my eyes have opened up to.....finally...
1. When a person asks for advice, very often they actually only want a validation of what they want to do or of their thinking...
and 2. When someone asks you for help, telling you that your help is invaluable and they need it badly, you can be sure that this has been told to a whole lot of others too. So, when you do your background work and get back to the person who'd asked you for help, you'll see, nine times out of ten, that the person has already taken someone else's help and is probably well on the way to executing it...
This is not being cynical - not at all - it's just one of those ways in which life works. So, the best is to just hear out the person in both instances, for in reality all they are looking for is a sounding board. If they really value your advice or help, they will get back to you....If you think of it this way, then you can offer them that most invaluable of gifts which is listening....just listening....and you will be spared the feelings of resentment or of being used, that are likely to creep into the mind...