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Best Advice: The Wisdom That Made All the Difference in 60+ Influencers' Lives

If you could ask the smartest person you know for advice, who would you ask? And more importantly, what would you do with that advice?

In the third installment of our Best Advice series on LinkedIn, we asked some of the top minds in business to think back: What’s the best advice you ever received? Who imparted those words of wisdom? From family members and first bosses to influential books and teachers, the source of the advice is only one part of the story. Even more revealing is how these 60 Influencers internalized this advice — and what they did next. Advice is, after all, so easy to receive and extraordinarily difficult to implement.

YOUR TURN: What piece of advice has changed your outlook on life? What inspiring message has transformed the way you work? Write a post; please include the hashtag #BestAdvice in the body — not the headline — of your post.

Here is some of the priceless advice that led to Influencers’ epiphanies and in some cases, lessons of self-acceptance and self-confidence:

Listen more than you speak.

Richard Branson remembers his father as a calming presence in his life: “He wasn’t quiet, but he was not often as talkative as the rest of us. It made for a wonderful balance, and we always knew we could rely on him no matter what.”

Years later, Branson strives to preserve that balance in his own life: “I am fortunate to travel widely and come across fascinating characters from all walks of life. While I am always happy to share my own experiences with them, it would be foolish if I didn’t listen back.