Must-Read: Life Advice From a Legend

You know that old saying about respecting your elders? That comes from a place of truth. You know all the bad stuff that you’re currently going through? The frustrations with your work, your life at home, your romantic life? They’ve all been through that before, and they have quite a lot of advice to doll down to us about how to get through them. If you listen, that is.

Which is one of the worst parts of society today, us young kids not taking our elders seriously. There is literally tons and tons of information that is out there, that they have, that they’re simply waiting to give to us. And meanwhile we’re too stubborn or ignorant to know when it’s time to sit down and listen. Well, this is one of those times. This incredible interview with legendary actor Harry Dean Stanton has quite a few tips for us to live by, including this brilliant bit of back and forth:

DG: What?s the main difference between Hollywood now compared to the Hollywood of the ’70s, the era of films like Cool Hand Luke and Midnight Cowboy?

HDS: I don?t know. It?s no different. It?s all different. It?s just what is. It?s just what?s happening — there?s no answer to it. It?s all a movie.

DG: Life is a movie?

HDS: Yeah. Absolutely.

DG: In the documentary, you talk about freedom being a kind of happiness. What makes you happy?

HDS: Happiness? There?s a Buddhist inscription on a temple in Thailand that says, ?How joyous I am now that I?ve learned there?s no such thing as happiness.”

So head on over to the link above to check out the rest of the interview with the man himself, and then start taking some tips from a guy who’s been there.