Between 2008 and 2010, George Gilchrist served as a sabbatical fellow and periodic visiting scholar at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent). In addition to researching the evolution of performance curves in seasonal environments, he enthusiastically dedicated his time at NESCent to mentoring the resident postdoctoral fellows and other members of that academic community. Notably, he worked with faculty at diverse institutions to assemble a document passing along knowledge and advice about everything a new professor or professional scholar should know. That document includes wisdom garnered from his own career and insights from his network of colleagues, all of whom were leaders in the field of evolutionary biology. George’s recent passing (1954-2020) sparked us to revisit his sage advice and reflect on how his influence has shaped our successes, now that we have reached the midpoints of our careers. We summarize his recommendations, reflect on which pieces were most helpful, and update the advice to address changes in the academic landscape over the last decade. In so doing, we hope that a new generation of scholars can benefit from George’s wisdom, much as we did.