# The best advice you would give younger people.



## EricABQ

This thread is for anyone to answer, you don't have to be old. Everyone has someone younger than them.

Here's mine:

1. Go to work every day. You don't want to ever have the reputation of the person who always seems to have some excuse for being late or not coming in at all.

2. Always buy cheaper cars than you can afford. Or, if you are fortunate enough to live in a city with good public transportation, don't buy a car at all. You will save a fortune.

3. Save money every chance you get.

But seriously, #1 is the most important. Show up, it's the most important thing.


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## moody

EricABQ said:


> This thread is for anyone to answer, you don't have to be old. Everyone has someone younger than them.
> 
> Here's mine:
> 
> 1. Go to work every day. You don't want to ever have the reputation of the person who always seems to have some excuse for being late or not coming in at all.
> 
> 2. Always buy cheaper cars than you can afford. Or, if you are fortunate enough to live in a city with good public transportation, don't buy a car at all. You will save a fortune.
> 
> 3. Save money every chance you get.
> 
> But seriously, #1 is the most important. Show up, it's the most important thing.


Can it be that you have lost your senses ?


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## science

1. To single young men: If you like a girl, let her know. 

1b. If she doesn't like you, be cool, be nice to her, and see how she feels a few weeks later.

1c. Is she still doesn't like you, and you really like her a lot, stay cool, keep being nice to her, and see how she feels a few more weeks later. Don't make a jerk of yourself, of course, but don't give up either, at least as long as you like her so much. 

1d. Seriously, talk to the girl. I consistently dated "above me" and then married "above me." A lot of women want to be loved just about as much as they want anything else in the world, and if one finds herself believing that you, a decent guy, really love her, that compensates for a lot of other stuff, like how ugly you are. (Just kidding of course. I estimate that you're the second best looking guy who has viewed this thread. And that's saying something because humble yours truly took the top spot.) 

(Single young women, sorry, I have no experience being in your place and cannot imagine giving you advice. Except of course to be extremely careful who you get drunk with. A lot of apparently normal, seemingly nice guys can be real jerks under the wrong circumstances. Over the past six months or so the news has been filled with crap that made me realize how important this is. Oh, one more bit: if something happens to you, it's not your fault, and don't let people ****-shame you. If something happens to a woman you know, be on her side.) 


2. Work (but not too much). Save. Invest. (Repeat.) <-- agreeing with EricABQ 

2a. Look for better jobs, opportunities to learn new skills, and so on. Be ambitious! 

2b. Do not fear failure too much. You're gonna fail. Pick yourself up, learn from it, move on. It can be a good thing in the long run. 


3. Be who you enjoy being. Dress how you enjoy dressing, etc.... Style, fashion, all that is utter crap. If people think you're your own person, they ultimately respect you far, far more than they will ever respect how well you "fit in." 


4. Read good books, fiction and nonfiction. Travel a lot. Learn as much as possible. Think as independently as possible. You're wrong about some things: try to figure out what they are so you can change your mind! Treat partiality to your own beliefs as a vice. 


5. Buy less, save more, work less, spend more time doing meaningful stuff. You were not made to spend hours fighting traffic going to and coming from a job you hate in order to pay for stuff you don't need (like a suburban house, fashionable clothing, a nice car), to relax by watching sitcoms, to sleep a few hours a night regulated by a tyrannical clock. Get out, hike somewhere, sit around a fire with friends and family, telling stories, singing, looking at the stars, go to sleep when you're tired and don't get up until you have to pee or you're hungry. Smell the earth, make sure your friends and family know how you feel about them, etc. 

6. Dance silly with kids.


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## Crudblud

This is advice I would give to people of any age, although the young may take it on better.

_#1._ *Be interesting.* There's nothing more boring than a person who isn't interesting, fortunately *being interesting is as simple as being interested*.

_#2._ *Surround yourself with people who inspire you.* If you're surrounded by people who don't care about you, and vice versa, you're in a bad social environment that can and likely will adversely affect your mental health.

_#3._ *Read books.* Being able to read, write and communicate with others are important skills, books not only provide you with those skills but also the tools necessary to perform #4, and they help with #1 by encouraging the imagination.

_#4._ *Take the time to be informed and involved politically.* _"What's the point?"_ The point is to make your country―and, by extension, the world―great, to improve the standard of living and happiness of yourself and those around you, and to remind government of its place as servant and not commander of the people. _"I'm just one person, what can I do?"_ This is a common response and is unfortunately ingrained into most young people by the lacklustre education systems they are subjected to in their formative years. It's true that one person alone will have a very difficult time changing much of anything, but they are only alone because they've been conditioned to believe that they are. It's quite a mountainous societal hurdle, but not an insurmountable one.


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## jani

For teenagers,
Don't spend your days playing World of warcraft alone ( did that, now i wish i didn't)

I know that i am not old but these are good advice for everyone.
1. Don't eat too much junk food
2. Don't spend much money on stimulants like Drugs,smokes and alcohol
3. LEARN BOTH PHYSICAL&MENTAL SELF DEVELOPMENT.


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## Ukko

Pay attention. Don't jump to conclusions.


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## Marr

Let’s learn some things from Thomas Edison:

“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.” 

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” 

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time.”


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## Marr

I'm still very young, but I'm trying to learn things from the older people close to me. The one thing many of them asked during conversations I had with them quite recently was: "But why didn’t we enjoy things more?”.

Don’t postpone the enjoying stuff till your retirement or till you have more time. I heard of too many couples who waited for their retirements to start travelling and “doing the things they always wanted to do”, but unfortunately they never got to do it...for one of them passed away.

Don’t wait for more time. There will always be 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week and each stage in your life will have different things to fill your time schedule with.

So my motto in life is to have balance: make time to work and make time to enjoy...and enjoy working. 
Sit down to decide what is important to you and what will give your life balance and meaning.


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## deggial

relax, it's not the end of the world.


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## science

deggial said:


> relax, it's not the end of the world.


Unless it is.

In which case, relax, it's the end of the world. Phenomenal visual and audio to follow.


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## Weston

My advice is to follow your creative calling now. Don't wait until you are trapped in a dead end job. It becomes more difficult to become disentangled as you get older -- e.g. my situation in which I am terrified to give up the day job for an illustration career as I need the insurance for medicines that keep me alive. (This may not be as much of an issue outside the USA. I don't know.) Pursue creativity when you are young and may not have as many medical / retirement issues. I did and I do not regret it.


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## presto

My advice would be good manners and respect for other people.
I know this doesn't always fit in with younger peoples values, but I was taught to be respectful and well behaved and I’m convinced it’s helped me in life.


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## Cheyenne

_Here's H.L. Menken's Advice to Young Men_:

XVIII. ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN

*To Him that Hath *

THE most valuable of all human possessions, next to a superior and disdainful air, is the reputation of being well to do. Nothing else so neatly eases one's way through life, especially in democratic countries. There is in ninety-nine per cent, of all democrats an irresistible impulse to crook the knee to wealth, to defer humbly to the power that goes with it, to see all sorts of high merits in the man who has it, or is said to have it. True enough, envy goes with the pliant neck, but it is envy somehow purged of all menace: the inferior man is afraid to do evil to the man with money in eight banks; he is even afraid to think evil of him - that is, in any patent and offensive way. Against capital as an abstraction he rants incessantly, and all of the laws that he favors treat it as if it were criminal. But in the presence of the concrete capitalist he is singularly fawning. What makes him so is easy to discern. He yearns with a great yearning for a chance to tap the capitalist's purse, and he knows very well, deep down in his heart, that he is too craven and stupid to do it by force of arms. So he turns to politeness, and tries to cajole. Give out the news that one has just made a killing in the stock market, or robbed some confiding widow of her dower, or swindled the government in some patriotic enterprise, and at once one will discover that one's shabbiness is a charming eccentricity, and one's judgment of wines worth hearing, and one's politics worthy of attention and respect. The man who is thought to be poor never gets a fair chance. No one wants to listen to him. No one gives a damn what he thinks or knows or feels. No one has any active desire for his good opinion.

I discovered this principle early in life, and have put it to use ever since. I have got a great deal more out of men (and women) by having the name of being a well-heeled fellow than I have ever got by being decent to them, or by dazzling them with my sagacity, or by hard industry, or by a personal beauty that is singular and ineffable.

*The Venerable Examined *

The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom. It is my honest belief that I am no wiser to-day than I was five or ten years ago; in fact, I often suspect that I am appreciable less wise. Women can prevail over me to-day by devices that would have made me hoof them out of my studio when I was thirty-five. I am also an easier mark for male swindlers than I used to be; at fifty I'll probably be joining clubs and buying Mexican mine stock. The truth is that every man goes up-hill in sagacity to a certain point, and then begins sliding down again. Nearly all the old fellows that I know are more or less balmy. Theoretically, they should be much wiser than younger men, if only because of their greater experience, but actually they seem to take on folly faster than they take on wisdom. A man of thirty-five or thirty-eight is almost woman-proof. For a woman to marry him is a herculean feat. But by the time he is fifty he is quite as easy as a Yale sophomore. On other planes the same decay of the intelligence is visible. Certainly it would be difficult to imagine any committee of relatively young men, of thirty or thirty-five, showing the unbroken childishness, ignorance and lack of humor of the Supreme Court of the United States. The average age of the learned justices must be well beyond sixty, and all of them are supposed to be of finished and mellowed sagacity. Yet their knowledge of the most ordinary principles of justice often turns out to be extremely meager, and when they spread themselves grandly upon a great case their reasoning powers are usually found to be precisely equal to those of a respectable Pullman conductor.

*Duty *

Some of the loosest thinking in ethics has duty for its theme. Practically all writers on the subject agree that the individual owes certain unescapable duties to the race - for example, the duty of engaging in productive labor, and that of marrying and begetting offspring. In support of this position it is almost always argued that if all men neglected such duties the race would perish. The logic is hollow enough to be worthy of the college professors who are guilty of it. It simply confuses the conventionality, the pusillanimity, the lack of imagination of the majority of men with the duty of all men. There is not the slightest ground .for assuming, even as a matter of mere argumentation, that all men will ever neglect these alleged duties. There will always remain a safe majority that is willing to do whatever is ordained - that accepts docilely the government it is born under, obeys its laws, and supports its theory. But that majority does not comprise the men who render the highest and most intelligent services to the race; it comprises those who render nothing save their obedience.

For the man who differs from this inert and well- regimented mass, however slightly, there are no duties per.se. What he is spontaneously inclined to do is of vastly more value to all of us than what the majority is willing to do. There is, indeed, no such thing as duty-in-itself; it is a mere chimera of ethical theorists. Human progress is furthered, not by conformity, but by aberration. The very concept of duty is thus a function of inferiority; it belongs naturally only to timorous and incompetent men. Even on such levels it remains largely a self-delusion, a soothing apparition, a euphemism for necessity. When a man succumbs to duty he merely succumbs to the habit and inclination of other men. Their collective interests invariably pull against his individual interests. Some of us can resist a pretty strong pull - the pull, perhaps, of thousands. But it is only the miraculous man who can withstand the pull of a whole nation.

*Martyrs *

"History," says Henry Ford, "is bunk." I inscribe myself among those who dissent from this doctrine; nevertheless, I am often hauled up, in reading history, by a feeling that I am among unrealities. In particular, that feeling comes over me when I read about the religious wars of the past - wars in which thousands of men, women and children were butchered on account of puerile and unintelligible disputes over transubstantiation, the atonement, and other such metaphysical banshees. It does not surprise me that the majority murdered the minority; the majority, even to-day, does it whenever it is possible. What I can't understand is that the minority went voluntarily to the slaughter. Even in the worst persecutions known to history - say, for example, those of the Jews of Spain - it was always possible for a given member of the minority to save his hide by giving public assent to the religious notions of the majority. A Jew who was willing to be baptized, in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, was practically unmolested; his descendants today are 100% Spaniards. Well, then, why did so many Jews refuse? Why did so many prefer to be robbed, exiled, and sometimes murdered?

The answer given by philosophical historians is that they were a noble people, and preferred death to heresy. But this merely begs the question. Is it actually noble to cling to a religious idea so tenaciously? Certainly it doesn't seem so to me. After all, no human being really knows anything about the exalted matters with which all religions deal. The most he can do is to match his private guess against the guesses of his fellowmen. For any man to say absolutely, in- such a field, that this or that is wholly and irrefragably true and this or that is utterly false is simply to talk nonsense. Personally, I have never encountered a religious idea - and I do not except even the idea of the existence of God - that was instantly and unchallengeably convincing, as, sav, the Copernican astronomy is instantly and unchallengeably convincing. But neither have I ever en- countered a religious idea that could be dismissed off- hand as palpably and indubitably false. In even the worst nonsense of such theological mountebanks as the Rev. Dr. Billy Sunday, Brigham Young and Mrs. Eddy there is always enough lingering plausibility, or, at all events, possibility, to give the judicious cause. Whatever the weight of the probabilities against it, it nevertheless may be true that man, on his decease, turns into a gaseous vertebrate, and that this vertebrate, if its human larva has engaged in embezzlement, bootlegging, profanity or adultery on this earth, will be boiled for a million years in a cauldron of pitch. My private inclination, due to my defective upbringing, is to doubt it, and to set down any one who believes it as an ***, but it must be plain that I have no means of disproving it.

In view of this uncertainty it seems to me sheer vanity for any man to hold his religious views too firmly, or to submit to any inconvenience on account of them. It is far better, if they happen to offend, to conceal them discreetly, or to change them amiably as the delusions of the majority change. My own views in this department, being wholly skeptical and tolerant, are obnoxious to the subscribers to practically all other views; even atheists sometimes denounce me. At the moment, by an accident of American political history, these dissenters from my theology are forbidden to punish me for not agreeing with them. But at any succeeding moment some group or other among them may seize such power and proceed against me in the immemorial manner. If it ever happens, I give notice here and now that I shall get converted to their nonsense instantly, and so retire to safety with my right thumb laid against my nose and my fingers waving like wheat in the wind. I'd do it even to-day, if there were any practical advantage in it. Offer me a case of Rauenthaler 1903, and I engage to submit to baptism by any rite ever heard of, provided it does not expose my gothic nakedness. Make it ten cases, and I'll agree to be both baptized and confirmed. In such matters I am broad-minded. What, after all, is one more lie?

*The Disabled Veteran *

The science of psychological pathology is still in its infancy. In all its literature in three languages, I can't find a line about the permanent ill effects of acute emotional diseases - say, for example, love affairs. The common assumption of the world is that when a love affair is over it is over - that nothing remains behind. This is probably grossly untrue. It is my belief that every such experience leaves scars upon my psyche, and that they are quite as plain and quite as dangerous as the scars left on the neck by a carbuncle. A man who has passed through a love affair, even though he may eventually forget the lady's very name, is never quite the same thereafter. His scars may be small, but they are permanent. The sentimentalist, exposed incessantly, ends as a psychic cripple; he is as badly off as the man who has come home from the wars with shell-shock. The precise nature of the scars remains to be determined. My own notion is that they take the form of large yellow patches upon the self-esteem. Whenever a man thinks of one of his dead love affairs, and in particular whenever he allows his memory to dredge up an image of the woman he loved, he shivers like one taken in some unmanly and discreditable act.

Such shivers, repeated often enough, must inevitably shake his inner integrity off its base. No man can love, and yet remain truly proud. It is a disarming and humiliating experience.

*Patriotism *

Patriotism is conceivable to a civilized man in times of stress and storm, when his country is wobbling and sore beset. His country then appeals to him as any victim of misfortune appeals to him - say, a street-walker pursued by the police. But when it is safe, happy and prosperous it can only excite his loathing. The things that make countries safe, happy and prosperous - a secure peace, an active trade, political serenity at home - are all intrinsically corrupting and disgusting. It is as impossible for a civilized man to love his country in good times as it would be for him to respect a politician.

_Now I'd say, ignore a big part of it; mr Mencken was so stuck planning his durable and lasting pleasures that he forgot the ones that weren't - until, of course, he himself married, and returned, after his wife died, a satisfied - not a broken - veteran. Then again, perhaps I am not of the authority to adress young men._


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## Eschbeg

Proofread things you send to other people: text messages, term papers, cover letters, everything.


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## cwarchc

Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another


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## aleazk

Don't mess with bureaucracy and bureaucrats. Just do what they ask, otherwise, when something starts to go wrong with your request, nobody will help you. And believe me, how prejudicious this can be for you is irrelevant for them.


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## Couchie

Hide your complete antipathy for mindless small talk at the workplace.


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## jani

Just saw this Ted talk, it's genius!
Imagine that you have achieved all you want in life, gotten all the validation you want from people and then ask, "what do i want" and if that question doesn't scare you, you aren't asking honestly and everything that you do in life that doesn't move you towards that what you would want in that situation is a waste of time.


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## apricissimus

Crudblud said:


> _#1._ *Be interesting.* There's nothing more boring than a person who isn't interesting, fortunately *being interesting is as simple as being interested*.


How does one become interesting?


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## jani

apricissimus said:


> How does one become interesting?


Just say what ever comes to your mind without filtering it at all, because when you do it you are being 100% congruent for your emotions = 100% honesty.

Loads of people are very afraid of this, its called the "james bond syndrome" they try so hard to think what to say inorder to look cool that it makes them fake and incongruent.


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## apricissimus

Hm... I guess I misread Crudblud's post. I thought he said that being interesting is _not_ the same as being interesting. Anyway, I'm not sure that it is the same. Being interested is probably a good way to be interesting to _yourself_, but to others? I think that's a different matter. Certainly no guarantee. A lot depends on what you are interested in, and how well you're able to share that with others.

Not so sure I agree with Jani either. Lacking a filter can get you past "interesting" and into "irritating" pretty quick!


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## Kieran

I'd say, don't live in fear. Life really is a gift, but it's yours, so don't let anybody steer you from your course...


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## Ukko

While _Crudblud_ is stewing about not being understood, I will add to his woes by suggesting a meaning:

If you are _interested_ in other people, what they are doing and saying, those people will find you _interesting_.

[Just remember that being interesting is not always a good thing. A hungry lion is apt to find you interesting,]


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## apricissimus

Hilltroll72 said:


> If you are _interested_ in other people, what they are doing and saying, those people will find you _interesting_.


This sounds about right to me.


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## SiegendesLicht

Do not live your life based off of what everybody else thinks of you. If your friends are trying to pressure you into something that seems disagreeable to you, go and find other friends. If they laugh at you for loving classical music, go and find other friends too. If you can find a person or two who really care about you and who you could look up to and learn from, treasure them and listen to their advice, but you can ignore the rest just fine.


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## Eschbeg

Learn more than one language. Just about any language you pick is bound to come in handy at some point.


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## Ingélou

Develop a conscience, based on your empathy with how other people may be suffering.
This may cause you some disquiet, but ultimately it will make you a kinder person, stop you acting in ways that could spoil your relationships, and give you the strength to withstand false or fickle friends.


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## Vaneyes

1. Buy a Japanese car.
2. Save and invest.

:tiphat:


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## Vaneyes

Hilltroll72 said:


> Pay attention. Don't jump to conclusions.


Listening attentively is a good trait, until you realize too many are saying nothing.


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## Vaneyes

Eschbeg said:


> Learn more than one language. Just about any language you pick is bound to come in handy at some point.


Or can get you in trouble, if you mistakenly cross-reference. But then again, it's important to speak atleast one language bad.


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## Garlic

Realise how little you know. If someone is speaking about a subject they are more knowledgeable than you in, shut up and listen. Don't feel the need to have an opinion on everything yet, especially if you have limited knowledge on the subject. (Speaking as a "younger" person who has had to learn these things the hard way)

Also, it's OK not to know what you want to do with your life, no matter what people tell you.


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## Pyotr

Life is very simple. All you have to do is: 1)find God 2)find your soul mate and 3)find money.

Now what could be easier than that?


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## PetrB

Any regrets which gnaw are over what one did not do, not the things one did which did not work or work well.

A gnawing regret could be that you went for that safer diploma when at the time you really wanted / needed to find out "if you could" become instead a _________ .

Almost all careers are established between the ages of twenty and thirty. Going into the arts professionally? Work now, life later.
... and better have been seriously busy working toward the arts skills since the age of ten, or making up for it on a dedicated and accelerated work schedule now


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## moody

Pyotr said:


> Life is very simple. All you have to do is: 1)find God 2)find your soul mate and 3)find money.
> 
> Now what could be easier than that?


Find God,very difficult I should think and why ?


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## moody

apricissimus said:


> How does one become interesting?


If you need to ask then you are certainly not.


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## ptr

Work hard, be patient, have fun, don't worry, keep an open mind and challenge everything You learn (especially cocksure from authoritarians) and it's very character building to F-up regularly, but remember, f-ing up is only the first step on the ladder of any advancement, whether emotional, economical or moral! 

/ptr


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## JohannesBrahms

Here's some good advice for everybody, young and old alike:

1. Ain't but one God.

2. Ain't notin' come before the Lord.

3. Quit yer foul mouthin.

4. Git yer hide to Sunday meetin'.

5. Honor yer Ma and Pa.

6. No killin', sept fer critters.

7. Don't be a tellin' tales or gosspin'.

8. No foolin' with another feller's gal.

9. No swipin' yer kin folk's stuff.

10. Don't be a hankering fer it, neither.

I can't take credit for this, unfortunately.

One other thing: listen to at least one episode of Jack Benny a day.


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## Don Fatale

Like most 50-somethings, I can think of many words of advice to younger people (late-teens/early 20's) but I'll focus on this one...

Perhaps you have some cool young friends ...but try to mix with people at least 10 years older than you. 

You'll learn far more from them, they will likely introduce you to a broader range of activities and social experiences, they will provide sage advice, encouragements and compliments and generally help to build your self esteem and social confidence. And once that starts to happen the world will open up to you.


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## brianvds

Youth is wasted on the young. And as we get older, we get ever more silly. Ain't a thing we can do about that. 

When I was in school, our principal once took a trip to Japan. When he got back, he couldn't stop talking about it. Don't litter so much! In Japan they arrest people for it! The Japanese are more polite than us! You won't believe how clean they and their country are! They have an incredible work ethic! People, look to the Japanese for inspiration!

And of course, we all laughed behind his back. But to punish me for my contempt for school teachers, fate made me one myself. And the other day, I caught myself preaching to the kids about the amazing work ethic and courtesy of the Japanese. 

I could only laugh at myself.


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## Ukko

Axiom #2: Take anything that_Hilltroll72_ tells you with the appropriate condiment.

Axiom #3: Listen to Joni Mitchell sing "Clouds".


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## moody

Pyotr said:


> Life is very simple. All you have to do is: 1)find God 2)find your soul mate and 3)find money.
> 
> Now what could be easier than that?


Drop the God bit. Ho,I've already had a go at this but as it's Sunday let it ride.


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## moody

Hilltroll72 said:


> Axiom #2: Take anything that_Hilltroll72_ tells you with the appropriate condiment.
> 
> Axiom #3: Listen to Joni Mitchell sing "Clouds".


And shut up ! Axioms 4--1000.


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## moody

ptr said:


> Work hard, be patient, have fun, don't worry, keep an open mind and challenge everything You learn (especially cocksure from authoritarians) and it's very character building to F-up regularly, but remember, f-ing up is only the first step on the ladder of any advancement, whether emotional, economical or moral!
> 
> /ptr


And you should know !!


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## Guest

"Heed not the advice of your elders."


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## moody

MacLeod said:


> "Heed not the advice of your elders."


That was Billy the Kid's famous saying---and you've changed again.


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## Guest

moody said:


> That was Billy the Kid's famous saying---and you've changed again.


I didn't know that. I suppose I should give him credit, but you've done it for me.

Isn't it about time you shed your suit of armour...it must be mighty warm in there in this current heatwave!


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## moody

MacLeod said:


> I didn't know that. I suppose I should give him credit, but you've done it for me.
> 
> Isn't it about time you shed your suit of armour...it must be mighty warm in there in this current heatwave!


It wasn't really--I made it up !
The armour keeps them at arms length,it's a mind thing--the black knight was always the baddy.


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## science

I'm bumping this thread to repeat the old advice about saving. As long as you are in debt and paying interest, you are to some degree owned. If you're not in debt, do not go into it unless you're starting a business or getting a pragmatic education. If you're in debt, pay it off ASAP. And then save money, invest it, and let the system begin to work for you. This takes away SOOOOO much of the stress of modern life.


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## Cosmos

1. Be nice to everyone you meet
2. Never slack off at work, even if it's a job you don't like


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## mirepoix

Always be honest with yourself.

Treat others as you wish to be treated - even if they're terrible people.

Keep moving forward. Sometimes it might seem to be in an almost insignificant or valueless manner, but it never is.

Understand that life is a series of compromises - and so choose your fights with care. And speaking of fights...

...if confronted with a physical threat to your well being, run away. I'm not afraid of or intimidated by anyone, but given the option my first choice is to run away.

_"She's (or he's) too good looking and too tall and too young and too well bred and wealthy and highly educated for me!_" - shut up. All of those are for her to decide. Your role is to have the confidence required to clearly profess your interest and have dignity if she shoots you down. (But if you can't have dignity, then leave her alone and go join the MRA or something)

Tell your partner they're beautiful. Do it right now. And realise that symmetry and 1.618 and all that jazz doesn't make a face beautiful. Instead, it's when you look at them and your first thought is "That's a face I never want to see being unhappy" - that's the real beauty.

Always find time to throw a stick for a dog or tickle a cat under the chin (especially if it's a leggy girl cat.)

At night in bed keep your leg under the covers at all times because there _is_ a monster under the bed and eventually it _will_ grab your leg.

"Expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights" - every day, every single day. Seriously. Think about it.


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## Varick

- The most important thing in life isn't how much money you make, nor how prestigious your University is/was (or whether or not you went to college in the first place), what the latest fashion is, or what a famous person does. It's *GOODNESS*. Be a good and decent person.

- Be grateful and show gratitude for everything you have.

- Your biggest battle and struggle in life will be with yourself and your shortcomings, not the rest of the world.

- Learn the difference between fun and happiness. Understand that most things that are "fun" will not make you "happy." And most things that will make you happy in the long run, are often not fun. Riding a roller coaster and playing a video game are fun. These things will not bring happiness. Going to work every day, doing your best no matter what you do, making tough moral decisions and doing the RIGHT thing are often not fun. But they most likely will bring deep and lasting happiness.

- Always make time for a little fun.

- Outside of your immediate family and perhaps a few very close friends, the world does not care nor will it judge you on how you *feel*. The only thing they care about and can reasonably judge you on is what you *do*.

- Before doing almost anything, do not ask yourself "does this feel good?" but ask, "Is this the right thing to do?"

- Embrace adversity, meet it head-on. It will be your greatest teacher.

- Give generously and freely, but fight against those who would take by force.

- Be a joy in people's lives, not a burden.

- Understand that there was a lot accomplished way before you ever came along, and a lot will be accomplished long after you are gone.

- The significant are rarely famous and the famous are rarely significant.

V


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## hpowders

The best advice I would give younger people is the advice my mother gave me:

Never grow old.


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## Cheyenne

hpowders said:


> The best advice I would give younger people is the advice my mother gave me:
> 
> Never grow old.


Never grow old... In spirit?


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## ArtMusic

My advice; always question what you think doesn't make sense in the art world, especially if the goodness of art is being abused by the artists/


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

cwarchc said:


> Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another


I would say (when _anyone_ is being selfish and this would apply) to compare your life with others who are not as fortunate as you.


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## Kieran

Don't spend your time trying to mind read others...


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## QuietGuy

Don't let others define you. Define YOURSELF for YOURSELF. If others can't deal with it, that's their problem.

Don't be so quick to accept the generosity of others. Sooner or later, they will reveal their ulterior motives, and you'll find yourself in a situation from which it is not easy to extricate yourself.


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## EricABQ

What must be done eventually should be done immediately.


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## Jos

Don't take boring old farts too seriously......

Cheers,
Jos


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## Huilunsoittaja

Thank you, wise peoples! I greatly appreciate!


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## Tristan

As a younger person, I definitely liked reading through this thread! We for certain have some wise ones here 

I'm not such a fan of the really cynical advice (I'm just not a cynical person in general), but let's just say that if I do become more cynical with age, I doubt it will surprise me


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## georgedelorean

I have one major piece of advice for the young: don't be in a hurry to grow up.


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## Guest

As a parent of four adults, two of whom have their own children, I'd give this advice to young people. Firstly, don't publish anything in the public domain that you wouldn't be prepared to stand up and own. Employers scour the social networks to see the attitudes and behaviours of their applicants and I can tell you that's the first place they go to cull them from their lists!! Secondly, stand up to the tyranny of the Left and its Thought Police and develop the strength of character to decide for yourselves. We are living in frightening and repressing times where people are being forced to conform to an ideology - one or many. Dissent is no longer tolerated, especially on university campuses.

Thirdly, listen to this absolute hero, Professor Jordan Peterson, who is fighting a one-man battle against tyranny in Canada. He has some brave and ground-breaking comments to make about life in general. As he is phenomenally well read and has a brain the size of a planet you could do no better than listen to this great man: here is one tiny example of his reasoning.


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## Xaltotun

Ukko said:


> Pay attention. Don't jump to conclusions.


I would have written: 1) read, and 2) don't believe everything you read, but the above advice by Ukko encompasses that and even more. Extraordinary wisdom right there.


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## Pat Fairlea

Advice for the young?

Avoid middle age: shimmy straight from adolescence to senility.

Never take sides in someone else's marriage (that's from my mother - she was right).

Treat other people as you would wish them to treat you.

Always listen to advice, but don't take it (and that, unexpectedly, is from Gustav Holst!)


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## Guest

This outspoken hero covers many of the issues which *young people need to hear,* as opposed to the shrill noise they're currently subjected to. University students in his classes in Toronto absolutely adore this Professor, and with good reason:


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## Bulldog

My best advice is to stay young as long as you can.


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## Guest

Bulldog said:


> My best advice is to stay young as long as you can.


...whilst avoiding becoming Peter Pan!!


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## Gordontrek

I'm not an old person by any means. There is one big thing I've noticed about my own generation and the generation coming up that I feel compelled to address.
You will live a miserable life if your goal is to have wealth and status. Specifically, I've observed that this is a problem among a _ton_ of college students. The point of higher education is to enrich your life and make you a better, more well-rounded human being. But so many kids come into college thinking their Bachelors is their golden Wonka ticket to living like upper-middle-class suburbanites for the rest of their lives, that the atmosphere at college campuses is cancerous. It's a get-in-and-get-out degree mill now. 
Apologies if this is too controversial, but based on my observation, I think that this mentality is worse among kids who come from wealthy families. I have friends whose family included a father who is a doctor and a mother who is an engineer, or some combination of triple-digit occupations. These kids go into college having grown up around luxury, and want it for themselves. But they're mystified when they find out that you _can't_ always start out with it, and that it usually takes many years of working your way up in the world to get it. They get out of college wondering why in the world they're not living like their parents yet, and whine endlessly about the oppressive "system" that forces them to live in apartments while they're starting out. Basically, anything less than a two-story red brick house in the suburbs with a new Lexus in the driveway and sprinklers in the yard is "struggling." It isn't always the kids' fault either. Sometimes their parents sit on them to get sparkly credentials next to their name, so as to not to have a loser in the family!
So my advice, after all that, is simple- chasing wealth is a meaningless struggle. If you go to college because you want to make gobs of money when you graduate, you're missing the point of college entirely and setting yourself up for failure. If you want to be a doctor, that is an honorable and noble profession. Wealth and fortune could very well come your way if you succeed, and you deserve it. But if you want to be a doctor because you want money, you're doing it for the wrong reason.

(I hope no one takes this the wrong way- I'm not dissing wealthy people at all, just speaking to a specific group of people that I've observed whose behavior troubles me)


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## Gaspard de la Nuit

CountenanceAnglaise said:


> This outspoken hero covers many of the issues which *young people need to hear,* as opposed to the shrill noise they're currently subjected to. University students in his classes in Toronto absolutely adore this Professor, and with good reason:


Wow, not that he was entirely wrong but I found that to be *so* boring. He's basically just a center-right talk show host.


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## Guest

Gaspard de la Nuit said:


> Wow, not that he was entirely wrong but I found that to be *so* boring. He's basically just a center-right talk show host.


He's a practicing Clinical Psychologist and university Psychology Professor at Toronto in Canada. His students love him and there are lots of his lectures on U-Tube. He also has been invited to lots of speaking gigs because he's a public intellectual. Sorry you found him boring; I think he's anything but. And brave? You bet!!!


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## Guest

And something else which Professor Peterson says, which is useful for young people (and should be taught by their parents) is who your *real friends* are. These are the people who are there for you when things are bad BUT they are also there for you when you win and make good; when you are successful and achieve. That's a very important distinction, that second criterion, because you soon find out who your friends are when you win!! They can often become very thin on the ground.


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## Dan Ante

*Respect your elders...*


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese




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## Guest

Eddie, this song would definitely not be PC these days. The singer would find himself in front of the AHRC; they just love authoritarianism, these people!! Anyway, the song isn't funny; it's about bogans sung by a bogan!!

And, Eddie, what are the hoons and petrol heads going to do when self-driving electric cars hit the market?


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese

CountenanceAnglaise said:


> Eddie, this song would definitely not be PC these days. The singer would find himself in front of the AHRC; they just love authoritarianism, these people!! Anyway, the song isn't funny; it's about bogans sung by a bogan!!
> 
> And, Eddie, what are the hoons and petrol heads going to do when self-driving electric cars hit the market?


Glad you liked it and it fits the OP, was a big hit song here in about 75

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Newcastle_Song

I guess the bogans will brew their own fuel, so then they could be driving blind drunk what they are drinking- pretty much the same as now


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## Dan Ante

Well I just love it Eddie, the good old days, all this PC crap, the worlds gOne [email protected]@56 MAD


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## Meyerbeer Smith

Life's an adventure.

The world is bigger than you are. Go and explore it.

Your emotions aren't the most interesting or important thing in the world. Get over yourself. Go and learn something or do something.

Act honourably. Be a gentleman (or a lady).

Take advantage of any opportunities. Say "YES!" to everything (within reason).

Make the best of any situation.

The best way of building confidence is to do stuff. (Engage with the world!)

Have a sense of humour, and a sense of proportion.

Don't succumb to ideology. See life as it is, rather than through a theoretical or political framework.

Be friendly. Assume people mean well, until they prove otherwise.

Know when to pick your battles; don't let anger govern you.


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## ArtMusic

My advice: learn and read from history, the past explains and reveals a lot of why things are. The past also contains great and wonderful art.


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## Dr Johnson

My advice to young people is to be quiet and respectful in my presence.


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## hpowders

Dr Johnson said:


> My advice to young people is to be quiet and respectful in my presence.


I'll remember that.


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## hpowders

My mother once told me "Don't ever get old, hpowders". 

I'm passing it on. No guarantees.


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## Granate

Gordontrek said:


> I'm not an old person by any means. There is one big thing I've noticed about my own generation and the generation coming up that I feel compelled to address.
> You will live a miserable life if your goal is to have wealth and status. Specifically, I've observed that this is a problem among a _ton_ of college students. The point of higher education is to enrich your life and make you a better, more well-rounded human being. But so many kids come into college thinking their Bachelors is their golden Wonka ticket to living like upper-middle-class suburbanites for the rest of their lives, that the atmosphere at college campuses is cancerous. It's a get-in-and-get-out degree mill now.
> Apologies if this is too controversial, but based on my observation, I think that this mentality is worse among kids who come from wealthy families. I have friends whose family included a father who is a doctor and a mother who is an engineer, or some combination of triple-digit occupations. These kids go into college having grown up around luxury, and want it for themselves. But they're mystified when they find out that you _can't_ always start out with it, and that it usually takes many years of working your way up in the world to get it. They get out of college wondering why in the world they're not living like their parents yet, and whine endlessly about the oppressive "system" that forces them to live in apartments while they're starting out. Basically, anything less than a two-story red brick house in the suburbs with a new Lexus in the driveway and sprinklers in the yard is "struggling." It isn't always the kids' fault either. Sometimes their parents sit on them to get sparkly credentials next to their name, so as to not to have a loser in the family!
> So my advice, after all that, is simple- chasing wealth is a meaningless struggle. If you go to college because you want to make gobs of money when you graduate, you're missing the point of college entirely and setting yourself up for failure. If you want to be a doctor, that is an honorable and noble profession. Wealth and fortune could very well come your way if you succeed, and you deserve it. But if you want to be a doctor because you want money, you're doing it for the wrong reason.
> 
> (I hope no one takes this the wrong way- I'm not dissing wealthy people at all, just speaking to a specific group of people that I've observed whose behavior troubles me)


My favourite of the current 2017 answers. Thank you very much.


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## Guest

Always do your best but don't be afraid to fail. Someone who has never failed has never learned a damned, bloody thing.

Don't be afraid to be afraid. Bravery isn't saddling up feeling no fear, it's saddling up when you're scared half out of your mind.


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