quotes, quotations and passages on

Advice is seldom welcome;
those who need it most,
like it least.

Samuel Johnson

Before you give advice, that is to say advice which you have not been asked to give, it is well to put to yourself two questions--namely, what is your motive for giving it, and what is it likely to be worth? If these questions were always asked, and honestly answered, there would be less advice given.

John William McKail
"On Giving Advice"

The true secret to giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not.

Hannah Whitall Smith

What's wrong with advice? Advice is often a basic insult to the intelligence of the other person. It implies a lack of confidence in the capacity of the person with the problem to understand and cope with his or her own difficulties. As Norman Kagan puts it, "In essence, we implicitly say to someone, 'You have been making a "big deal" out of a problem whose solution is immediately apparent to me--how stupid you are!'"

Robert Bolton
People Skills

I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.

Harry Truman

To one who knows, it is superfluous to give advice;
to one who does not know, it is insufficient.

Seneca

quotations - contents - welcome page - obstacles
the people behind the words - our current e-zine - articles and excerpts
Daily Meditations, Year One - Year Two - Year Three - Year Four

Sign up for your free daily spiritual or general quotation ~ ~ Sign up for your free daily meditation

Do not advise too much: do the job yourself. This is the only
advice you can give to others. Do it and others will follow.

Jawaharial Nehru

If I wanted to become a tramp, I would seek information and
advice from the most successful tramp I could find. If I wanted
to be a failure, I would seek advice from men and women who
never succeeded. If I wanted to succeed in all things, I would
look around me for those who are succeeding, and do as they do.

Joseph M. Wade

Good advice offering requires knowing a person very, very well. So well, in fact,
that you may know more about them than they know about themselves in certain
situations. Then, good advice is loving and given out of love. It is never to control
or manipulate. Then, it is giving information; just giving, not enforcing, information.
And lastly and most importantly, after advice is given, the outcome is let go of
completely, trusting that the other person will take it, leave it, or ponder it.

Anne Wilson Schaef
Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much

If you listen too much to advice, you may wind up
making other people's mistakes.

Croft M. Pentz
1001 Things Your Mother Told You

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.

Erica Jong
How to Save Your Own Life

Old people are fond of giving good advice, to console themselves
for being no longer in a position to give bad examples.

François La Rochefoucauld

People who ask our advice almost never take it. Yet we should
never refuse to give it, upon request, for it often helps us
to see our own way more clearly.

Brendan Francis

The reason why we often get poor advice is that it's hard to find a
person who always has our best interest at heart, isn't envious in
any way, and at no level thinks he knows what's best for you.

David J. Lieberman
Get Anyone to Do Anything

There are as many forms of advice as there are colors of the rainbow.
Remember that good advice can come from bad people and bad
advice from good people. The important thing about
advice is that it is simply that. Advice.

Al Franken
Oh, the Things I Know!

Advice is a peculiar commodity. Those who have the capacity to
give good advice generally have too much sense
to waste their time trying to get rid of it.

William Henry McMasters
"On the Matter of Advice"

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past
from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts
and recycling it for more than it's worth.

Mary Schmich
"The Sunscreen Address"

We do not attend to the advice of the sage and experienced because
we think they are old, forgetting that they once were young and
placed in the same situations as ourselves.

William Hazlitt
Characteristics

Advice is only rarely requested with the intention of being followed.
Sometimes, it is requested in order to flatter the advisor. Sometimes,
it is requested because it is hoped that the advice given will tell a
great deal about the advisor. Sometimes, the request is an excuse
for spending time with the advisor, because his or her room is nicer.
Occasionally, the request for advice is an introductory sentence, a
polite preface to a lengthy statement of the requester's opinion.
Asking for advice can also be a way of apologizing for numerous
occasions when advice or orders have not been followed in the past.

Norman Sartorius
Fighting for Mental Health

We have some inspiring and motivational books that may interest you. Our main way of supporting this site is through the sale of books, either physical copies or digital copies for your Amazon Kindle (including the online reader). All of the money that we earn through them comes back to the site in one way or another. Just click on the picture to the left to visit our page of books, both fiction and non-fiction!

Human nature, when it will not receive advice, is like a stony plain
without grass, animals will not approach, all remain at a distance from it.

Thomas Stamford Raffles
The History of Java

Giving advice is many times only the privilege of saying a foolish thing
one's self, under the pretense of hindering another from doing one.

Alexander Pope

In my experience, most unsolicited advice comes from people who
genuinely care. They want what's best for you, and they think their
cautionary tales (even when you know the advice to be misguided)
can help you avoid missteps. Whenever possible, just graciously
say "thank you" and move on. This lets those who care feel like they
are participating in your success and helping you on your journey.

Brittany Hodak

When my daughter was small I looked forward to giving her advice.
In fact, I sincerely believe she also enjoyed it. For the most important
thing a Dad can do is get his child ready for life. Not that I ever thought
I was ready but at least I have been able to survive my years. She used
to sit real close to me or on my lap and I would explain the mysteries
of life to her. I would tell her of morals and ethics that made life as good
as it can possibly be. Years later, when my daughter hit the wonderful
teenage years, she didn't accept my advice as she did in the past. In
fact, she obviously dreaded it. However, I gave it to her anyway
because I wanted her to survive her teenage years.

Jim Fabiano

If individuals hesitate to ask for advice out of a worry others will perceive
them as less competent, they lose the ability to learn through advice--and
organizations will fail to take advantage of one of the central reasons
for putting people together in a workplace.

Steve Kelman

Asking for advice is an act of humility. The act alone
says, "I need you." The decision-maker and the adviser
are pushed into a closer relationship.

Dennis Bakke
Joy at Work

Personally, I know that I don't have enough time on this planet to
study and to learn everything there is to know. Therefore, I want
to take advice from people who know much more than I in areas
outside of my expertise. I try to take the advice of doctors
concerning food and nutrition and exercise, and I try to take the
advice of financial experts when I need to figure out what to do
with my money. I try to take the relationship advice of and follow
the models of people who have happy, successful relationships. And
I try to make sure that any professional advice that I follow comes
from someone who is successful and well respected in the field.

tom walsh