The proof is in the pudding, so to speak. I'd sooner have advice given to me by someone who has taken said advice before and is proof positive that it's beneficial in some way than someone who just gives advice out without any proof to back it up.

If I were in your shoes, Patagonia, I'd be confused and second guessing my life choices based on the advice given to me from someone who doesn't follow there own advice at all. It's a perfectly natural reaction to have. It's also perfectly natural for mistakes to happen. Nobody is 100% perfect in every way. We all make mistakes.

"To err is to be human" as Alexander Pope once said, "and to forgive, divine." I suppose that means to forgive the person whom you feel gave you errant advice now that you look back upon it, and to learn from what you've observed and done so that you can better make decisions and life choices with confidence in the future.

We can't change what happened in our past, but we can learn from our pasts and use what we've learned to better be prepared for the future. That's a lesson I learned from a beloved, wise and wacky baboon in a popular Disney movie.