When I was a kid, my mom (a private pilot) used to like to say,

"There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots."

My Dad (a career pilot and man of few words) would just look at me and shake his head and say, "Don't be stupid". Pretty much sums it up.

When I got to USAF pilot training, they told us

The 3 most useless things in aviation are;

1. runway behind you.

2. airspace above you

3. fuel in the truck.

That and, "Airspeed is Life! Altitude is Life Insurance!"