Ask HN: Best piece of advice you have ever received from a book or person?

"Make it look like something you did, not something that just happened." - My father talking about lining up wallpaper seamlessly.

"It's only as awkward as you make it." - My good friend talking about possible awkward scenarios involving the opposite sex.

I'm not sure where I heard/read it but I try to live by it everyday.

"Those who resent success will never achieve it."

My engineer neighbor picking weeds in his yard while sitting on a low beach chair, “I just work on the areas I can reach, then move to where there’s more to be done”. It took me a few years to understand how powerful that is as a strategy for completing big tasks.

Not sure it's the best I ever received, but it's the one that comes to mind. From my dad: "When asking someone out, don't ask 'what are you doing this weekend?' It's none of your business what they're doing. Ask 'can I take you to dinner this weekend?'"

She was looking for an excuse to say no. Thanks to my dad's advice, I didn't give her one. So she let me take her out. That led to the next 30 years...

Thanks, dad.

(For those who are really soured on marriage: No, that wasn't sarcasm. I am genuinely thankful for the advice, and for where it led me.)