Don’t take any advice

While watching Eddie Murphy on Inside The Actors Studio Interview – he said some amazing things which I thought were great for entrepreneurs. When asked by the audience what advice he’d give to any aspiring actors this is what he said:

The advice I would give an actor is not to take any advice from anyone. Because I remember when I was younger, I would ask for advice… because with actors when you make that choice, you know it deep down, and you know in your heart, you know what you wanna do and you know what your abilities are and lots of time advice could screw you up. A great advice story was from Rodney Dangerfield. I did the comic strip in Fort Lauder Dale when I was like 16 or 17 years old and Dangerfield walks in. And the whole room was ‘Oh Dangerfield is here’ – everyone bumped all the comics and no one wanted to go up cause Dangerfield was in the room. And I was so confident back then I was like Mr Dangerfield, I want you to watch my show… I want you to watch.. He said, Oh yeh, I’ll stick around kid. And he watches. And I did my thing, and I was really dirty (with my language) and after the show, he said… ‘Hey kid, you said a lot of bad things there, hey watch your language”. He gave me a big speech about my language and the words I was using, and it really took the wind out of my sails, and I was like WOW, cause I really killed that night…


Then 5 or 6 years later, I’m at the bathroom at Caesars Palace, and Dangerfield comes in and he’s in the urinal right next to me, and I haven’t seen him since that night. I look over and he looks back and said: “Hey, who knew?”

Startup Blog would love to know what advice have you ignored to advantage?

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3 thoughts on “Don’t take any advice

  1. Hey Steve!

    Love that clip and it’s so true! Probably the one person’s advice I ignore consistantly is my Dad’s. I know that sounds horrible but at the end of the day, he’s views the world through a different perspective to mine and doesn’t quite understand what I do. Do this very day in fact he has no idea what I do, which is hilarious because everytime he pops into my office he brings the paper with job vacancies highlighted…

    When I won Young Achiever Award last year, I had my folks in the audience and Dad had a little too much to drink and when I was up on stage getting my award apparently he leaned over to my best friend and said “See the little bugger never ever did what I told him and look at where he is today!” The job ads stopped for a week after that.

    You got to evaluate all advice and take on board what really resonates deep inside you. If it doesn’t spark that entrepreneurial fire deep inside of you then don’t listen to it.

    Dream, Build, Inspire, Lead!

    AJ~

  2. I bought a business that I basically knew nothing about, a day spa, and because I wasn’t a therapist I was bombarded with helpful ‘advice’ from every man and his dog who supposedly had my best interests at heart because I ‘didn’t know anything’.

    Almost every thing I was told has been proved wrong, because every one of those people had their own agenda. Now I know what’s what in my industry I look back and laugh at how transparent people were pushing their own barrow, and no rep, therapist or sales person can convince me of what I know is wrong.

    Thank heaven I stopped listening and followed my own heart and head!

    A little like having a baby actually…..way too many experts who have never had children of their own!

    Tresna

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