Most advice is right for the person giving it
An essay examines how successful people often give contradictory advice based entirely on their own unique psychological wiring and personal experiences. It suggests that instead of blindly following advice, individuals should analyze the underlying problems the advice-giver was trying to solve.
Why it matters
It offers a critical framework for evaluating career and life advice, helping people determine what actually applies to their own unique situations.
Steve Jobs gave a famous speech at Stanford, where he told graduates that the only way to do great work is to love what you do, and that if you haven't found your passion yet, you should keep looking.
Interestingly, Mark Cuban says the opposite: don't follow your passion, follow your effort , because you'll end up loving whatever you get good at.
I think they're both right…about themselves. Jobs was obsessive; he only ever did well at things he was obsessed with, so of course that's his rule! Cuban is the kind of person who gets hooked on anything he starts winning at, so that's his.
A lot of advice is like this. Two smart people can tell you opposite things, and both can make perfect sense.
So how do you work out what actually applies to you?
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in