Much of what I do here in the blog, and in real life, is give advice to less experienced entrepreneurs when they ask for it. But in almost all cases, I find that advice is not tailored for the recipient, but rather is a reflection of the specific history of the advice giver.
Derek Sivers, one of the smartest entrepreneurs(+++) out there, said it brilliantly:
When successful people give advice, I usually hear it like this: “Here are the lottery numbers I played: 14, 29, 71 33 & 8. They worked for me!”
Derek Sivers, Founder of CD Baby
So is advice not useful? I think it is, if given, and more importantly – taken, carefully. I like to think of it less as prescribing what to do, and more as sharing of lessons I happened to learn from the path I took and mistakes I made along the way.
There’s only one piece of expert advice I will offer that I urge you strongly to listen- and always, always adhere-to:
Ignore most of the advice you get from “experts” like me.
We’re merely sharing our lottery numbers with you.
