Crikey! Where would we be without the Crocodile Hunter?
For years Steve Irwin lit up our homes, teaching us about animals and conservation all while making us laugh. We couldn’t look away while he tackled crocodiles and got bitten by snakes.
The legendary television star and conservationist died on September 4, 2006. But his quotes still resonate, and, honestly, the man left us with some pretty great life advice. Here’s a look at some of them.
Always be yourself
“What you see is what you get,” Irwin said, in an interview with Reptiles Magazine. “Whether it’s here at this interview or tomorrow down in the voiceover, or last week when I was in Africa, I am Steve Irwin – here he is, this is what he looks like, this is how enthusiastic he is, he doesn’t change for anyone.”
Clearly, Irwin wasn’t one to be a faker. We all need a little authenticity once in a while.
Education should be fun
“I believe that education is all about being excited about something,” he told the Scientific American in 2001. “Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message.”
Unfortunately, he didn’t tell us how to get our kids excited about their algebra homework. But hey, it’s the thought that counts.
Team work makes the dream work
“The first rule you learn when you come into Australia Zoo, when you enter into this family unit, is you leave your ego at the back door. And that is the only way we can work, because our job is to make the animal look good,” he said, in the same interview with Reptiles Magazine.
Team work means no ego, people! Even if you don’t work with animals that could kill you.
Compromise is key
“Everyone has to compromise. I think every single person in the world has to compromise. We have to find a compromise and cut down the amount of habitat destruction.”
OK, so he was talking about habitat destruction, but let’s be honest. This is also just great relationship advice.
It’s up to us to save animals
“I believe that the time has come where if we don’t get animals into people’s hearts, they’re going to go extinct,” he told Larry King in 2004. “We’re running out of time right now, Larry, right now as we stand here.”
He wasn’t wrong. Our planet is currently in its sixth mass extinction of plants and animals, and it’s the only mass extinction that’s caused by us, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. This call to action may be the most important advice he left us.
