“Good advice is seldom taken, but that is never a reason for not giving it.” – Agatha Christie

 Have you ever said, “I wish I knew then what I know now”?  Not long ago I read a great article on the website, Marc & Angel Hack Life.  The article was 18 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I Was 18.  It was a great piece and it got me to thinking about how many things I wish I knew then that I know now.  It really was not all a case of people not telling me, I had great advice really, it was that I did not listen.

How often it is that good advice comes our way and we think that we know better, or that it is different for us?  The one consistent thing is that we always end up paying the price for our thick headedness.  It reminds me of a saying by Lord Chesterfield: “In seeking wisdom you are wise; in imagining that you have attained it – you are a fool.”  How foolish we can be when we think we know more than those who have gone before.

Here are a few things I wish I would have been told or at least accepted in my early years:

• Life is not fair.

You have to get the whole fairness thing out of your head.  Things in life are not fair, equal or even.  Nor should they be.  The demand for fairness in life only comes from those who are too lazy or foolish to succeed on their own.

• Success only comes through hard work.  I grew up in a time when people had the idea that success just happened.  Some won the game and some did not.  Success is there for everyone, if – make that a big IF – you are willing to work hard for it and pay the price.
• Being reasonable will get you nowhere.  I was taught that you have to be practical, reasonable and accept life as it has been given to you.  The truth is you have to think of impossible dreams, take the big risks, and never let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.
• Reading is the most valuable habit you can form.  The person who succeeds is the person who reads.  Never think that education comes from schools.  You have more resources and more information that Franklin, Edison or even Einstein did in their life time – combined.  Learning should never stop for the Success-Minded Person.

I could go on and on with this.  I think you get what I am driving at.  Success-Minded People are always ready to help others by sharing their wisdom of life.  Never think you have it all down – you don’t.  As long as you have breath you can learn from others.  Never think that your way, or the way of your mentor is the only way.  Wisdom is a principle, how you apply it to your life is different for each of us.  Remember what the Greek Poet Euripides said: “Cleverness is not wisdom.”  Don’t think that because you are clever you know what is going on.  Street smarts are only good if you live on the street.  Success never happens on the street.

 © 2011 John Patrick Hickey