Tag: Life Advice

7 Pieces of Bullsh*t Life Advice You Should Ignore (And What to Do Instead)

If you watch closely, you’ll notice that most people are running their lives on autopilot. Not because they’re lazy or unintelligent, but because they’ve absorbed a set of ideas that sound sensible, comforting and socially acceptable.

These ideas are passed down by well-meaning parents, teachers, friends and colleagues.

They’re repeated so often that questioning them feels irresponsible. However, when you do, something becomes clear: a lot of conventional life advice is not just unhelpful, it’s harmful.

Below are seven such pieces of bullsh*t life advice.

1. “If it’s meant to be, it’ll Happen”

Few phrases sound more comforting than this one. It removes responsibility, eases anxiety and makes uncertainty feel spiritual.

Unfortunately, it’s also untrue.

Life rarely gives you anything just because it’s “meant to be.”

Desired outcomes don’t fall into your lap. Opportunities don’t materialize because you waited patiently and trusted the universe. If you want something — a career, a relationship, a body, a skill, a life — you have to make it happen.

That means showing up every day.

It means working hard when no one is watching.

It means pushing, grinding, sweating and failing repeatedly.

Only after you’ve put in that level of effort does luck sometimes appear — and when it does, it looks a lot like momentum.

The universe doesn’t reward passivity.

It responds to motion.

So instead of waiting for signs, go after what you want relentlessly. You can always reinterpret success as fate later.

2. “Education is the key to success”

Growing up, many of us were told that doing well at school and university was the path to a good life. Study hard, get the qualifications and success will follow.

Reality is messier.

You can be highly educated and deeply unhappy. You can have multiple degrees and still feel trapped in a job you hate.

Formal education might make you employable, but it rarely helps you find your life’s purpose.

What’s far more powerful than education is self-education: the never-ending pursuit of learning things that matter to you.

• Teaching yourself skills you care about.
• Diving deeply into subjects that energize you.
• Becoming genuinely excellent at something you enjoy.

When you do that, a few things happen.

• You gain rare and valuable expertise.
• You enjoy the process instead of resenting it.
• Money becomes a byproduct rather than the sole objective.
• Success feels lighter, more playful and far less stressful.

Education isn’t useless but it’s not the key people pretend it is. Curiosity, obsession and self-direction matter far more.

3. “Be realistic”

This advice is usually delivered with concern.

Don’t aim too high. Don’t dream too big. You’ll only disappoint yourself when you inevitably fail.

But living this way is a one-way ticket to regret.

Being “realistic” often means choosing goals that don’t scare you, don’t stretch you and don’t require transformation. It’s a strategy for avoiding discomfort, not for building a meaningful life.

Instead of realism, try optimism.

Go after what your heart actually wants, even if success feels unlikely.

Even if you fail, you’ll learn something valuable.

You’ll grow. You’ll become more capable.

And you might succeed — partly because competition at the top is surprisingly scarce.

Most people are realistic. That’s why so few attempt anything extraordinary. If you give yourself permission to dream boldly, you dramatically reduce the number of people you’re competing with for life’s most meaningful rewards.

Dreams don’t guarantee success but realism almost always guarantees mediocrity.

4. “Getting rich will solve all your problems”

There’s a fantasy number many people carry around in their heads. Once they reach it, they believe, life will finally work.

Stress will disappear.

Relationships will improve.

Meaning will magically arrive.

But money doesn’t work like that.

You can be rich and unhealthy. Rich and lonely. Rich and miserable. Rich and directionless. Wealth amplifies who you already are, it doesn’t fix what’s broken.

This doesn’t mean money is bad.

Having money is great. It provides freedom, optionality and security. But making “getting rich” the primary goal is a mistake.

A better goal is self-mastery.

When you understand who you are, what makes you happy and what drains you; when you have confidence in your abilities and the discipline to develop them, money becomes easier to earn without destroying your health or your mind.

Instead of asking, “How do I get rich?”, ask, “How do I build a life where I feel alive?”

Wealth tends to follow.

5. “Live in ‘The Real World’”

When many people leave university, they’re told — with grim certainty — that the fun is over. Welcome to the real world: 40 to 50 hours a week doing work you don’t care about, for decades, until retirement.

The statement is delivered as if there’s no alternative.

But there is.

The “real world” is not a fixed structure — it’s a story people tell to justify their own choices and limitations. In reality, you have far more options than you’ve been led to believe.

• You can work for yourself.
• You can freelance.
• You can become a content creator.
• You can master a skill and teach it to others.
• You can start a business.   

None of these paths are easy, but neither is spending your life doing something you hate.

The most important thing to remember is this: you don’t have to accept someone else’s version of reality. You can create your own.

6. “Life is suffering”

Some people insist that life is fundamentally about suffering. They’ll quote philosophers, spiritual teachers or modern psychologists to support the claim. And while it’s true that everyone suffers at times, that doesn’t mean suffering is the point.

Accepting this belief doesn’t help you — it narrows your vision.

You get to choose how you interpret life. You can believe life is suffering or you can believe life is growth. You can see every challenge as punishment or as an opportunity to develop strength and wisdom.

Your beliefs set the parameters of your world. If you believe life is suffering, you’ll notice every hardship and overlook every possibility. If you believe life is growth, you’ll see chances to learn, adapt and improve.

Choose carefully. Your outlook quietly shapes your entire experience.

7. “Always have a plan B”

When people tell you to have a plan B, they think they’re protecting you. They’re trying to shield you from disappointment, failure or financial hardship.

But in most cases, plan B doesn’t provide safety — it guarantees mediocrity.

Having a backup plan divides your focus. It weakens your belief. It turns full commitment into cautious experimentation.

People with plan Bs rarely go all in — they dip their toes in the water and wonder why they never find the pearl.

Extraordinary goals require cast-iron belief and total immersion.

You don’t succeed at difficult missions by hedging your bets. You succeed by diving headlong into them.

This doesn’t mean being reckless. It means being committed.

If you want something deeply, give it your full attention. That’s how difficult things get done.

Conclusion: Question the Advice That Shapes Your Life

Most people don’t choose their beliefs, they inherit them. And many of those beliefs quietly keep them small, safe and dissatisfied.

The point isn’t to reject all advice. It’s to question the ideas that sound sensible but discourage action, ambition and responsibility. The ones that make you passive instead of powerful.

Your life won’t be handed to you. It will be built — one decision, one belief one uncomfortable action at a time.

Choose accordingly.

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If you want to discover a passion you can make a living from and overcome the fears that are holding you back, check out my free course 30 Days to Escape The System. Click here to get the course right now! (You’ll find the tips on developing belief and self-confidence fascinating!)