
A year later they didn't renew my contract, and there were no available projects, so was laid off :kicksrock:

I learned my lesson am now ALWAYS learning new skills...
 
More of a lesson.... When I was in 4th or 5th grade, my brother, my dad, and I had been planning to go to the monster truck show for several weeks. I was so excited. Big Foot, Grave Digger, all that.

The Friday of the monster truck show came and report cards came out that day too.

I did well in all the "important" stuff. But I got an "N" (needs improvement) for my conduct grade.

My brother and my Dad went to the monster truck show that night. I did not.

My parents were fairly hands off when it came to school work and grades. I always did well, and they left me to it.

But the N on conduct was completely unacceptable.

Dad never said the words (he didn't have to), but the lesson was cemented............ It doesn't matter how smart you are, don't be a jerk.

And as childhood goes, this was a pretty big moment in my life, and of course, Dad doesn't even remember.

(Still never went to a monster truck show)
 
Think I shared this on the board a long time ago but not in this thread.

Start with the end in mind. I’m particular, picture what you want your life to look like at 80, 70, etc. and do what it takes to get there.

I worked for a guy 30 years ago who taught me this and I’ve never forgotten it. I think about it any time I’m doing long term planning.
 
For managing people. "Praise publicly, criticize privately." (Today we would say correct or realign behavior instead of criticize.)
 
My old boss used to say this, and I share it with my team all the time
When explaining things, always differentiate what you think VS what you know. And always be clear about the two.
 
I don't remember where I picked this one up at but somewhere along the way I learned "P.T.A." Pause, Think, Act. It changed my life and probably saved my marriage. I preach that acronym to anyone I've ever given advice to. Whether it be personally or professionally. Nothing good usually happens from reacting without thinking.
 
I don't remember where I picked this one up at but somewhere along the way I learned "P.T.A." Pause, Think, Act. It changed my life and probably saved my marriage. I preach that acronym to anyone I've ever given advice to. Whether it be personally or professionally. Nothing good usually happens from reacting without thinking.
In a similar vein is the message from Mr. Rogers, as reemphasized by Tom Hanks -- WAIT (Why Am I Talking?) There's much to be said to shutting up and listening, or as you state, pausing to think first.
 

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