When I give advice, one thing will always be true: The advice that I’m giving is meant for the person who asked for it. If you ask me what you should eat for dinner, I won’t tell you what I think people should eat for dinner. I’ll consider what I know about you, what I know about the kind of day you’ve had, and I’ll ask you questions to further clarify. In the end, whatever suggestion I make will be for you, and you alone.
I mention this because I’ve noticed that other people… don’t always do this.
If I ask a friend what movie I should watch, often I’ll get an answer like “A lot of people are talking about [insert current popular movie here].” Or in a discussion with other parents about child-rearing, someone might respond to my question about a specific scenario with, “Too many parents don’t discipline their children enough.”
Part of the information I use to evaluate courses of action is how popular a particular course of action is. Often so I can run (or advise to run) the other way! If the answer to “What’s the best route to get to the beach?” is “Take Main Street,” then Main Street is likely very crowded and jammed on sunny summer days. So even if that’s the “best route,” it might not be the best route for me, specifically, today.
I’m not interested in getting “general advice,” nor in giving it. When I’m talking to you, I’m talking to you.
The Opportunity Machine 