Over the years, I’ve been on the receiving end of some good—and some very bad—advice. My grandmother was a walking advertisement for adages such as “A stitch in time saves nine,” “Time heals all wounds,” and “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” My personal favorite was “It’s just as easy to marry a rich man as a poor one.” Thank you, Grannie!

I recently posted this question on Facebook: “What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?” I got some great answers, so I thought I’d share them with you. Some are serious food for thought. Others will simply make you chuckle. You can see the source and more on my Facebook page.

1. Pace yourself.
2. Pray.
3. Buy low; sell high.
4. Don’t treat people as things.
5. There are givers and takers in life. Be sure you are a giver.
6. Life is what you make it.
7. Listen more; speak less.
8. You should try this Vipassana retreat.
9. Be happy in what you do.
10. The only thing you need to know about God is that you ain’t it.
11. Be the change you want to see in the world.
12. Kindness doesn’t cost anything, but changes everything.
13. If it’s not inside your hula-hoop, it’s not your business.
14. Never ask for advice on Facebook.
15. Keep your head down and follow through.
16. Beware of any advice that doesn’t share in the results.
17. You will be tired, but you have to keep going.
18. Listen and obey your wife. Happy Wife = Happy Life.
19. Stay away from Runaround Sue.
20. In life you play to win, not to tie.
21. Pretty is as pretty does.
22. You can’t judge a book by its cover.
23. Nothing worth staying up for happens after midnight.
24. People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
25. Don’t get old.
26. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst that could happen if . . .”
27. Never stop dancing.
28. If you see something that you think is a problem and you do nothing about it, then you are part of the problem.
29. Be the example that you seek.
30. It is not who you are when life is easy; it is who you are when life is tough that matters.
31. Helping someone with something that may seem small might be the best thing you do all day.
32. Choose a profession where you’re doing what you love. It won’t feel like work and you’ll enjoy it more.
33. People are doing exactly what they want to be doing, even if they say they aren’t.
34. Love many, trust few, and always paddle your own canoe.
35. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.
36. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
37. En boca cerrada no entran moscas. (Loose lips sink ships.)
38. If you’re not happy with what you’ve got, you won’t be happy with what you want.
39. Never enrust your money to family members.
40. Leave the campground cleaner than you found it.
41. The right thing is seldom the easy thing to do. Do it anyway.
42. Come back to center.
43. Don’t react; respond.
44. It is easier to knock people over and climb over them to get ahead, but it is better to give them a hand and to climb together.
45. One day at a time.
46. Everything that is faced can’t be changed, but nothing can be changed that isn’t faced.
47. Keep it simple.
48. The only person you can trust is you.
49. Don’t go to bed angry.
50. Free is always the right price. It may be worth nothing, but at least you didn’t overpay.

Jan Fishler, MA, is currently co-authoring a new book, Don’t Stop Now, Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life (DontStopNow.us). She is also the author of Searching for Jane, Finding Myself (An Adoption Memoir), and has written several articles about alternative health and PTSD. You can learn more about Jan at www.JanFishler.net.