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Share a piece of wisdom

borborygmus

Member
or "Father and son try different positions on an ass"


The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey

A man and his son were once going with their donkey to market. As they were walking along by his side a countryman passed them and said, "You fools, what is a donkey for but to ride upon?" So the man put the boy on the donkey, and they went on their way.

But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said, "See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides."

So the man ordered his boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other, "Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along."

Well, the man didn't know what to do, but at last he took his boy up before him on the donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passersby began to jeer and point at them. The man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at.

The men said, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yours -- you and your hulking son?"

The man and boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, until at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey's feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them until they came to a bridge, when the donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the donkey fell over the bridge, and his forefeet being tied together, he was drowned.

Try to please everyone, and you will please no one.

This is a very simple fable but I always think about it when I'm under pressure. Sometimes you just have to ignore the naysayers and get on with things.

Post something that made you a better person, GAF.
 

borborygmus

Member
Better to shut the fuck up and look like a fool than open your mouth and confirm it.

This is so unreasonably effective it's crazy. Some people think this means "be coy and keep people guessing/chasing after you" but that's just obnoxious. Just speak less and make the few words you use count. You probably have a paragraph's worth of thoughts in your head but save it for later. Just package the thing you want to communicate into a 1-liner, and if people are interested, you can then progressively draw ideas from the paragraph you had prepared in your head. Generally people are impressed when your 1-liner that at first sounded like a knee jerk reaction unfolds into a full fledged idea in front of them and they learn to take your words seriously in the future.
 
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This is so unreasonably effective it's crazy. Some people think this means "be coy and keep people guessing/chasing after you" but that's just obnoxious. Just speak less and make the few words you use count. You probably have a paragraph's worth of thoughts in your head but save it for later. Just package the thing you want to communicate into a 1-liner, and if people are interested, you can then progressively draw ideas from the paragraph you had prepared in your head. Generally people are impressed when your 1-liner that at first sounded like a knee jerk reaction unfolds into a full fledged idea in front of them and they learn to take your words seriously in the future.
I object a bit here. This easily leads to overthinking and not being your true self.

Life is not a Clint Eastwood movie.
 

borborygmus

Member
I object a bit here. This easily leads to overthinking and not being your true self.

Life is not a Clint Eastwood movie.

It does sound a bit Machiavellian the way I described it, but it's not as deliberate as it sounds. I feel it's more like being disciplined enough not to dump your whole idea and all its details in the middle of a conversation, and the 1-liner isn't like a Clint Eastwood line or clickbait. It's more like a direct statement of your point, and if people are interested you can elaborate further and people can see you actually have something to say and weren't just blurting things out randomly (which is something a lot of people do in a corporate environment).
 
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NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
This is so unreasonably effective it's crazy. Some people think this means "be coy and keep people guessing/chasing after you" but that's just obnoxious. Just speak less and make the few words you use count. You probably have a paragraph's worth of thoughts in your head but save it for later. Just package the thing you want to communicate into a 1-liner, and if people are interested, you can then progressively draw ideas from the paragraph you had prepared in your head. Generally people are impressed when your 1-liner that at first sounded like a knee jerk reaction unfolds into a full fledged idea in front of them and they learn to take your words seriously in the future.
I’ve lived by this motto for a long, long time. Still do to an extent.

Truth is, most people will just think you’re not only stupid, but asocial, boring, uptight, conceited, and not worth waiting for a bit of wisdom from.

As a silent listener, I’ve ejaculated my share of impactful one-liners. I made whole tables fall silent instantly, with a single sentence.
I can tell you I put off more people than I’ve impressed. People don’t really like a smart guy. They’ll probably think you’re constantly judging them all the time your mouth is shut.

On the other hand, most people will forget the stupid stuff you’ve said and done as long as you don’t challenge their assumptions and you can have a good time.
 

borborygmus

Member
I’ve lived by this motto for a long, long time. Still do to an extent.

Truth is, most people will just think you’re not only stupid, but asocial, boring, uptight, conceited, and not worth waiting for a bit of wisdom from.

As a silent listener, I’ve ejaculated my share of impactful one-liners. I made whole tables fall silent instantly, with a single sentence.
I can tell you I put off more people than I’ve impressed. People don’t really like a smart guy. They’ll probably think you’re constantly judging them all the time your mouth is shut.

On the other hand, most people will forget the stupid stuff you’ve said and done as long as you don’t challenge their assumptions and you can have a good time.

I think I overstated the bit about the "impactful line" and made myself sound like a douche. I just mean I hold back a bit rather than babble. I find people dislike babblers and I have the tendency to ramble.

I thought I addressed this with "Some people think this means "be coy and keep people guessing/chasing after you" but that's just obnoxious." which I don't advocate doing.

A lot of times people beat around the bush. Last month at work we had an issue and the solution sounded bad to people who weren't programmers, and another programmer was babbling about it and things were deteriorating, so I just made a beeline to the actual point: "We need to remove this whole system and replace it with [something]" and once everyone was aligned, only then did we elaborate. Nobody was made to look bad but I established that any very simple high level statements I make aren't just fluff, and I can back them up (most vendors in this environment can't really back up their statements and are used car salesman types).
 
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"Always expect the worst in life, that way when something good happens it's an unexpected bonus" - Pat Butcher, EastEnders.

 
I think I overstated the bit about the "impactful line" and made myself sound like a douche. I just mean I hold back a bit rather than babble. I find people dislike babblers and I have the tendency to ramble.

I thought I addressed this with "Some people think this means "be coy and keep people guessing/chasing after you" but that's just obnoxious." which I don't advocate doing.

A lot of times people beat around the bush. Last month at work we had an issue and the solution sounded bad to people who weren't programmers, and another programmer was babbling about it and things were deteriorating, so I just made a beeline to the actual point: "We need to remove this whole system and replace it with [something]" and once everyone was aligned, only then did we elaborate. Nobody was made to look bad but I established that any very simple high level statements I make aren't just fluff, and I can back them up (most vendors in this environment can't really back up their statements and are used car salesman types).
If I had one universal truth, it's "be yourself as much as possible, and improve on your strengths". Don't try to be someone you are not. It simply never works.

The problem with your idea is, that it works for people that are thoese stern commanding alpha guys, that just need to say one sentence and everybody listens.

If you are a talker, and try to castrate yourself just to be this person you will fail.
And you will not only fail, people will think you are a creep, because something will feel off about how you behave.

So, if you are a talkative and entertaining person, make this your strength, I'd say.

my 5 cents, ymmv.

(not only in a corporate environment, also with girls, btw)
 
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Stiflers Mom Stiflers Mom
NeoIkaruGAF NeoIkaruGAF
I do have an insecurity about people not taking me seriously so it is possible I am overcompensating with this behavior. I'm going to reflect on these responses and see if I'm really not being true to myself or not.
I mean, if you are that person for whom that works, its perfect.

It's just not an advice that works for everyone.
That's all I wanna say.

For me talking a lot of crazy shit and keeping people engaged is working a lot better than the "Clint Eastwood"-strategy (that's how I dubbed this 3 decades ago : D ).
 

ExpandKong

Banned
Don’t date a theater girl.


I’ve lived by this motto for a long, long time. Still do to an extent.

Truth is, most people will just think you’re not only stupid, but asocial, boring, uptight, conceited, and not worth waiting for a bit of wisdom from.

As a silent listener, I’ve ejaculated my share of impactful one-liners. I made whole tables fall silent instantly, with a single sentence.
I can tell you I put off more people than I’ve impressed. People don’t really like a smart guy. They’ll probably think you’re constantly judging them all the time your mouth is shut.

On the other hand, most people will forget the stupid stuff you’ve said and done as long as you don’t challenge their assumptions and you can have a good time.

I thought of another one. Don’t ever use the word “ejaculated” unless you’re actually talking about the act of ejaculating. While technically correct, you’re still gonna be that dude who says “ejaculated.”
 
I can tell you I put off more people than I’ve impressed. People don’t really like a smart guy. They’ll probably think you’re constantly judging them all the time your mouth is shut.
Ah, that's also a good one.
You will get much further in life with people liking you than being a smart ass.

Which brings us to a japanese proverb that says "the graveyards are full with young people that were right."
 
I do have an insecurity about people not taking me seriously so it is possible I am overcompensating with this behavior. I'm going to reflect on these responses and see if I'm really not being true to myself or not.
Tell us how it went.. :)
Much respect for going the difficult way to reflect this.
 

Barnabot

Member
There's nothing as over rated as bad sex, or as under rated as a good shit.

Don't assume the best of people, you're only setting yourself up for disappointment. Assume everyone is a cunt, it's a pleasant surprise when they turn out not to be.
now that's some good life advice
 

entremet

Member
Don't be afraid to pay quality for things you use frequently--shoes, beds/bedding, smartphones.

Hire people if you're stuck anywhere. Career, dating, physical fitness, mental health. Obviously, there's the budget issue her. But a lot of these helpers are available via good medical insurance or through online material they provide for free.

Don't tolerate these thing. Get help.
 

protonion

Member
Health:
Exercise 30 minutes every day.
Sex or no sex, ejaculate every 3 days. No more no less.
Drink a lot of water. Urine must be white.
Wash your ass with hot water religiously.
Don't eat shit.

Work:
Choose a company rather than a position.
Surprise your managers with your problem solving abilities.
Be social and do not miss events. Don't be invisible. Even if you are the best, the second best (or third or fourth) will get the promotion if he is more fun to be with.

Dating:
Look your best . Find the correct hair style for you. Perfume always. Nice clothes. (Look for advice from women for all these, they know better).

Stop wasting time. This is your one and only life.
 

Coolwhhip

Neophyte
Health:
Exercise 30 minutes every day.
Sex or no sex, ejaculate every 3 days. No more no less.
Drink a lot of water. Urine must be white.
Wash your ass with hot water religiously.
Don't eat shit.

Work:
Choose a company rather than a position.
Surprise your managers with your problem solving abilities.
Be social and do not miss events. Don't be invisible. Even if you are the best, the second best (or third or fourth) will get the promotion if he is more fun to be with.

Dating:
Look your best . Find the correct hair style for you. Perfume always. Nice clothes. (Look for advice from women for all these, they know better).

Stop wasting time. This is your one and only life.

If your urine is white, go see a doctor asap.
 
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