quotations about advice
We advise others better than ourselves.
NORMAN MACDONALD
Maxims and Moral Reflections
The counsels of the old, like the winter sun, shine, but give no heat.
LUC DE CLAPIERS, MARQUIS DE VAUVENARGUES
Reflections and Maxims
Some men, like a wet dog, sprinkle a shower of advice over you when you are least prepared for a bath.
AUSTIN O'MALLEY
Keystones of Thought
Whatever advice you give, be brief.
HORACE
Art of Poetry
It is an easy thing for one whose foot is on the outside of calamity to give advice and to rebuke the sufferer.
AESCHYLUS
Prometheus Bound
Good advice is like gold. Hopefully someday we'll be confident of finding it, in a transparent way that suits all our needs.
TOM HARTMANN
"Top 5 reasons we avoid advice", New Zealand Herald, February 21, 2016
Another problem with advice is that the advisor seldom understands the full implications of the problem. When people share their concerns with us, they often display only the "tip of the iceberg." The advisor is unaware of the complexities, feelings, and the many other factors that lie hidden beneath the surface.
ROBERT BOLTON
People Skills
In my experience, most unsolicited advice comes from people who genuinely care. They want what's best for you, and they think their cautionary tales (even when you know the advice to be misguided) can help you avoid missteps. Whenever possible, just graciously say "thank you" and move on. This lets those who care feel like they are participating in your success and helping you on your journey.
BRITTANY HODAK
"How to respond to unsolicited advice about your startup", Wichita Business Journal, March 1, 2016
I came to the conclusion, that if my advice wouldn't be taken by those who needed it most and was stolen by those who could well afford to pay for it, that I would hereafter give advice only to myself and always sell it to others.
WILLIAM HENRY MCMASTERS
"On the Matter of Advice"
Advice is not often asked of seeming idlers: it is most common to interrupt the busy by such requests; and naturally enough, since those who attend most carefully to their own concerns, are generally thought best qualified, by experience, to judge for others.
ANONYMOUS
Southern Literary Messenger, vol. 4
Here is a thing which the more it is needed the more it is rejected: and this is advice, which is unwillingly heeded by those who most need it, that is to say, by the ignorant.
LEONARDO DA VINCI
Thoughts on Art and Life
Good advice is the second mother to a child.
TUUMYERIDAM DONALD
"Tension in Chiana-Paga NDC over primary holdup", Ghana Web, February 23, 2016
And certain it is, that the light that a man receiveth by counsel from another, is drier and purer, than that which cometh from his own understanding and judgment; which is ever infused, and drenched, in his affections and customs.
FRANCIS BACON
"Of Friendship", The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral