Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've often wondered if it's possible to actually get to a place where you are receptive to learning from the experiences of others without having to experience the mistakes yourself. Perhaps it's this thing that people call wisdom :)
If my dad were on Hacker News, he'd be all over this. I clearly don't value his advice enough even though it's been pretty dead-on. One thought to add though. I think one problem people have with advice (at least a problem I have with advice) is sometimes, when delivered the wrong way, it oversimplifies the complexity of the situation you're in. You're in a situation and the decision looks hard. And someone comes in…
I see most things in life as a three-step process: first there is (apparent) simplicity, then there is the pain of discovering the real complexity of things, then there is a third step of attaining enlightened simplicity. But this only comes after having been through the complexity. So the goal to strive for is simplicity on the other side of complexity.