Musical Guidance

Music is full of great advice to smooth your path through life. Take Kenny Rogers in The Gambler

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold’ em, know when to walk away, know when to run’

That’s pretty solid advice for any area of life, not just playing cards for money.

Meatloaf had some great advice that always made me laugh in the Jim Steinmann song Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through when he pointed out

You can’t run away for ever, but there’s nothing wrong in getting a good head start.

That could work in a variety of situations.

However, there is one song that is packed with brilliant advice. Sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann is simply brilliant and it is a song I always go back to. Where I have had the chance I have introduced it to my students at all levels and at most of my workplaces.

Where do I start with this brilliant song? Every line is great advice and the older I get, the more I realise how true every word is. These words come from a speech written by Mary Schmich called ‘Advice like youth, probably just wasted on the young’! Originally written in 1997 it was taken to the top of the UK charts in 1999. So, here are my ten favourite pieces of advice from this great piece of reflective writing.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. (Even as someone who never had power or beauty, I can still see that they have faded!)

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. (I am getting better at this but it’s taken over 5 decades!)

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. (This is so true but society will not acknowledge it.)

Remember the compliments you receive; forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. (Great advice but impossible to follow as my brain will only see insults as truthful, whereas compliments are flannel as my Dad would have said!)

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t. (I fell into my career, but I’m glad I did. At 60 I don’t know what I want to do next, but I know I want to find out.)

Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance; so are everybody else’s. (It’s like the people who ‘hit a century’ or ‘hit a home run’ (delete as appropriate to your sporting background) and refuse to acknowledge that their parents or their private school hit the first 80 runs or started them off at third base!)

Do not read beauty magazines; they will only make you feel ugly (Possibly updating it to do not follow influencers on Social Media!)

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you
Should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. (I included that because it’s the one piece of advice I tried to follow but couldn’t. Very few of my friends from when I was young had any interest in staying in touch. When I realised that this was the case, things got easier.)

Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old– and when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. (I don’t need to fantasize. This is absolutely true. The world has never had worse people in power around the globe.)

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth. (I have always tried to follow this because I hope people will be patient with me.)