There’s so Much Advice: Who do you listen to?

I once taught a philosophy class in person.

After the class, I had two people give me advice.

A 56-year-old noted that I was being too loud.

A 36-year-old suggested that I was being too quiet.

So…..who do I listen to?

Do I listen to the older student?

Getting advice from others is like being stuck in a constant tug-of-war. We’re given advice from different ends of the spectrum when we talk to others. In some cases, the directions can contradict one another.

Here's how you decide who to listen to. One solution:

Understand age is irrelevant. What matters is mileage.

Age is irrelevant:

Just because someone is older than you doesn’t mean they give good advice.

Think about two cars.

A Mustang Shelby 1975 and a Toyota Corolla 2021.

The Shelby is 46 years older than the Corolla. So surely the Shelby has travelled more than the Corolla and seen more of the world?

Upon further inspection of mileage:

Mustang Shelby 1975 = 30,000 miles.
Toyota Corolla 2021 = 250,000 miles.

Despite being 46 years younger than the Shelby, the Corolla has travelled more of the world.

This is why age is irrelevant as a sole metric when it comes to advice. It says nothing about the underlying experience one has.

You must measure mileage in order to understand who to listen to.

Mileage is simply a collection of one’s experiences and value that they have accumulated.

The reason why measuring mileage is so important is because we all have limited time. We don’t have the ability to experiment with every single bit of feedback. So, it’s important to act on the feedback and advice that will genuinely get you closer to your goals.

Measuring mileage in action:

Going back to the two pieces of advice I got, here’s how I measured mileage.

1.) The 56-year-old was an aged-care worker.

Mileage = Works with many older clients. A lot of his experience was in the healthcare and medical field. He probably doesn’t have the highest level of experience teaching students. Most of his communication may be one-on-one with clients and patients.

2.) The 36-year-old was Vinh Giang.

Mileage = One of the world’s most renowned communication coaches. He has a behemoth of experiences and mentoring behind his back to know where his students need to go to have more impact.

Now, it doesn’t say I should entirely ignore the advice the aged-care worker gave me! There could have been areas where I needed to slow down and be more quiet.

But measuring the mileage of those who have given me feedback, I overall need to increase my volume to have a more significant impact.

So, from this post, this is what you need to do:

The next time you get any advice from someone, take a step back and think about their mileage. This can simply be a quick Google search of their socials and work. Not all advice is good advice. Not all feedback is good feedback. Measuring someone’s mileage helps you determine what advice you need to act on and gets you closer to your goals.