I nearly died in 2011 and my biggest regrets after that experience were, not only did I not work on…

I nearly died in 2011 and my biggest regrets after that experience were, not only did I not work on what matters, I didn’t really know what mattered.

After growing up in the 70s and 80s, it seemed money mattered most. Greed was good and Alex P. Keaton was more hero than parody. So when the Internet came along, startups and investors seemed to be all everything was about. Well, that and the “brand called you.”

I put off higher education. Handled relationships poorly, neglected my own health, and was shamefully impulsive and self-absorbed. There isn’t a day now where my reverie doesn’t lock me into fighting past regrets. I’ve conveyed this several times to my kids and naturally, they are only hearing snippets in between Snapchat banality and puppy/kitten Vines. I see myself in their oblivious ways.

Older me really wants to take younger me to the woodshed. Maybe Tim O'Reilly can help build a personal self-to-self time machine. We could call it “Literal Note To Self.” and you know send my brain to my, say, 21 year old body.

Although that would require a startup, investors, and faith that at 21, I stop being young and brash. Knowing what I know now, I probably wouldn’t change much. Sigh.