What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

This week I want to share with you some old and new gems of advice that have rung true for me.  Please add your own gems at the end:

Heres the best advice I've been given: 

Friend on a laptop purchase:

Buy a Mac. A Macbook Pro, because its tougher.

Me: I did. I love it.

Driving instructor on driving:

If another driver is indicating, wait until they “commit to the turn” before acting yourself.

Me: Of course, I learned to drive when people used to indicate.

Friend on job interview:

Pretend it’s a job you don’t want.  Treat it like an interview for a job you don’t want. Don’t invest.

Friend on first dates:

Treat it like a relationship you don’t want. Don’t invest.

Of course this is not hard if the guy is a douche.

Married friend on marriage:

Don’t get married. Never get married.

Childful friend on children:

Don’t have children. Never have children.

Mortgage advisor friend on mortgage fixing:

You know I can’t advise you because you will hate me if I'm wrong.

Me: That’s true.

Real estate agent on purchasing first property:

Can you just sign the contract? It’s Sunday and I want to see my family.

Me: Ohhh tetchy tetchy, you rang me!

Dog owner friends on dog owning:

Get a dog. You will never know happiness like that which a dog brings into your life.

Me: So true!

Licence holder friends on getting a licence:

Never get your drivers licence. If you never drive, you can never get a speeding fine.

This probably works better in Europe.

Me on travel:

Travel. But always offset your carbon.

Me, on photos:

Print photos of yourself, even if you don’t like how you look, because that’s the person your friends and family love.

Investor friend on investing:

Only invest what you are prepared to lose.

Gambling friend on going to the casino:

I’ve never been to the casino and not come out better off.

Me: This is not my experience.

Everyone I know on lotto:

I’ve never won. But someone has to win.

Me on decision making:

If a decision is too hard to make – and I mean really too hard – it’s the wrong decision.

My friend’s dad on self-esteem:

It only takes one goal to win at soccer.

My friends translation of this: When all the chips are down, a small win can set you on the path to rebuilding your self esteem.

A male relative on TV commercials:

Mute them.

Me: I’d like to update this to be more current – if you have a DVR, record your favourite show so you can fast-forward the ads.

Michelle Obama on women:

Be supportive of women every time. (I’m paraphrasing to avoid copyright).

Me on grudges:

Sometimes you should be able to recall the wrongs people have done you, because chances are they will do it again.

Me on junk food:

If you don’t have junk food in the house, you can’t eat it on a sad Friday night.

My tutor on blogging:

You have to blog every week.

Me: I don’t get inspired every week… so I cant promise, but I’ll try to try.

Me on workplace etiquette:

If a colleague asks you what you think of another colleague, respond with “why do you ask”, or at the very least “what do you think of them” prior to getting yourself into hot water.

This probably works for friends too.

Me on workplace etiquette con’t:

Never over-share with a work colleague. It will come back to haunt you.

A female relative on receiving advice:

The thing about receiving advice is that you take the bits that are meaningful to your situation and disregard the rest.