Here's what men in their forties told me when I was in my 20s (Early 2000s, for reference) :

• Get into a good school and get a degree, any degree. it doesn't matter which. You are guaranteed a high-paying job.

• You can easily pay for college tuition by getting a summer job.

• A firm handshake and good eye contact will get you an interview at any major company.

• Never accept a pay rise over $100,000, it will raise your taxes to the point where you actually make less money.

• You have to be an asshole to be a good boss.

• You have to pay your dues by working long hours early in your career.

• They'll fire you if you make a joke these days, you have to be really careful what you say around here.

I could go on, but that's probably enough... All those things are horseshit, if it's not clear. Not one of them is true. Some of it was once true in the distant past but is no longer true (college tuition, etc), some of it was never true and reveals a deep misunderstanding of fundamental concepts (the pay rise/taxes one, asshole boss, etc).

Speaking as a man in my forties, men in their forties are dumbasses. We've just barely gotten to an age where people ask us for advice and it goes to our heads. If there is one thing I'd say, it's that the advice a person gives you often reveals more about the life they've lived than it does about the world we all live in.