There is so much information, noise, thoughts, opinions, advice, schools of thought, advice, etc. nowadays and it seems like almost every other person is out there trying to give advice to another. I actually don’t have anything wrong with giving advice but remember not every other piece of advice is good advice. Some of it you have to ignore or take with a pinch of salt.
Just because that person has stood up to speak doesn’t really mean they are talking sense, just because you are asking them for advice does not really mean they will give you sound advice. I always watch, listen and read some pieces of advice that are being shared and dished out online and offline on entrepreneurship, relationships, life, investing, business, personal development, etc. and most of them are good but some are faulty.
Of late I almost fell into the trap of almost taking each and every piece of advice that is being shared out there but it was until then I started reflecting on every piece of advice that I was getting and I learned that I had to take some advice with a pinch of salt. I will give you a very good example of debatable areas of starting your own business, employment, and entrepreneurship; this area has seen almost everyone sharing their opinions and advice.
Imagine if you are to take and implement all the advice you are to hear; someone will tell you to quit your job and be your own boss, someone will tell you to stay on the job and start a side hustle, someone will tell you to stay on the job improve yourself and grow on your job as that way you can make more money, etc. You can get five or even more conflicting advice on this area or many other areas and imagine if you are going to take it all….You can end up confused and at the end of the day basically, it can’t work out but unfortunately, we see many of us trying to rope in each and every piece of advice that you can get and worse still trying to follow it to the book.
Many a time most of the advice we share is personal, we share what has worked or not worked for us, trying to project our fears, insecurities, hurts, aspirations, preferences, etc. onto others. This is often masked as advice that we try to share and worse still even force on others. A wise person filters the advice that you get from each and every other person, you filter what you hear, what you read, etc. In Shona, there is an interesting proverb that goes like, ‘Zano pangwa uine rako’ meaning you have to receive advice whilst you have some form of idea or advice for yourself, but unfortunately sometimes we want advice yet we don’t have our own. Other people’s advice should work to support your own thinking, beliefs, ideas, etc. and you ought to filter the advice.
It is not compulsory to take every opinion or idea that you hear getting shared, some of it didn’t work out for them but it doesn’t mean that it will not work out for you; just because it worked out for them doesn’t really mean it will work out for you too. Some people were lucky, time and chance happened to them some worked hard & smart, they tried out their formulas and worked but that doesn’t mean if you copy and paste it will automatically work out for you too. The greatest favor you can do for yourself is to master and know thy self, know and master yourself, know what you want, what you believe in, and your strengths or weaknesses, and this way you can easily filter the advice.
Not every piece of advice is good for you, you must filter the advice, remember there is so much noise and everyone is out there sharing their thoughts and opinions but that doesn’t mean you have to take it all. Be wise and filter the advice there.
