What’s the best advice your father has ever given you?

[Powdered Egg]

Long time ago, he told me there were ten rules in life but he would only share two with me. I still remember what my papa told me:

1. Focus on money not mates, because the latter breeeds envy.

2. Watch for phonies. Keep your enemies close, but watch your homies.

It seemed a little unimportant but when he told me this I replied with a smile. I didn't know at the time, but in my lifetime I'd live by these rules.

 

[M-TRNL]

It wasn't actually said but it boiled down to "If you're gonna lie you better have a damn good reason for it, otherwise you're wasting everyone's time." 99% of the time there are no good reasons, only convenient ones.

 

[Evo Shandor]

'When I used to get a big head and think too much of myself, I'd go and sit by the lake and see just how small I am compared to it. Humility is important and it will keep you out of trouble.'

 

[Not Spaceghost]

"Son, when you buy a house don't ever buy a corner property"

These words would echo in my mind every time we had to do shoveling or raking the leaves at my parents place.

Double the side walks + a bigger drive way. It's just annoying.

 

[ArtTeitlebaum]

The main lesson from my dad was always to work hard. Its about the process of getting there and the journey and not so much the end result.

Click to shrink...

This was 100% my father. Worked as a coal miner and made his way up to be the chief blaster. He supported my academic career as good as he could, but always reminded me to reach the endgame. This work ethic shaped me much more than I could imagine as a young guy, and I'll always be thankful for this education.

 

[SRG01]

From a father figure that I found much later in life: that a successful marriage comes from a willingness to come to the table, to listen and to potentially change.

Only recently have I realized that it refers to both partners...

 

[skipgo]

He didn't stick around long enough to give me any meaningful advice.
Or maybe that's his advice, run away from your responsibilities.

 

[Witness]

When I was in college: "Think with the head on your shoulders and not the one in your pants."

I made the Dean's List after that.

 

[octopedes]

My dad gave me a few pieces of advice which I still follow to this day:

1. "Never smoke cigarettes. You can experiment with weed, but never smoke cigarettes."
My dad and mom are both heavy cigarette smokers and he never wanted me or my sisters to become burdened with the addiction. He knew how terrible it was and I could tell.

2. "Always save your money, just in case something happens. If you want to buy something, think to yourself, 'do I really need this, will it make my life any better?'"

3. "The only thing you should strive for in life is finding happiness"

4. "Love your sisters and your family. When all of your friends have gone, your family will always be the ones you can come back to."

 

[chuey]

"If you don't know how to use it, don't fuck with it!"

My Dad was a mechanic/race car driver, he had a sign with that phrase on it in his shop. During the summer he would teach me and my cousins how to work on cars. That was engraved in me.

 

[Azraes]

Don't make money off of someone else's tears.
Try most kinds of alcohol before 25 as addictive substances are harder to kick the later in you life you try it (Not sure if it's true but it worked for me)
If you set your mind to something you can achieve it - grit is underrated but it's what success is made of even if you are as intelligent as you are and can figure things quicker than most people I know.
Make sure you can support yourself, at the end of the day you can't rely on anyone to support you even me.
Get your health checked and make sure you take care of your body.
I've made plenty of mistakes, hopefully you can learn from mine.

 

[Stinkles]

He left us when I was three leaving our single mom to raise three kids alone with multiple jobs and no time to parent. His example made me a better father. He was not a bad man but he failed as a father and he blazed a bright trail it was easy to avoid. Like a reverse Good King Wenceslas.

I met and understood him when I was a young man and quietly forgave him through empathy but I never told him that. Maybe I should have but I think my acknowledgment and acceptance was enough for him. And frankly he never asked.

He also passed away coincidentally exactly one month before my mother - and the greatest gift he gave me - when I returned to Scotland for his funeral - was the chance to visit in hospital and see my mother one last time and tell her how much I loved and appreciated all she'd done for us.

A week after that fortuitous visit she declined rapidly and passed away. I almost made it back in time when I got the call but was hours too late.

 

[RetroMG]

I've told this story on here a bunch of times, but I'm going to tell it again.

I once asked my father, "When did you really feel like you were an adult, like you had it all together?"
My father, sixty something years old, father of three, grandfather of five, looked at me and said, "I'll let you know."
Later, he said to me, "It doesn't matter if you feel like an adult or not. Be an adult anyway. Do your best, and the rest will follow."

 

[CaptNink]

During my wedding reception, my Dad told me "Son - don't eat too much; you'll ruin your wedding night."

Sound advice.

 

[Pet]

"You are not very physically attractive, so you need to make up for it with being kind and smart."

Little did he realize being kind and smart, like beauty, are inherent gifts.

Thanks dad for giving me the biggest inferiority complex in the world, lol.

I think, though, due to all those wonderful lessons he tried to pass onto me, I discovered something far more important than any of the things listed above. I discovered grit, and I can deal with a lot of shit and get things done because I refuse to give up and always look for a way to get what I want and actually follow through with it. I know a lot of smarter people than me that haven't developed that trait - people who are perfectly content to float along in life and talk a lot of talk about what they want but do nothing and have no plan to get there, just some vague notion that they'll never actually see through.

White people will never accept you/see you as one of them.

Click to shrink...

My father told me this, too. Of course, my dad is also vaguely racist.

 

[LosDaddie]

Nobody Owes You Shit
Don't Wait For Life

Best advice I've ever been given

 

[Kolya]

I think his best advice, though not directly given (he never had a nice or insightful thing to say to me, ever), is to be a better person than him by not emulating his innumerable fuck ups.

 

[Jerm]

I know this is asking for best advice but when I was a kid, my dad, who I saw every other weekend, had a puppy and I off-hand said, "I loooove him!" and my dad (he bitter af) said, "son, don't become too attached or fall in love with anything. Everything either dies or leaves you."

He sold it the next weekend.

Also when I was learning to ride a bike and still a lil too scared he purposefully pushed me down on to the asphalt and told me "now you know what it feels like so you have nothing to be scared of."

My dad was weird

 

[Deleted member 21411]

When i was a small child my dad sat me on his lap, looked at me in the eye and said "invest in bitcoin"

Seriously my dad was a cunt

 

[SliceSabre]

"Don't ever let anyone mistreat you. Always stick up for yourself because nobody else will."

Advice he gave me after we had a serious talk about a bullying incident I suffered that got me and the bullies suspended from school. I've never forgotten it.

 

[Lotto]

never eat raspberries

only advice i ever got from him

 

[Swiggins]

"Don't grow up to be like me."

Solid advice dad, you rat bastard.

 

[SwampBastard]

"Condoms suck. It's like screwing with a sock on your cock."

Thanks, Dad.

 

[WallSniper]

Never break more than one law at a time

 

[DIE BART DIE]

"Don't have kids"

 

[Aranjah]

Most of the parental advice I've gotten has come from my mom, but the big piece of advice I got from my dad was "Always carry some cash, you never know when you'll be in a situation where you can't use your card."

 

[Leo]

My father is pretty much a manchild, so I am the one who has to give advice to him.

The last one was for him to stop being petty over people not calling on his birthday and use his energy to important stuff, like maybe paying his debts.

 

[Deleted member 36708]

My biological father died when I was pretty young. He did teach me how to do push-ups guess that counts for something. My step-father told me not every day will be ice cream and cake. You have to learn to deal with the bad says and how you deal with those will determine the type of man you become. That has always stuck with me.

 

[Vish]

I wish I had parent that would have given me advice lol.

 

[vypek]

The only thing "advice" I ever remember getting from my father was when I was really young and was complaining I couldn't sleep. "Just close your eyes and you'll fall asleep faster"

 

[Stinkles]

I know this is asking for best advice but when I was a kid, my dad, who I saw every other weekend, had a puppy and I off-hand said, "I loooove him!" and my dad (he bitter af) said, "son, don't become too attached or fall in love with anything. Everything either dies or leaves you."

He sold it the next weekend.

Also when I was learning to ride a bike and still a lil too scared he purposefully pushed me down on to the asphalt and told me "now you know what it feels like so you have nothing to be scared of."

My dad was weird

Click to shrink...

 

[Sixfortyfive]

"Don't give away too much of yourself. It's my only regret."

The guy still works 60+ hour weeks in a manual labor job that I'm pretty sure is going to kill him eventually.

 

[thesoapster]

"Treat every gun as if it is loaded."

Spoiler

he never gave me real live advice, and I'm not sure it would be wise to follow it even if so

 

[GeminiX7]

Take care of your family, take care of yourself. and don't ever sell yourself short. Do what makes you happy, but always make sure you provide for yourself and those who love and rely on you.

Learn to cook meals, wash and iron your own clothes. You want a partner and friend, not another mother.

Don't let your wife/girlfriend see that she's made you upset.

If you smile too much, no one will ever take you seriously.

If the soup smells sour, trust your nose, not your stomach.

The crying eye clearly sees the road.

Don't discipline your children if you are angry about something unrelated to them.

Don't go to bed angry, especially if it's at the person you are going to bed with.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

You know where hard work will get you? Doing shit your boss doesn't want to, because he knows you'll do it for him.

 

[Yoshimitsu126]

I mainly learned how he interacted with others.

 

[djplaeskool]

-Know your body, and know when something is wrong enough to see a professional (Given after being treated for pericardial effusion)
-Let a freshly prepared cut of meat rest after cooking
-The Talk / "Work twice as hard to get half as far" speech

 

[Deleted member 43514]

We learn as we go.

 

[Kamagii]

"Slurred speech about roaches eating my face off at night"

I hate roaches and now live in Ohio where there are no roaches.

Being a father now I just teach my son to plan his days out and for that he has been quite a bit happier.

 

[Liquidsnake]

Reading through this, makes me feel bad, because I never had my father in my life from age 13 on. :'(

I don't even have any good things to say up to age 13. He would just kick my ass a lot. I caught a lot of beatings.

 

[Brandson]

The unintended consequences are often much larger, and much worse, than the intended consequences of any action, particularly governmental ones.

Do not assume a conspiracy for what can be better explained by incompetence.

 

[Budi]

I really can't think any direct advice right now, not from my mom either. I think it was more about the example he set.

 

[Prattle]

Wrestling wasn't real and specialist magazines were long form adverts.

 

[Sir_Caffeine]

I'll never forget what my father said to me before he kicked the bucket.

He said Son, how far do you think I can kick this bucket.

Click to shrink...

Goddamit! Woke the wife from trying to choke a laugh.

 

[Wood Man]

I just learned to do the complete opposite of him when it comes to being a husband and father. He really was a shitty dad growing up and I think he knows it. He was physically and mentally abusive. So I'm proving to him how I can be a better dad than him with love.

 

[Deleted member 23850]

Spoiler

In case you were wondering though, no he didn't say this. In fact, he was OVERTLY protective when it came to this type of stuff. Never let me get out of his view, because frankly, people are shit

 

[gilko79]

My dad has given me lots of sound financial advice over the years, for which I am very grateful. Also, the example he set to me and my brother after my mother died unexpectedly was invaluable. I have tried to emulate him with my own family. So, nothing specific to share, but I firmly believe that I'm as successful as I am in life in no small part thanks to his guidance.

 

[Apollo]

I'm actually not sure, nothing really comes to mind. I'm sure he's given me plenty of advice, but I probably disagreed with most of it. We butt heads a lot. He's still like my favorite person in the world though lol

 

[Rory]

Another good one is to never show your employer 100% of your effort or they'll expect it all the time. That one has been absolutely vital.

Click to shrink...

That's a good one. All money in the world is not worth working too hard.

 

[TheZodiacAge]

Don't smoke and don't drink alcohol
Both things he did non stop starting as a kid until his 30s until i was born and the effects haunt him to this day in his 60 where he pays for the damage done to his health.
I never smoked and drink 1 glass of something light maybe once a year at a friends birthday.

And "You come first - Fuck the others that aren't family or close friends" which is the best way to live anyway.