We have a pretty wide range of ages and experience here on slinging.org Which is awesome, I think inter-generational interaction is good and fairly rare. So I thought it would be interesting to start a thread where we post the best advice we've received, or discovered. Sometimes advice only makes sense after you've had your teeth kicked in but still I thought it would be interesting. One of the few pieces I'm arrogant to proffer as good advice:
 
"Listen to extremists occasionally but don't bother reasoning with them"
 
I realized, after a fair bit of interaction with both sides, that extremists see things that you would miss. Sometimes they pull together seemingly disparate things in a way that is worth thinking about. They miss obvious (to you) things that undercut their arguments and worldviews. But they can see things in other worldviews that the members cannot. We all miss the holes in our worldviews and see them in others. But learning to bend your thoughts the way others think  (and learning their definitions of things)can help you realize things you just don't right now. Which is not to say you abandon your view, but you might modify it, or at least understand them better. So give people that you fundamentally disagree with a fair hearing occasionally, they are not as stupid as you've been told.  You're not going to change them, but you might find something to learn from them. Often critiques of our own worldviews have some merit to them.

Quote from Mauro Fiorentini on May 4^th, 2012, 7:28am:

I haven't thought of any advice that's fit to post here yet, but I'll agree with this bit from Mauro.  For most of my three years active in the army I was a traffic accident investigator.  I can tell you from a mountain of experience and with no exaggeration that virtually ALL of the accidents I investigated that resulted in serious injury or death involved alcohol in some way.  

Up until the age of eleven I was a devout Roman Catholic.  The one useful thing that a nun taught me was the eleventh commandment. Mind your own business.  It's always good advice.  Dad once gave me excellent advice on love but I can't post it here.

Two pieces given to me a long time ago:
 
Don't ever get old.  
 
Don't ever get sick.

Similar to, "when you find yourself up to your chin (or drowning) in $#!T, keep your mouth closed."

And we're so glad that you are Bill.

Quote from Aussie on May 5^th, 2012, 6:42am:

 
But we're nothing like our moms, Aussie.

If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.