Advice

Ever been offered “free advice?” My answer would be thousands of times but that was after Vietnam. It was at that time that the last thing I needed was a non-combatants advice; family or no. That’s the way it’s been since 1972. And, believe it or not, I’ve done just fine. Advice, free or not, should be judiciously dispensed. It also helps if you know what the hell you’re talking about before giving advice and the percentage of “knowing” I ran into was about 9%, +/-. No, I didn’t do the math because that percentage makes sense to me. Besides how do you put a percentage on another persons advice? May as well tell them to hold their fire as listen to advice you don’t need nor want.

Free advice is most often dispensed by folks older than you or I. Old people are sometimes worth listening to if they have been where you are at the moment. I don’t say that because I am old I say it because I got good advice from older people when I was young. Now, had I listened . . .

There are times that I sought advice but that was when I was out of my element maintaining electronic equipment that would be able to spy on foreign governments: electronic warfare. I would find an electronics tech on the ship and ask if he could figure out where I had gone wrong. That type of advice saves lives and when it comes to saving lives I will take all the advice I can get.

Experience is, of course, what we love to get advice from. Been there, done that sorts of advice. You’d be surprised how many refuse to listen, screw it all up and then get mad at you for not telling them exactly what you told them. Keep ego at bay when seeking advice. You’re not as smart as you may think you are.

If you are on the giving end of advice, don’t speak of what you don’t know a damn thing about. That has been my rule since I was first asked for advice and told the person I didn’t know enough about that which he was asking. Confusion is not a good look when advising a person, is it?

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