Everyone’s lives are made up of different experiences. We come from different families, countries, economic backgrounds, our parents have different jobs, we went to different schools, eat different things, have different hobbies… the list goes on.
Everyone has different lives and learns different things along the way.
Once we’re adults, our knowledge base gets even further apart as people settle into careers.
Why not take advantage of the deeply different experiences we all have?
That leads me into my favorite question to ask people.
What is the single best piece of advice you have?
It’s a very simple question, but digs right down to the core.
It takes some people a bit of time to come up with an answer, and if that’s the case it’s usually useful to point them in a direction. Their career is always an easy one.
For instance, a plumber likely has some great information on what you shouldn’t be putting down your pipes, a financial analyst is likely going to have some sage financial advice, or your aging grandma may have some great health tips that have kept her spry for so long.
It’s an especially useful question for people have been extraordinarily successful at something.
A great example is when I was at SXSW almost 5 years ago. I went to a body/health hacking talk where among others a guy named, Dave Asprey was speaking. I didn’t know who he was at the time, but after the talk I approached him and asked him what he thought the single best piece of advice he had for long-term health.
He responded “eat more fat.”
5 minutes later he had explained to me the health benefits of eating more fat, specifically grass-fed butter and gave me a couple recipes to integrate it more into my life.
The next day, I drank my first butter coffee, and almost 5 years later I have one almost every day. Looking back at that entire SXSW conference, that single piece of advice was worth the $800+ price of attendance.
I can honestly credit that single piece of advice with a bit of my success. I used to drink lots of coffee and even energy drinks to keep myself focused, which was a killer on my general health.
The butter coffee kept me full longer, didn’t make me “crash,” and improved my focus all day.
I’ve asked the same questions to countless others, and it always leads to interesting answers.
Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.
As I’m writing this, I’ve realized it would probably be a good idea to gather all of the advice I’ve received over the years from this question and put it into a blog post for other’s to share, so watch out for that coming up.
What’s my single best piece of advice?
When it comes to work, make sure you’re doing something that makes you happy. Money truly is a secondary concern if you’re able to cover your bills. Nothing can make you happier than getting to do something you enjoy every single day.
If you’re able to, try to create your own income with some type of business. It’s incredibly liberating and allows you to build your job around you life instead of building your life around you job.
If anyone is headed on that path and needs and advice, shoot me an email and I’ll help however I can.
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