What I know now, that l wish l knew then.

 

What I know now, that I wish I knew then.

I wish I knew courage, when I was younger. For whatever reason, I didn’t have any. I was fearful of everything and everyone. 

I wish I knew it didn’t take a lot of courage, to be courageous. All it takes to have courage, is to try one or two times and the fear of whatever it is, will leave you.

I wish I believed in myself more. As a writer, photographer and investor, I didn’t get started until into my 40’s. I didn’t think I was capable of much and didn’t believe I could do anything. If I knew how capable I was, perhaps it wouldn’t have taken as long, for me to become successful.

I wish I knew earlier, about goal setting and following your passion. It took a long time, for me to get to that point and a long, long time, before I could live the life of my dreams. Once you start setting goals and following through on them, the world really is your oyster.

I wish I wasn’t afraid of failure. If I knew way back then, that to succeed, one needs to fail and that failure isn’t the end. Failure was to show me, how not to do it next time. Failure also isn’t anything to be ashamed of. Any great person in their field, will have failed at some point, learned not to do it that way, and then moved on to success. 

I wish I didn’t get stuck in that failure, but learned to move on quicker. When we’re failing, we’re learning and growing. Failure’s not the end, but a new beginning. The only true way to fail, is to quit. 

I wish I knew anxiety and stress were things I could change and not things that can’t be helped. Anxiety and stress cause us to stop, when they should cause us to explore. Look at what’s giving you anxiety and stress and work out what you need to change and how you can heal.

I wish I knew depression is a state of mind and once you change your mind, you change your state. I’m not making light of it here either. I know how hard it is to break out of depression, but if you really work at it every day, it can be done. Learn from those who’ve been there before you, do what they did and you will have breakthrough.

I wish I knew it didn’t take a lot of money to have investments, it just takes small amounts frequently, if that’s all you have. Investing can be anything from coins and stamps, to housing, business, antiques, wines, shares and all sorts in between. If you knew you could start small, perhaps you too could invest. 

I wish I knew, if I’d just saved $20 a week from when I started work, until I retired, I’d retire wealthy due to the compounding of interest. $20 doesn’t seem like a lot, when you consider later in life it needs to be ten times that amount, to come close. You need to start early to take advantage of compound interest.

I wish instead of being “Jack of all trades,” I’d been master at one. I didn’t know what my passion was and I tried a lot of things before I found it. From an early age, I wanted to write, but the pessimists around me, said get a job. Then I changed from job to job, unsatisfied, whereas could I have done my passion, I might have been great at it early on and not limping along for years.

I wish I hadn’t listened to the pessimists, who told me I couldn’t do/be what I wanted. I wish I’d worked hard to prove them wrong, rather than give in, thinking I lacked intelligence and skill.

I wish I believed in God and the bible, when I was younger. If I’d believed, I could have learned all the more quickly, for the bible really is the success book to living life.

If you could look at your 80-year-old self today, what would you look back on and do differently?

Do you think you’d spend more time with your family? Do you think you’d have the courage to try for that job, do that course, study the field you wish to be in? Do you wish you’d not let your addictions (whatever they may be) take hold? Can you stop those addictions now, before they get worse? Do you wish you might have saved a few dollars, for a rainy day, or purchased that property you always wanted? Or not wasted years in a loveless marriage, instead, perhaps trying harder to fix it? Do you think you might like to try for happiness, in whatever form that is for you?

Ahhh, so many regrets in life. I’m told it’s not what one does, that one regrets in the twilight years of life, but what one hasn’t done, that one regrets. Your life isn’t getting longer. There is no time like the present. No matter what age you are, it’s time to take control of your life and do what it takes, to live the life of your dreams, or forever live with regret.  

Shoot for the stars, for even if you miss, you might still end up on the moon!