I recently had to get a new passport photo as my old passport was expiring. I locked eyes with that anxious fellow in my old passport pic. I began remembering where I was and who I was when I got that photo taken back in 2007. The world was a bit younger as was I.
I wanted to talk to that guy in that old photo and give him some advice to help him navigate the decade to come. I think I would have told him the following:
Hey! You’re Better Looking Than You Think! I know that you’re insecure about being too short, about being too bald, about not being fit enough. But, that is just ancient weirdness/childhood insecurity that you should brush aside. You’re an attractive person because you’re short, because you’re bald, because you’re you.
Hey! Buy Stock in Facebook! There’s a company that’s going public in a few years called Facebook. They help you get virtual applause for creating a digital mirage.
I know that sounds funny, but the product moves like crack. Buy as many shares as you can.
Hey! Bury the Dead! Those people who don’t like you, respect you or get you in 2007. They still don’t like you, respect you or get you in 2017. Don’t worry about trying to make them like you. It’s a terrible waste of your two most precious resources: Time and Energy. Forget ‘em, they’re dead. Bury them in your mind. Walk past their graves and into the sunlight with those you can dream with, collaborate with and create with.
Hey! George W. Bush is Not the Worst President America Will Ever Have! Despite the Iraq War and Great Recession/Financial Meltdown, George W. Bush will actually seem like a genius compared to the schmuck who gets elected in 2016. I’d tell you who Trumps “W” but you wouldn’t believe me.
Hey! Beware Procrastination! It’s Your Greatest Enemy! You think your nemesis is that dude at the other company that you are competing with. But, you're wrong. Look in the mirror. That is your greatest enemy. Because that dude looking back at you can stop you from taking action by sipping the syrupy sweet poison of Procrastination.
“Procrastination is the art of living in your yesterdays, avoiding your todays and ruining your tomorrows." - Tom Hopkins
The real danger is not that you fail, the real danger is that you don’t act and the clock runs out. There can be beauty and dignity in failure. There can be an opportunity to improve, to evolve.
Be deliberate, be thoughtful, but act. Your life is not perpetual. You have less to lose than you think.
Finally, Wear Cool Hats! They're really fun and make you feel like Humphrey Bogart. Even wear them indoors and at fancy restaurants where you’re not supposed to.