The best advice you've ever gotten?

From my mother: Everything works out for the best

 

Stop doing that.

 

Know when it's time to quit trying to keep all the plates spinning, so you can get started up on the clean-up when they inevitably fall.

 

If you can't afford it, don't buy it.

And even if you can afford it, ask yourself, "Do I really need it?"

 

I'm sure I got a lot of good advice. Can't say that I ever followed any.

 

Ahem!

 

1. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

2. Knowledge is power.

3. Your career is what you do, not who you are; don't let it define you.

4. AOL sucks, get gmail.

 

Years ago I worked for a VP of Sales who was a big, loud, profane ex-British Army vet who had a powerful speaking voice (it was awesome, he could have been a stage actor) and a very low tolerance for fuckups.

Many people in the company couldn't stand him and I had been warned plenty before taking the job that he was rough on those who worked for him and turnover was frequent. I wasn't worried, my old man was a loud, large, profane British Army vet with little tolerance for me too. I figured this was nothing I hadn't seen before.

Anyway, I noticed a large screwup on one of the first sales reports I had sumbitted to him and he caught it before I could fix it. Sure enough I hear his booming voice beckoning me to his office and I headed in there figuring I was fucked.

He called me every name in the book for allowing this mistake to get to his desk but I told him it was nothing malicious, I just zigged when I should have zagged. He told me to be more careful and pay attention to detail more than I was probably used to. And he left me with some advice I have never forgotten:

"There's a reason they put erasers on pencils. People make mistakes."

And that was that. I was on my way back to work and never made that mistake again. He was one of the best bosses I ever had.

 

No. 3 is incredibly important in this business. Too many people in this business have their entire identities in their jobs and that can make layoffs/buyouts devastating. I can't imagine how much harder that would have been on me if I didn't have a wife and kids to come home to. I'd much rather be known as someone's husband or father than as "The guy who covers the NFL."

 

No. 2 is really important, too. I try to impress that on my kids.

 

Lord loves a workin' man; don't trust whitey; see a doctor and get rid of it.

 

"Don't stress out about things you can't control."

From mom, who lives it while living with my dad, who worries about everything in the world.