Advice comes from everywhere if you are willing to listen. I found a Craigslist article that was a good read. Here are some tidbits from that article in no particular order.

• Love yourself. Always. When you love yourself to the fullest, the world will open with opportunities.
• Look in the mirror everyday and smile at what you see.
• Do something new every day. Evolve and never stop learning.
• Romance is not dead; but if you’re not willing to give it, don’t expect it in return.
• Invest in your education first, your looks second. Anyone can pay a plastic surgeon to look hot, but not everyone can read a book and do simple math.
• Do not seek confidence in other people. Magazines, celebrities and most pop influences are there to make you feel like you’re nothing. Don’t buy into it. Those celebrities need your money to look fabulous. Invest in yourself, not hype.
• Be modest; why have all your goods unwrapped and leave nothing for the imagination?
• Learn to cook. Cooking is a dying skill that needs not be. You’d be surprise how much weight you lose and how you can get a decent companion if you know more than picking up a phone and calling for dinner.
• Get off your phone. If it’s not your best friend, your job or your family, your cackling is not important and the rest of the world does not want to hear it. Listen more. Talk less.
• Stop being a bitch to other people. If you are not happy, go get therapy. No one deserves to be berated because you don’t have the guts to berate yourself.
• Stop putting so much of your money into things and start putting it into a savings account, a 401k or an IRA. Those shoes are not going to vest when you turn 65.
• Shower, do your laundry, clean your place. Body odor is not excusable for either genders.
• Buy clothes that fit. Be tasteful with your clothing be you big or small.
• Exercise, be sensible with your food choices, don’t deprive yourself but never eat too much. The quickest way to a size 30, and to the grave, is past your teeth.

Here are a few more that I come across often in NYC. Some women and men should pay attention to these.

• A respectable companion is rarely at a ‘bar’ or ‘da club’. These places are meat markets and will only set you up for a douchebag or a wimp.
• Know the difference between f^cking and love. There is a major difference and if you don’t know it, pick up a book or ask someone who does.
• No matter what you call it, having a ‘man to take you shopping’ is glorified prostitution. He wants you for your body, you want him for his wallet. Cut the crap and call it what it is.

o Stop using men to get you stuff. Have some self respect and buy your own drinks, meals and entertainment. A date will respect you more if you show them you are not helpless. Read the article if you can.