"I'm The Happiest I've Ever Been After Hearing This": People Are Revealing The Most "Life-Changing" Advice They've Ever Received From Someone Completely Unexpected

Sometimes, the most impactful advice we will ever receive is from someone we least expect. So when I asked the BuzzFeed Community: "What is the most profound piece of advice you've ever received from someone completely unexpected?" a lot of people provided the wisdom that changed their lives. Here's what they had to say below:

1."I was a bartender at a sketchy bar with really sketchy clients for many years. One day, I was working the day shift, and one of my regulars, Guy was the only customer there. Guy was wild. We all kind of laughed at him for how absolutely ridiculous he was. I was in my early 20s and going through a breakup that was hard for me to process, and I had a hard time pretending I wasn't upset about it. Guy noticed I was visibly distraught and asked what was the matter. I explained it to him, and he simply said, 'Oh. You missed the bus. You don't need to worry when you miss the bus because another one will always be coming.' That one line helped me so much, and it's helped me through every heartache since. Thank you, Guy!"

2."From my 7th-grade art teacher when I was posted up on the desk as a figure model for the class and shifting every time someone asked me to move: 'Stop! It’s humanly impossible to please everybody.' It was extremely valuable to have learned that at age 12."

—F4bul0u5

3."From my high school principal: Apologies are important. 'Sorry BUT' isn’t an apology, it’s an excuse. You don’t have to accept an apology just cause they said the words. Apologies start with words but really are a change in behavior."

4."When I was in elementary school, we were assigned to write a poem and make a piece of art about someone special to us. I chose to write about my paternal grandfather. The next time he came to visit, I excitedly presented it to him before he could even get out of the car. Well, he started crying from how touched he was. I was so taken aback because I had not seen many adults cry, especially men. My mom walked outside, and I told her, 'He is crying!' I think because I didn’t know what to do. He looked up at her, smiled, and said, 'What’s life if you don’t cry?' It’s stuck with me forever."

—Caroline, 22, Kentucky

5."I had gotten in a pretty big blowout fight with my best friend-turned-boss at the time. I was talking to HR about switching teams at work to avoid any further stress for both of us. She gave me the advice: 'Surround yourself with people you want to be more like, and stop surrounding yourself with people you think you need to save.' Whereas some people are worthy of being in your life regardless of their struggles, some others are just energy vampires and will drain you. That advice has stuck with me for a while, and now I am the happiest I've ever been in life after living by that advice."

6."I took a class on food systems in grad school, and each week, we had a speaker from the food/body positivity realm speak. When asked about how they ended up where they are without prior experience, a speaker said, 'All experience is communicatively beneficial.' I’ve had that written on a sticky note and taped to my wall ever since. I worked in public health for years and went back to school to further my environmental science education. I always wondered who would hire me without environmental science positions on my resume. Fast forward to now, I’m a project manager in my field and got my job based on my public health experience and knowledge. That phrase lives in my head and reminds me that when the imposter syndrome arises, my experiences are important, too."

—melissaj4b47d77eb

7."The baseball coach from high school (who doubled as a teacher for some throwaway class I had to take) was going over the syllabus and expectations for the first day of school, and he ended it very plainly with, 'And if you’re going to be late, you might as well be late with breakfast.' It changed my whole outlook on life. If something goes wrong and is out of your control, control what YOU can to make it more positive. If you’re already going to be tardy at 10 minutes, you might as well be tardy at 30 minutes with a full stomach! It's still the best advice I’ve ever heard in my life."

8."I was feeling frustrated about a coworker and her learning style, and my friend looked at me and said, 'What's 5+3?' I said eight. She said, 'What's 4+4?' I said eight again. Then she asked, 'Why does the method matter if the answer is the same?' and it changed my life."

—Sara, 29, North Carolina

9."I was hanging out with a good friend right after his fiancé, and he split up. He was talking about trying to reconcile with her when his dad walked into the room. His dad had overheard the conversation and asked my friend what was in the corner of the room. My friend looked and said it was a trash can. His dad asked what that was going to be tomorrow; it was still a trash can. What about next week? Next year? Five years from now? Still a trash can. His dad left it at that and walked back out. He didn't have to finish the analogy for my buddy to understand. I took that advice forward and applied it to so many situations."

10."The most profound thing I have ever read was from one of Frank Herbert's Dune books. The quote is from Duncan Idaho. It basically says: 'Not to waste your time on anyone you would not want to die with.' That quote changed my life and attitude toward people in many ways. I cut out all the dross and false friends I had, but not many, I admit. It also forced me to evaluate the other people in my life, including my family. It gave me the courage to cut my destructive sister out of my life."

—geow1234

11."I was debating dropping everything in my life, work, boyfriend, etc., to go to law school. My biggest concern was that I was already in my 30s and would be in my late 30s by the time I would graduate and start practice. My great, great paternal grand uncle said something to me that really struck a chord. He worked his whole life supporting his family, his brother's family, grandchildren, etc. At the age of 93, he had just graduated from a four-year college and was planning to start a master's program the following year. He said, 'It’s never too late to go after what you want,' which was the best advice I ever received."

12."I was corresponding with an affluent individual in the powerlifting community in 2016. I had connected with him because he was an icon and had agreed to help train me, but I also thought he was extremely attractive. We had a few personal conversations, and I talked about my unsupportive husband. We went on to discuss the pros and cons of my training program and other nonrelevant topics. I kind of chuckled and said, 'I'd love to talk to my husband about this stuff, but he has zero interest.' The man said in return, 'If he loved you as much as he says he does, he would have interest. If you were important to him, you and your hobbies would be a priority.'"

"Damn. This gentleman and I lost touch over the years, but his words stuck with me. I ended up asking for a divorce two years later. This trainer said something flippant in passing, and it ended up completely changing my life. I had been in denial. It took a hot, tatted, muscular man to get me to pay attention to the truth. ;) I'm still single, but I no longer entertain spending time with people who have no interest in who I really am."

—Anonymous, 41, Missouri

13."I was in grad school and having my first ever panic attack. I don’t even remember what I was panicking over. I just remember one of my professors bringing me into her office and saying to me, 'What’s the one thing you need to do in the next minute?' I was so confused. I started to scramble for an answer. She looked me in the eye and said, 'The only thing you need to do in the next minute is take a deep breath.' We did some deep breathing together. She then proceeded to tell me that all I needed to do when I felt overwhelmed was break down my day into time increments. Sometimes, it’ll be five seconds. Sometimes, it’ll be five minutes — but I only increase and add on as I feel better. I think about this all the time when I have a ton of things on my to-do list, and I’m on the verge of losing it. Honestly, that's some of the best advice I ever got."

Has someone completely unexpected given you profound advice? Tell us who and what they said in the comments below: