13. If you tell a man about your problems, he assumes you want some sort of help or advice. If you tell a woman about your problems, she assumes you simply want a shoulder to cry on. Women rarely want to be told what to do about a problem, and men rarely want to be coddled through a hard time.

12. You should call your mother and tell her you love her. Like most women who decide to marry and have children or help take care of a dying parent, she probably sacrificed a lot of her dreams to be there for you, and she wishes that you appreciated her more for it. Susan Boyle represented this demographic powerfully, but for every one of her, was a woman like your mother who will never get that standing ovation.

11. Whatever it is about yourself that you’re trying to hide, it’s usually the first thing someone else notices about you.

10. Most people have no idea what they want out of life, let alone how to get it. Most others are still waiting for someone to give them permission.

9. Show me the most beautiful woman in the world, and I’ll show you a man who’s bored with taking her to bed. Show me the most devoted husband, and I’ll show you a woman who feels that he’s just not doing enough. A lot of people are never satisfied.

8. Most people love quite helplessly, despite what they would have you believe.

7. Most people, whatever their choice of profession, feel like complete novices that are about to be found out as frauds and fakers.

6. The Golden Age never existed. People are always trying to get back to a time when things were simpler and better. The world was a far more dangerous place fifty years ago, especially if you were black or a woman or gay or diagnosed with cancer.

5. For a lot of people, music is a reflection of who they are and their relationship to life. Remember that before insulting someone’s favorite band.

4. Being young is not in and of itself an achievement. Neither is being beautiful. But people often treat you as if they are.