Never make a decesion until you have to". He'd also warn me that even if I was in a position of strenght, whether at work or in a relationship, I had to play fair. "Just because you're in the driver's seat, doesn't mean you have to run people over.

Engineering isn't about perfect solutions; it's about doing the best you can with limited resources.

There are respectful, considerate things that can be done in life that will be appreciated by the recipient, and only good things can result.

Your patience will be both appreciated and rewarded

Better to fail spectacularly than do something mediocre.

People are more important than things.

I'm a professor - there should be some lessons learned - and how you can use the stuff you hear today to enable your dreams or enable the dreams of others. And as you get older you may find that enabling-the-dreams-of-others thing is even more fun.