What's the best advice you've ever been given?

A mother, as part of her quest to put together an "album of advice" for her graduating son (love that idea), emails the Freakonomics guys. Dubner's answer is a good one, presented neatly in a fishing narrative no less.

I love it when big-time bloggers post questions like this because of the hundreds of comments to comb through for gems of wisdom. I spent ~15 minutes weeding through 102 mostly underwhelming comments, and pulled out the 7 below that I thought were meaningful enough to save for posterity.

P.S. - I am going to the NC State commencement tomorrow morning just to hear Charlie Rose's address. From watching his interviews over the past couple of years, the man seems profoundly wise. I am just hoping his advice is not given too much in the form of I have spoken to many great people and they have all said... I only want to know what he thinks. I am relying on him and his bullshit filter. Don't let me down, Charlie. Anyway, expect some notes or maybe even audio next week.

---

A man celebrating his golden wedding anniversary when asked the secret to the success of his marriage: Every morning I look in the mirror, and I say to the reflection, ‘You’re no bargain.’

Your business idea will either make money or lose money. Whichever it is, it’s best to know by the end of the first month.

Your brain works very hard to fool you into believing that you are smart, wise, and that you make good decisions. So whenever you are trying to make a difficult decision or solve a difficult problem and the evidence points to a conclusion that pleases you, be especially skeptical.

“It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

The hardest thing to do is to start. Discipline is easy once you have momentum. Make a habit of doing rather than not doing.

Your quality of life, especially your mood, is intimately connected to three things: sufficient sleep, a healthy diet, and sufficient exercise. Try not to compromise more than one at a time.

If you wait for the perfect time to do anything then you’ll end up doing nothing.