Katie Couric, the CBS News anchor, just released a new book, "The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons From Extraordinary Lives." It's a compilation of essays, comments, poems and thoughts from super famous people sharing the advice that changed their lives.
My favorite is from journalist Linda Ellerbee: "Some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue."
Advice to my daughter
I asked my daughter what's the best advice I've ever given her.
"Breathe," she said. "But I never do it."
I think Katie Couric gets more respect. Here's a description from Amazon.com:
"What was the tipping point for Malcolm Gladwell? What unscripted event made Meryl Streep who she is? How did Mario Batali cook up his recipe for success? In this inspiration-packed book, Katie Couric reports from the front lines of the worlds of politics, entertainment, sports, philanthropy, the arts, and business—distilling the ingenious, hard-won insights of leaders and visionaries, who tell us all how to take chances, follow our passions, cope with criticism, and, perhaps most important, commit to something greater than ourselves. Among the many voices to be heard here are financial guru Suze Orman on the benefits of doing what's right, not what's easy; director Steven Spielberg on listening rather than being listened to; not to mention:
¢ Joyce Carol Oates: "Read widely—what you want to read, and not what someone suggests that you should read."
¢ Jimmy Kimmel: "When in doubt, order the hamburger.'"
¢ Apolo Ohno: "It's not about the forty seconds; it's about the four years, the time it took to get there."
¢ Madeleine K. Albright: "Never play hide-and-seek with the truth."
No Academy-Award winning actors are giving ME advice: Just my mom
Unfortunately, the stream of advice coming my way rarely includes Nobel Laureates, Academy-Award winning actors, internationally acclaimed artists, musicians, writers and poets. Mostly, in fact, it's just my Mom. The best AND worst advice I've ever gotten is from my Mom.
What about you? What's the best/worst advice you've ever gotten? From your mother or anyone else?
My Mom has offered some "doozies" (her fav word) over the years. I thought I'd compile a few of them.
Mother's always known best. Who knew?
1. Men should fit like comfy shoes. If you can't wear them right out of the store, do not buy them: Choose a husband or partner the same way you choose shoes: the fit should be comfortable and easy the minute you put them. You must be able to wear them right out of the store. If they're a little snug or pinching just a bit and you think you're going to stretch them out by wearing them, you are a fool.
2. A little spritz: Put a little dill in everything. Never hurts.
3. Grow something and eat it: This comes from my mother's favorite memories of her own mother: eating sun-warmed tomatoes from their garden, picked fresh, sliced, doused with a dash of lemon pepper.
4. They're starving. Somewhere: Stop throwing out perfectly good food. Expiration dates are suggestions by the irrational.
5. Read my hair: I can see by your bangs you've had a lousy day.
6. My mother/myself: You always become your mother. Get over it. You should be so lucky.
7. Champagne tastes: Don't buy schmatas (rags, cheap clothes, second-hand items). Spend the money on one good thing (pair of shoes, can openers, haircuts) because if you don't, you're going to end up spending the same amount on three crappy ones. It's expensive because it's better.
8. Wedding night advice: The night before I got married my mother shared with me the pearls of marital wisdom her own mother bequeathed to her the night before her own wedding: "Az er vil, loz im." (Translated from the original Yiddish: "If he wants to, let him.")
9. 'How do you solve a problem like...': Any problem can be solved if you sing it as a Broadway show tune.
10. Economic policy: a) Don't shop when you're hungry.
b) Don't get on anybody's wall. (Being on someone's wall refers to her father's policy of loaning small amounts of money to his children and writing the amounts owed on the wall in large print for all to see. When the debt was paid, your shame was erased from the wall. To this day, my mother has remained off anybody's wall.)
Like Mae West said, more is always more, so here are a few more:
11. Whatever it is, forget about it. You will, anyway.
12. Take a 'mental health day.' Keep your child home from school every once in a while, just to hang out.
13. Get a babysitter every day from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and have some wine.
14. Women need to talk to each other or they'll go crazy.
15. Denial is a lifestyle choice one should embrace.
16. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Even if it thinks it knows better.