Compilation of Advice
This post is a compilation of a couple advice threads on the Straight Dope, which asked posters for the best, simplest advice they've ever gotten, or which they could give. I thought some might be interested in reading through the list. You can find the original posts on http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/index.php
Alcohol never makes a problem better. It just makes you a morose drunk.
If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
Nobody likes a smartass.
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.
***
Don't assume [other women will] 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.
***
Don't move from a place, but to a place. If you move from a place, your demons travel with you. Deal with the demons, THEN move.
***
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
***
Never get the cheapest doctor, lawyer, or condom you can.
***
Always read any document before signing it. If someone says "just sign!", they're your enemy.
***
No one on their deathbed ever said "I wish I'd spent more time at the office."
***
Things can be undone, but they can't be unsaid.
***
All violence is to the death. If you're prepared to throw a punch, be prepared to kill.
***
Nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished, at any time by any person, except in the deadest calm and introspection. The moment you lose your cool, you lose it all.
***
Never attribute something to malicious intent which can more easily be attributed to stupidity.
***
Live beneath your means.
***
Years ago a friend trying to make in Hollywood told me to "Always have your f*ck you money set aside." - meaning have enough to walk away from a bad job and be able to live until the next job.
***
The only thing in your life you can really control is you.
You can ask other people to change, but if they don't want to, you can't make them. If you're not happy with your friendship/relationship/job/living situation/lifestyle/etc., it's up to you to change it.
***
Never try to reason a man out of a position he didn't reason himself into.
***
Pay off your credit card every month.
***
If you walk through a forest of red warning flags for love, you will be beaten with every one of those flags on your way back out.
Alcohol never makes a problem better. It just makes you a morose drunk.
If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
Nobody likes a smartass.
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.
***
Don't assume [other women will] 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.
***
Don't move from a place, but to a place. If you move from a place, your demons travel with you. Deal with the demons, THEN move.
***
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
***
Never get the cheapest doctor, lawyer, or condom you can.
***
Always read any document before signing it. If someone says "just sign!", they're your enemy.
***
No one on their deathbed ever said "I wish I'd spent more time at the office."
***
Things can be undone, but they can't be unsaid.
***
All violence is to the death. If you're prepared to throw a punch, be prepared to kill.
***
Nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished, at any time by any person, except in the deadest calm and introspection. The moment you lose your cool, you lose it all.
***
Never attribute something to malicious intent which can more easily be attributed to stupidity.
***
Live beneath your means.
***
Years ago a friend trying to make in Hollywood told me to "Always have your f*ck you money set aside." - meaning have enough to walk away from a bad job and be able to live until the next job.
***
The only thing in your life you can really control is you.
You can ask other people to change, but if they don't want to, you can't make them. If you're not happy with your friendship/relationship/job/living situation/lifestyle/etc., it's up to you to change it.
***
Never try to reason a man out of a position he didn't reason himself into.
***
Pay off your credit card every month.
***
If you walk through a forest of red warning flags for love, you will be beaten with every one of those flags on your way back out.