Admitting a mistake is NOT the same as admitting weakness or stupidity.

Never make fun of someone's job. No matter how "beneath you" it is, somebody has to do it, and we should all appreciate that they do it.

Only break one law at a time.

Thank you pops. It probably did keep me from fucking my life up (worse).

Your job is not your family. You owe them nothing. Do your job well and leave the work at the door when you leave at the end of the day. Unless you're an owner, every bit of extra work you do is you being robbed.

Emotional and ready to quit your job/break up with someone/confront someone?

Write down what you want to say/write. WRITE IT ALL DOWN.

Wait 24 hours. Read it again.

Do you still think you should send it? Then send it.

80% of the time my issue was stupid and my reaction inappropriate, but because I kept my mouth shut, all I had to do was tear up a piece of paper.

Thanks dad. That’s served me well.

This was specific to calculus homework but it has turned out to be very good advice, "when you don't know what to do, do something". Often decisions can be paralyzing or problems can feel insurmountable but doing nothing is a choice. Very rarely is it the best one.

If you’re in a group and talking about someone who isn’t there, imagine they are. That way, you’ll never say something you might regret later.

The three least heard words in the universe will serve you well, and often catch people off guard - don't be afraid to use them.

"I was wrong."

Admit your mistakes when they happen, then when something goes wrong no one will accuse you.

Ask yourself the three things before you say anything.

1. Does this need to be said?

2. Does this need to be said by me?

3. Does this need to be said by me now?

Craig Ferguson

This has been helpful for me in meetings since I have a tendency to talk more than I probably should.

Never compare yourself to others but only to yourself from the past.

Be grateful for what you have.

"Shut the fuck up."

Don't believe everything you think

When I got my first car my grandmother told me "don't do anything to it that makes it stand out to the police."

A relationship can only work if everyone is getting out of it what they need.

It's basically just a simple reminder to be attentive and care, but it's stuck with me. Most of my friends and my husband have been a part of my life for over twenty years now, so I think it works.

Don't Panic

Might not ever be the best piece of advice, but it's always the second best piece of advice in any situation

Go away from your home for college.

It will give you a chance to grow as a person.

From one of my high school math teachers.

Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are. I thought it was stupid when I heard it as a kid, but it's the damned truth and I turned my life for the better after cutting loose some people I should not have called my friends.

Learn how to deal with people.

No matter what you do in life you have to deal with people in some way. Even if they are paid to do what you tell them it's a huge difference if they put your request on the top or bottom of their pile.

An okay plan applied immediately and vigorously is INFINTELY better than a perfect plan ten minutes too late.

" You gotta be true to who you really are, cause no one's gotta wear the shoes you got "

Given to me by a former friend, high as a rocket to Venus, upon my stumbling attempt to come out to him twenty years ago

Live below your means, but not too far.

The best thing I ever did was ignore the advice people gave me and figured out stuff on my own.

Because most advice I got was coming from a completely different universe and totally irrelevant to my own personal situation, and most advice-givers were straight up hypocrites, who were mostly only interested in me thinking they were great, when they were total jerks.

Good Critical Thinking Skills are the only education you need. With Critical Thinking Skills, you can learn anything you need to know, and recognize and avoid those who will try to interrupt your life journey and take advantage of you.

Professionally, the question that needs to get answered isn't the question being asked. Always get context.

Many things are only a big deal if you make them a big deal

“Better put on a condom”

Lefty loosey righty tighty

"No permanent solutions to temporary problems." It is a double edged sword for me, but one that cut through some hard times. Police are trained to tell people this. One that was in cybercrime, doing a talk on AppArmor on Linux, mentioned this casualty and it stuck when I needed it.

HR rep: if you’re gonna go down take people with you.

Life won't happen on your schedule.

(Meaning be patient and don't beat yourself up if things aren't happening as fast as you want)

if the whole world smells like shit, check your shoe.

When my dad was teaching me how to ride a bike, I would make it so far and then fall down.

I couldn't figure out how to control the bicycle and myself, and every single little bump in the road, I would lose control of the bike.

After the third or fourth time my dad picked me up and dusted me off, and he placed a hand on my shoulder and he said, "Look son, you rule the road. Don't let the road rule you."

And I don't know what magic there is in that phrase, but immediately after hearing that, I could ride a bicycle.

And it's not just me. I later on encountered a kid who was learning how to ride a bike, and he kept falling over. And I looked at him and I said, "I'll tell you what my dad told me. You rule the road. Don't let the road rule you."

A few days later, I saw his little, like, I don't know, seven-year-old self riding a freaking full-grown adult 10-speed mountain bike and pulling tricks when just three or four days prior he was falling down on a huffy.

This one may sound a bit silly, but it's worked for me quite a few times:

"Whatever happened before or might happen later, right now, just for this moment, everything's fine."

(of course, if something bad is actually happening at a given moment you're probably not going to be spending time remembering that little tidbit. It's for when you're feeling depressed or anxious).

don’t waste too much time and energy trying to open some doors. Sometimes there’s a different path there waiting for you and sometimes the room is just not worth visiting

—

and one of the most precious things I ever heard, not even a straightforward advice, just pure, genuine gold:

„As a man, entire world can judge me and I don’t care all that much, I am not perfect, I make mistakes, I may fall, I may fail, I may hurt, I may help, I learn and I try my best.. and I am not scared of any of that, I can handle that.. or even learn how to handle it better. BUT as a father, only you and your brother can judge me and about that judgement.. I care the most and being a father is my biggest responsibility and the most scary thing I have ever done in my life and possibly will ever do. I know you are still young and you don’t have to but please just understand that as much as you can.“

The exact wording isn’t coming to me, but there are a lot of decisions in life where one option is basically as good as another. Making your choice successful depends less on the decision itself and more on how much effort you put into it.

“Strengthen your strengths and your weaknesses weaken.”

Dr Maung Gyi

It was advice I have myself in college... Don't focus on getting good grades, focus on learning. Judge your success on how much you learned.

The only time my grades actually mattered was interviewing for jobs right out of college. After that, every other job is based on your previous job and non no one ever asked again.

I'm in engineering and it this doesn't necessarily translate to other fields. But I'm currently the cto for a mid sized tech company.

DO IT! Just... DO IT! YES YOU CAN! Just do it! If you're tired of starting over, STOP. GIVING. UP.

Never put yourself down. It gives people the perfect opportunity to agree with you.

If you have to whine or criticize something make sure to have a way to make it better. If you bring up a problem, bring up the solution with you.