Excellent Advice for Living

Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier

By: Kevin Kelly

Narrated by: Philip Hernandez

Length: 1 hr and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

“A shorthand manual for living with kindness, decency, and generosity of spirit.” —Maria Popova

“I love aphorisms, proverbs, and Secrets of Adulthood . . . Excellent Advice for Living includes wise, practical advice for life.” —Gretchen Rubin, via Twitter

“One hundred years from now, when so much of the nonsense of our age is forgotten, people will still remember Kevin Kelly and his wisdom.” —Seth Godin

“All will benefit from [Kelly's] idiosyncratic wit and wry humor.” —People

Wise, practical, optimistic life advice from author and leading technology thinker Kevin Kelly

On his 68th birthday, Kevin Kelly began to write down for his young adult children some things he had learned about life that he wished he had known earlier. To his surprise, Kelly had more to say than he thought, and kept adding to the advice over the years, compiling a life’s wisdom into this book.

Kelly’s timeless advice covers an astonishing range, from right living to setting ambitious goals, optimizing generosity, and cultivating compassion. He has wisdom for career, relationships, parenting, and finances, and gives guidance for practical matters ranging from travel to troubleshooting.

Excellent Advice for Living is aimed primarily at young people, but speaks to all ages. This is the ideal companion for anyone seeking to navigate life with grace and creativity.

©2023 Kevin Kelly (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“A collection of inspiring insights from a wise technology writer . . . [a] wonderful collection of 450 useful aphorisms . . . fresh, inspiring, even exhilarating . . . The title really says it all. Buy more than one, or people will keep stealing it out of your bathroom.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“In this insightful entry, Kelly, a founding editor of Wired, collects pearls of wisdom for all stages of life . . . the entries are genuinely thought-provoking, and Kelly’s earnestness is leavened with refreshing humor. The result is an unapologetically upbeat offering.” —Publishers Weekly

“The non-linearity of this list is part of its magic. And one hundred years from now, when so much of the nonsense of our age is forgotten, people will still remember Kevin Kelly and his wisdom.” —Seth Godin

Small bits of wisdom

I had heard of this book in an interview with Tyler Cowen. Given the fascinating life of the author, I thought it would be full of anecdotes and stories. I was wrong—the wisdom is in form of small sayings and advice rather than self contained narratives about how the author reached that conclusion. It makes for a fun quick read/listen that I’ll perhaps revisit later on.

Good Stuff

I liked listening to the consistent reminders offered by the author.. positive mindset starter for everyone

Valuable simple doable

A good read for any age; enjoyable and easy to listen; you know most of what is shared but hearing these bits and pieces of advice packaged in less than two hours is an effective way to jar our memory on life and its lessons we need to remember.

Wow!

What a practical read/audible! Highly recommended for both young and old! Wow wow wow!!!!

Surprisingly Excellent

This was a surprisingly excellent book of advice ranging from the practical to the philosophical and everything in between. A surprising 10/10 that I highly recommend…especially for younger listeners as it offers advice that will save YEARS of frustration.

Not for Audible

I kind of knew what I was getting into with a book of just quotes, but I didn’t realize I should’ve bought the book instead of the audible because I continually wanted to write things down. Unfortunately, they weren’t that profound as the author himself said in the beginning to go grab a notebook and write down so it was fun, easy listening, which is why I gave it three stars.

Highly recommend

Great wisdom, great insight, great advice. I highly recommend this book for anybody anywhere in the world. I have listened 5 times, and bought 2 hard copies to give to my sons.

Excellent advice!

I truly enjoyed the ideas presented and will listen again. Definitely ideas to adopt. Thanks

Kevin is the greatest!

So glad he released this in book form and most of all as a audio book.

Awesome perspective opening insights

These words are filled with wisdom and truth to his experience and existence. A must hear if you’re looking for directions and guidance to help you navigate your journey in the universe.