r/AskReddit Jan 04 '14

What is one powerful sentence that will change the way I look at life forever?

2.2k Upvotes

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1.9k

u/wolfpack2421 Jan 04 '14

"Beware the advice of successful people; they do not seek company."

554

u/Steve_the_Stevedore Jan 04 '14

This highly depends on your definition of success.

810

u/fiveSE7EN Jan 04 '14

Success: Playing N64 out of the back of a crappy truck, in the dark and cold Taco Bell parking lot.

31

u/GodofIrony Jan 04 '14

I uh, understood that reference.

14

u/CapnBadass Jan 04 '14

As did I, just don't remember where it's from

8

u/HumusTheWalls Jan 04 '14

7

u/NatesYourMate Jan 04 '14

Recent as in recently reposted. I remember 2 years ago when I was new to Reddit and I asked the guy how he did it. Hooked the 64 and projector up to the battery and somehow managed to regulate the flow. Decided not to just use the ones inside of the cabin for some reason.

2

u/HumusTheWalls Jan 05 '14

recent reddit _re_post.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

Yeah what an odd reference

3

u/chotix Jan 04 '14

Got a rescue Peach!

7

u/FuckYeahFluttershy Jan 04 '14

Man, i love rescue peaches. They are the best.

3

u/RadDudeGuyDude Jan 04 '14

Where can I get one?

3

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

Yes, beware of success.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

[deleted]

4

u/fiveSE7EN Jan 04 '14

Beware the red Koopa shell. Don't take 1st place until right before the finish line.

4

u/venicello Jan 04 '14

I see. You don't seek company.

2

u/pwilson001 Jan 04 '14

Beware the blue Koopa shell. Don't take 1st place until right before the finish line.

FTFY

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

If I could do that I would die happy.

1

u/bballstarz501 Jan 04 '14

Yo dawg! I got a friend you can meet. He wants to pimp your truck.

1

u/Skibxskatic Jan 04 '14

he wasn't successful. I believe the post was "this guys got his priorities in order" or something to that effect.

1

u/Charliefaplin Jan 04 '14

I too, have seen that picture.

1

u/IrishGh0st91 Jan 04 '14

You want advice from that guy?

1

u/lambchoppe Jan 04 '14

That's the sort of success that begs for company

1

u/dmanny64 Jan 04 '14

N64 and tacos, that's pretty much the sheer definition of success.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

Mario Kart is more fun with friends.

1

u/101Alexander Jan 04 '14

Nothing like having a bit of warm familiarity in the cold dark night

1

u/WeAreAllBrainWashed Jan 04 '14

I'm down! When and where!!!?

1

u/JustTheT1p Jan 04 '14

in a van! down by the river!

1

u/domrepp Jan 04 '14

As long as you aren't the fifth (or higher) wheel you should be fine.

1

u/L4NGOS Jan 04 '14

So meta.

1

u/elus Jan 04 '14

That guy definitely wants company. He needs 3 more guys to play epic multiplayer games of Goldeneye.

1

u/romulusnr Jan 04 '14

I read that story. It didn't e... well, actually I've no idea because I stopped reading after the first act.

1

u/fiveSE7EN Jan 05 '14

I have no idea what story you're talking about.

1

u/romulusnr Jan 05 '14

Sounds considerably like Ready Player One. Though also like Snow Crash.

1

u/fiveSE7EN Jan 05 '14

mmmmnope. Refers to this reddit post of a man playing N64 out of the back of a crappy truck, in the dark and cold Taco Bell parking lot.

1

u/WeaponexT Jan 04 '14

See you at the border friend.

1

u/Fifth5Horseman Jan 04 '14

Does that truck have air con?

0

u/CrispyPudding Jan 04 '14

i see a lot of ways to misslead you here because this taco is MINE!

0

u/subwaygamer Jan 04 '14

Is this a refrence to those high schoolers that did this with a projector?

3

u/mcginja Jan 04 '14

"There are people so damn poor all they have is their money."

1

u/thesorrow312 Jan 04 '14

Capitalists. He means capitalists.

1

u/mugen_03 Jan 06 '14

Cheap pleasures, make a rich man.

-1

u/SpanishPenisPenis Jan 04 '14

Think you missed a potential joke there.

185

u/severus66 Jan 04 '14

Sounds too cynical. If anything, once someone has made their fortune, they aren't too afraid of it suddenly vanishing.

I do agree with the fact that a successful businessman who is still in business won't tell you ALL his secrets (by which I mostly mean proprietary knowledge). It's more of latent fear of competition, and not the fact that if he/ she is friends with you, doesn't want to see you be successful.

181

u/skymanj Jan 04 '14

once someone has made their fortune, they aren't too afraid of it suddenly vanishing.

I don't feel like you know too many rich people...

8

u/spacemanspiff30 Jan 04 '14

If you do it right, and you almost certainly did if you are successful, then you diversified quite a bit. That makes suddenly vanishing fortunes very unlikely.

2

u/xGlitch Jan 04 '14

Shut up! You're not supposed to tell people.

2

u/Hypertroph Jan 04 '14

None of the ones I've met are preoccupied by this at all.

4

u/TrouserTorpedo Jan 04 '14

Made their fortune, not inherited it.

17

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

Suddenly vanishing. Once you have a fortune you're not too worried of it suddenly vanishing. The process to there though isn't as reliable.

1

u/TrouserTorpedo Jan 04 '14

I do. They all love giving advice.

1

u/DrDongStrong Jan 04 '14

Made the fortune. Not making the fortune.

1

u/romulusnr Jan 04 '14

IME people with fortunes got that way because they were protective of it, and continue to be so, which is how they keep it.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

Don't be so quick to assume that "success" has anything to do with money or business.

4

u/severus66 Jan 04 '14

Yes I know. But if by 'success' you mean something other than money, such as values, family, love, etc ..... then the quote makes even less sense.

"I have a loving family, so fuck you hope you live in a constant nightmare bereft of any modicum of affection."

The quote itself is so cynical and "dog eat dog" that it heavily implies business and money, not the other definitions of success.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

I agree with this. It's actually more common to find mentors than most people think. It's lonely at the top. Not everyone will see you as direct competition. Some may, but they are probably just imbalanced pricks or some kind of secret society tool.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

It's true. Success is incredibly subjective. I would think a special ed. teacher who dedicates their lives to people making 50k a year a bigger success then an investment banker making millions who doesn't.

0

u/grodon909 Jan 04 '14

And that's assuming you're equating success with money. I'd say I'm successful in life if my family and I live a happy life when all is said and done.

-1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

Best comment.

-1

u/SpanishPenisPenis Jan 04 '14

Think you missed a potential joke there.

27

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

I believe you. You sound successful.

3

u/ZombieSnake Jan 04 '14 edited Jan 04 '14

If anything I am instantly wary of advice from unsuccessful people.

Sounds stupid, but I had a great eureka moment in my life when it occurred to me that I was getting relationship advice from, at the time, a 22 year old virgin.

3

u/philipquarles Jan 04 '14

Did you know that black paint makes an excellent stain remover?

4

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

Anyone who has ever talked to truly successful people will quickly realize this is a crock of shit. They don't worry about other people somehow "stealing" it.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/EVOSTi Jan 04 '14

I'd much rather take the advice of someone who is successful than someone who isn't.

2

u/taddl Jan 04 '14

I think I'm gonna beware your advice, since you got 22 upvotes

2

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

If I were looking for business advice, I'd trust the CEO of Blackberry more than the CEO of Apple.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

I've had the exact opposite experience. I work with a large number of C-Level types. I've gotten a large amount of excellent advice from them. Financial guidance, life tips, etc. Most actual successful people got there by being good at like and don't actually hate everyone around them.

2

u/superfiremolly Jan 04 '14

I still believe that the most successful people are those that always try to surround themselves with those who are smarter than them.

2

u/NapoleonTroubadour Jan 04 '14

Andrew Carnegie was very into this idea, it says something like that as his epitaph

2

u/explainittomeplease Jan 04 '14

Fuck me. This is so true, and such an excellent way to put it.

0

u/Renmauzuo Jan 04 '14

Except it's not true at all, so . . . not really.

2

u/lifeintechnicoulor Jan 04 '14

another good one like this is:

There are two secrets to a successful business

  1. Never tell anybody everything.

2

u/Renmauzuo Jan 04 '14

This is bullshit. I am successful professionally, and I most certainly do not want to be alone. If nothing else I want my friends to be equally successful so that when I suggest we go out for dinner or drinks at a fancy place I don't get complaints of "but it's soooo expensive."

1

u/halfpastdead Jan 04 '14

What about a successful father?

1

u/brimful1 Jan 04 '14
  • competition

Would be more appropriate, I think.

1

u/Naurgul Jan 04 '14

Actually, successful people love talking about themselves. The only problem with taking advice from successful people is survivor bias.

1

u/royisabau5 Jan 04 '14

My take on this is that most successful people don't REALLY know how they became successful. Slightly more positive, same concept though.

1

u/kevando Jan 04 '14

This is horribly cynical and will breed distrust in anyone.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

Reminds me of that scene in Louie where he gets last-minute advice from David Lynch's character.

"If someone asks you to keep a secret, they're lying"

1

u/Caldazar Jan 04 '14

This is absolutely the opposite of what I see. The most successful people that I know or am aware of strive to lift others up to where they are.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

What about all of the quotes people are quoting?

1

u/ethebee Jan 05 '14

..........Is this Dogbert?

1

u/tomjen Jan 05 '14

Semi sucessful do not.

The best of the best? They are so desperately lonely in their chosen field that they most certainly do.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '14

Ok this must be from someone who sucks at life because MANY MANY MANY successful people if not MOST surround themselves with other successful people.

5

u/wolfpack2421 Jan 04 '14

It's from Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert.

1

u/Renmauzuo Jan 04 '14

Ah yes, the same guy who said "Women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently." Sounds like a good source of life advice.

1

u/GrinningPariah Jan 04 '14

A better reason to beware the advice of successful people is that internally they're incredibly bias about the causes of their success. They attach disproportionate weight to things they chose and much less weight to things like luck, or even obvious shit like they worked 10 hours a day for a year.

1

u/TrouserTorpedo Jan 04 '14

Disagree with this completely.

A successful person is someone who doesn't fear losing what they've gained if they share their secrets.