What is the best advice you have ever received?

Originally asked

Vogue, to one guest at a time, on camera, 73 Questions

A repeated rapid-fire prompt in Vogue's 73 Questions, verified in separate English- and Korean-language episodes.

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Recorded Sonia Sotomayor said elsewhere, not written here
He asked me to go through the evidence of the cases, which I did. And at the end of it he said, “Well, you have one thing missing.” I said “What, I thought I covered all of the bases. I made the best arguments that I think the evidence would support.” And he looked at me, and he said, “That may all be true, but you’re missing passion. You related this crime and your evidence in a very impersonal way. How did you make the jury want to convict?” I said “Well, the judge charges them, tells them they have to convict if I prove my case.” And he said, “No, sentencing, not sentencing, finding someone guilty is a huge responsibility. You have to make people believe it’s what they have to do. And you have to make them believe that the evidence that you’ve presented gives them basically no choice.” And so I said, “How do you do that?” And he explained to me that it’s in the manner that you present your case. It’s in the manner that you show how passionately you believe in what you’re doing. And in how much you believe that you’ve actually proven your case and that they must return a verdict of guilty. And his words have led me to believe that that passion is what guarantees success in life.

Academy of Achievement interview, Washington, D.C., 6 December 2016 source ↗

Others on this question

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Andrew Lloyd Webber Composer of musical theatre
Harold Prince went to see it and he wrote me a letter saying don’t be discouraged about this because actually there’s some quite good songs in here. But he also said something which stayed with me all my life, which is that you can’t listen to a musical if you can’t look at it, by which he was actually saying that the designs for Jeeves were absolutely hideous.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, New York City, 13 September 2019 source ↗
Joan Baez Folk singer, songwriter and activist
The best advice I got from a painter friend of mine when I said, “If you had one thing to say to an aspiring artist like myself, what would you say?” And she said, “Make as many mistakes as you can.”
Recorded Krista Tippett, On Being, 26 November 2024 source ↗
The one thing that I learned from Clint, of the many things I learned from Clint, is to always trust your instinct, and don’t think about it too much.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, Washington, D.C., 22 June 2007 source ↗
Peyton Manning American football quarterback
My dad always told me and my two brothers, “Don’t ever get too proud or too old to say that you love me and to say that you love each other.” “Love” is a pretty commonly used word in our family. When I talk to my brothers now on the phone midday, we always end the conversation saying, “I love you. I love you, bro.”
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, Washington, D.C., 22 June 2007 source ↗

More from Sonia Sotomayor

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Question What is something everyone in your world agrees about that you think is wrong? Values & belief
Well, what's very interesting is that those people read our opinions which can be, at moments, rather animated. An animated exchange in writing among the justices. And many people who read our opinions think we have to be at each other's necks constantly. It's interesting we're not. When we're talking about cases at our conference it's generally a conversation. It's really a talk about what our perspectives are and why we have reached the conclusions we've reached.
Recorded Terry Gross, Fresh Air, NPR, 13 January 2014 source ↗

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