This week’s Top Five is about all the tips we get as we go through life. No, not Melbourne Cup tips, we’re talking about the good advice we receive from parents, uncles, friends and associates. If you have your own top five on this or any other topic, please share it with our readers, by sending it to us at erickontos@southwestvoice.com.au. In the meantime, here is our Top Five bits of advice we’re likely to get during a lifetime:
Number 1: Hard work never killed anyone: when I told one of my offspring my old dad used to say this to me, my youngster cheekily responded: but why take a chance. Very funny, son. Now get back to mowing the lawn.
Number 2: Never take yourself too seriously. As proof of the importance of this bit of advice I offer up Gough Whitlam, whose memorial service is on today. If the great man had taken himself seriously on November 11, 1975, there would have been a civil war in this country.
Number 3: If you can’t say anything nice about someone, try not to say anything at all. Yes, that is an easy one to see where it’s coming from, and a first cousin of the next bit of advice. Admittedly a hard bit of advice to follow, but well worth the effort.
Number 4: Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. Thank you, Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather novel, which was turned into some of the greatest movies ever made. It also had some good bits of advice.
Number 5: Don’t ever give up your day job to become a comedian. Did you get that a lot any time you told a joke? Yeah, me too. But it is good advice, if you are the main breadwinner and you don’t want your family to starve.
