What's the best piece of advice you were ever given?

[RevolverRob]

"Don't invest your ego in your hypotheses. It makes you inflexible to reality and sensitive to criticism." - My MS thesis advisor

It has served me well. I apply it typically by trying to not get wound around the axle about any particular idea I
might have.

From my father, "The extra time taken to do it right keeps you from having to do it again."

For me I typically apply this, by planning carefully, but being flexible in my execution. Things happen and you have to adapt (see point 1) but to be efficient you need to get it right. Too many folks equate fast with efficient.

[Yung]

I've not recieved a lot of advice from the handful of mentors I've been lucky to have in my life, at least nothing I feel worth sharing here.

Most of what I've remembered and internalized the most has been from observing the failures of others, to the point where sometimes I suspect I learn less from my own.

[Welder]

"What you allow is what will continue." - My favorite boss. Learned a lot of leadership lessons from that guy.

I really like that.

[BobM]

I took a wilderness survival class my senior year of college. The instructor was the athletic department equipment manager and a retired Marine, my understanding with reconnaissance experience in Vietnam.
The first class, he gave us two rules that I remember over 30 years later:

Never believe that it can’t happen to you.

Don’t let your ego get you killed.

That advice has served me well, especially throughout my law enforcement career.

[breakingtime91]

"just start you day over and re center yourself" is a recent piece of advice I heard while at a meeting. It has changed how I approach a lot in my life. I struggle with regulating my emotions for a number of reasons (thanks Afghanistan) and this simple mantra makes me stop, refocus, and move on to the next thing.

Something I took away from a Fallujah marine I served with would always "take a breath, visualize what were about to do" before we either initiated a raid or went into a compound. I use this is my daily life still, even before mundane tasks. It has helped me immensely.

[RevolverRob]

"just start you day over and re center yourself" is a recent piece of advice I heard while at a meeting. It has changed how I approach a lot in my life. I struggle with regulating my emotions for a number of reasons (thanks Afghanistan) and this simple mantra makes me stop, refocus, and move on to the next thing.

Something I took away from a Fallujah marine I served with would always "take a breath, visualize what were about to do" before we either initiated a raid or went into a compound. I use this is my daily life still, even before mundane tasks. It has helped me immensely.

Something my MS Thesis Supervisor would do as a habit - when he got brain/vapor locked or tongue-tied he would say outloud, "Stop! Rewind." He'd take a breath, "Play."

While not "advice" per se, that particular habit helps me A LOT when I'm struggling with something. Whether it's to focus, or say something, or just figure something out. It can be applied in a lot of different ways.

[GyroF-16]

“Bloom where you’re planted.”

I can’t remember where I first heard it in my Air Force career (might’ve even been as a cadet).
I got to do a lot of neat jobs over the decades, but first, I got to do a lot of boring, apparently thankless jobs (Mobility Officer, scheduler, and assistant Training Officer come to mind). I learned that every time I came to a new organization, I’d be given an opportunity to show my value (and attitude) before any of the “important” roles were offered. The “bloom where you’re planted” thing helped keep my mind in the right place.

[Stephanie B]

“Write thank-you notes.”

“Wherever you work, remember that they were getting along fine without you before you showed up, and they will get along without you after you leave. Because deGaulle was right, the graveyards are full of indispensable men.”

[lwt16]

Trust in the Lord and let Him lead you

"Watch their hands" Big, giant sign at the Montgomery PD academy
Has probably saved me countless times from harm over the last 25 years.

Who Dares Wins

Seize the day

You won't rise the the occasion, you will default to your level of training.

Don't train until you get it right, train until you can't get it wrong.

Countless others I've heard over the years associated with LE work.

[trailrunner]

Before I ran my first marathon, a veteran runner told me: The halfway point is at 20 miles.

Early in my professional career, I read some financial advice: It's OK to buy a nice house if you can afford it, but even if you can afford it, just buy an adequate car.