Best Advice I Ever Got

I want to start today off with a story.

There's this father and son who were riding a donkey into town. As they're going along, some people walk by and they say, "What kind of people are so cruel to animals that they force a donkey to carry both of them?"

So they feel bad and the father gets off so just the son is riding. They go a little further and some people walk by and go, "What kind of disrespectful son makes his father walk?"

The son gets off and the father gets on the donkey. They go a little further and some people walk by and go, "What kind of a horrible father makes the son walk?"

The father feels bad, so he gets off the donkey. They go a little bit further and at the end of the road, they go into the town and the father and son are carrying the donkey.

Today I want to give you the best piece of advice that I’ve ever received.

My grandmother once told me "Davis, the secret to life is to ignore 99 out of 100 people. But when you find that 1 out of 100, you listen to everything they say."

The world we live in, there's the paradox of choice. People have so much choice that people get paralyzed and don't even know what the right decision to make, because there are so many different opinions out there from so many different types of people.

But here’s the thing. Most of the people who will give you advice have no idea what they’re talking about.

You have to accept that you can’t please everybody and that not everybody knows what they’re talking about.

The biggest danger to you is too much information. You'll find books that argue one other side and a book that's for the other. You'll walk away confused and not move forward.

Be extremely picky about who you listen to.

Only listen to people who meet these three criteria:

1. Only listen to those who have tremendous skill in whatever area you're asking them for expertise in. They need to be at the top of the game and have gone through what you are going through.

2. They have tremendous experience in that area, at the very least 10 to 20 years of work in the field. They need to have a proven track record.

3. They need to have your best interest at heart. Charlie Munger says, "Never ask a salesman his advice on buying his own product." People often have ulterior motives to helping you, and the most solid advice will come from those who have nothing to lose.

When I was young and I was trying to decide if I wanted to go to the university, I would ask for everybody's opinion whether or not I should go.

Some people told me, "Absolutely, yes. University is the most important thing for you. You'll have respect and the qualifications." Some people are saying, "No, you don't need to go to university." I really was confused.

There were good cases for both sides.

So I decided to go back to my grandmother because she had given me great advice that had shaped me, and asked, "Grandma, should I go to the university?" She said, "Davis, why do you want to go to the university?" and I replied "Well, people say I'll have respect because I'll have a degree."

I'll never forget what he said.

She told me "Davis,in this world, Make a lot of money. Then everybody will respect you."

I went out and became an entrepreneur and tried to make my way in the world and I look back and I'm very thankful that I took that advice. The point of the story is she knows me well. She knows my strengths. She knew my situation then.

By just listening to that one person, and she is a trustworthy person, she had proven to have great advice, knowledgeable, I was able to make a strong choice in life.

If I can get one thing to you today, it would be to be careful who you listen to. Even if they mean well, they may not have your best interest in mind.

Stop asking everybody for advice, because the more you ask, the more confused you will become.

Regards,

Semboze