“Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you take only what is worth having.” -George S. Clason
From ranting talk radio, freely published blog posts to the yarning of your closest peers, there is so much advice in the world.
People like to freely give away advice because it feels incredibly good knowing you can help, but quite frankly most peoples advice is rubbish and not worth taking.
Here’s why you should be incredibly careful about whom you take advice from.
Most People Don’t Know What They’re Talking About
“Perceived knowledge may not be related to actual knowledge” -Caitlin Drummond, Researcher
If we get into the science of this, The Dunning-Kruger Effect states that people who don’t have a lot of knowledge think they know far more than they actually do.
The rule is that less the competent persons will overestimate themselves to think they know more than they do. While people containing actual knowledge have a tendency to underestimate their abilities.
In the initial research of this phenomenon, the authors found that participants who scored in the 12th percentile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic, largely overestimated themselves thinking they would score in the 62nd percentile.
Likewise, is what’s happening in the world of people giving advice today.
Most people are merely armchair experts.
They’re watching from the side-lines thinking they know everything, but in reality, they know next to nothing because they have no actual skin in the game.
Their advice is all theory, they might have read a few books, watched a couple of YouTube videos and now think they’re an instant expert.
But as Albert Einstein has famously said:
“The only source of knowledge is experience.”
If you want good advice, take it from experts who practice what they preach, not some theorist with no skin in the game.
Most People Have No Idea How to Live the Life You Want
“If you’re not sure about someone’s credibility, just look at their life.” -Anthony Moore
I plan on living an extraordinary life on my own terms with my days characterized by activities such as; working out, writing, reading, traveling, exploring and changing the lives of others.
I don’t expect to get advice on how to live that sort of life from just anyone.
That life is incredibly rare, and most people have no idea where to even start to live a life like that.
They’ll say it’s unrealistic, risky and just a fairy tale. Play it safe, get a good accounting job and have the security of a weekly pay check they’ll add.
But there’s absolutely no way you’ll live the life you want if you take advice from anyone that doesn’t live the sort of life you want. Dreams will go unfollowed and songs will be left unsung.
Why would you take advice from a poor man on how to be rich?
Why would you take advice from an NBA player on how to be a writer?
You wouldn’t.
Don’t take advice from anyone who doesn’t know how to live the life you want.
You’ll Know When You’re Heading in the Right Direction
“Once you know what you want, you can stop taking advice from just anyone. You can filter out the endless noise and hone in on your truth.” -Benjamin P. Hardy
I’ve been writing every day for several months now and never have I been so certain that I’m heading in the right direction.
It’s when you take ownership and begin to align your everyday actions with your ideal life, that your direction comes clear and you can focus on doing the working that matters without question.
Taking advice from just anyone won’t cut it anymore, you’ll begin to seek out advice from the most extraordinary people in your field and you’ll know you’re heading in the right direction.
Not just in the direction of money and security where most people would have you go. But towards a direction that aligns with your deepest why and makes you feel alive.
In Conclusion
Perceived knowledge is not equal to actual knowledge.
Take the quality of someone’s life as a measure of their credibly and take only the advice worth having.
Once you find those who can actually tell you how to get where you want to go, learn all you can, hone in on your truth and get there.