A letter to my younger self

I was born to a midsize family, a brother, and three sisters. It was a happy childhood.

Our life was typical, my dad used to work a 7am to 2PM job, my mom was a stay-home mom, I went to school from KG till high school, and then off to collage, I wasn't a drop out, really nothing special, all went as planned.

I was not adopted, I was not born to a dysfunctional family, neither was I raised as a refugee in a war torn country! I would describe my early years as any childhood should be, surrounded with a loving family, filled with care and principals. Don't misunderstand me, I wouldn't wish for it any other way. It is how I dealt with it, when I look back, is what I am reflecting upon, I took it for granted!

When I was 10, my outlook was different, I understand it would be difficult for a kid to comprehend life and make correct choices, but still at that age there are things I could've done better!

Don't be afraid to speak out

I was bullied, sometimes was made fun of. What started as mild teasing quickly escalated to egg throwing. The shell was going to blind my right eye forever if the impact was only few millimetres closer to the iris, as per the doctor at the time. I had my right eye patched for a while. I was a tiny kid, I remember I used to be scared to speak out. My dad used to take me to swimming, Karate and other classes, I used to quit easily.

Work on your skills

To my 10 year old self I say, stand up for yourself, and don't be afraid to speak out, ever! Maybe play a little less games, don't focus on the grades and work on your skills! Your school anxiety took the best out of you, and for all good reasons. I say it is silly, don't pay attention to it, it will pass.

Don't Quit

Your childhood is not rough, and for that you take things for granted and never pay attention to what matters the most. This is the time you learn how to skateboard, play an instrument, play a sport, or learn how to draw. Ignore the naysayers, Don't just quit that easily, please just don't, you have the most valuable 10 years ahead of you, use them to develop your skills, skills you will find out it would be very hard to acquire later in your life.

Have a purpose for your life

At 20 years I was at collage, and living on my own. I started working when I was 19 but for the wrong reasons. When I went to collage, I started hanging out with some really bad people, started smoking waterpipe, almost never attended a class, and when I did, I almost never paid attention, I was very close to dropping out but again for the wrong reasons, and if it wasn't for my parents, I probably would have. I was mostly following my whims. Although I was making money from working, I was spending them on the wrong things. I maxed out my credit card soon after I got it, mostly on car rentals and outings.

Understand the value of time

To my 20 year old self, I say stop the drama, you are not the centre of the universe. Not everything is about you. It is about time you man up and take responsibility for your life, grow up and understand the value of time. These are the years that will mostly define you for the rest of your life, and chances are if you waste them, you will build friction all the way to standstill, and ultimately the inertia; or the resistance to change state, will become much higher. The impact on you from wasting your time will be long lasting and catastrophic, not just on you, but on everyone around you, especially your loved ones! Have a purpose for your life early on, a long term goal that you want to achieve. Think what would you want to have achieved when you retire. This is the time you need to think about that, and you have plenty of time to think about it at your age!

Save money

It would be very difficult to save money at this age, but try to save as much as you can. Finally, focus on your workout and diet, and for God's sake stop the junk food and snacking, it is disguising. Your genes won't last you longer than a few years, trust me I know. You need to read as much as you can. Don't make my mistake, trust me the more you read, the more you will be confident and attack life head on.

Read more

At 30 years I was on track, although in my current standards quite late to the party. I was well underway in my personal and professional development, work is good, and started to workout.

Family comes first, and last

To my 30 year old I say although you are a bit late to the game, better late than never! Ramp up early on to play the catch up game. The most important thing in life is family, then your health, then work. Remember this order. There will be times that you will forget this order, and work will push itself against all odds. DON'T LET IT. Oh one more thing, Don't follow your passion, because it is very much skewed by what the world thinks is passion. Being a big executive in a large corporate is the wrong passion. Spending long nights and weekends away from your family so that others can look good is wrong, at so many levels. You are capable of doing much more than you think, don't discover it later than this. You are blinded by the culture, the culture of things, materials and possessions. If you let go of those, you will have much more clarity on what is best for you, and you will create larger impact on the world in the process. Look for what you truly love doing. How do you know? Keep looking until you reach a state of flow. Until you reach being in the zone, until you do what you truly love, be immersed at full energy in it with focus and enjoyment, then repeat.

Do what you truly love

To my 40 year old I say, good luck, you are just starting, you have a long way still and your journey doesn't have an end line, so keep going, never slow down, because I have no intention of doing so!

Never slow down