Most of us at one point or another has fantasized about being able to go back in time and relive some or all of your life, only knowing what you know now. One of the great things about this community is that we have the ability to share experiences and give those that are coming up behind us the benefit of our successes and failures. Below are several things I wish someone had told me (and that I’d believed). Perhaps, someone will read and benefit.
RELAX 
I remember the feeling of needing to get somewhere. I always had that feeling. When I was 25 I was part owner in a small business and worked at it endlessly. I felt the constant need to be engaged in furthering our business goals. Unfortunately, my partners did not feel the same way, and we ended up breaking up. I look back at that time and think that I could have accomplished just as much with a much lower stress level. If I could have looked forward and seen how things were going to resolve, I would have spent more time enjoying being 25, and less time worrying about making it to 26.
SAVE 
This is kind of a no brainer in this community. Of course I would tell myself to save more, largely because when I was 25, I didn’t. Most of the heavy lifting on my road to Financial Independence has been done after I turned 40. I can only imagine how much further I would have come had I just understood this simple principle better.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY 
Another axiom that most of us at the “Oldster” end of things wish we’d taken more seriously. I would not make myself into a marathoner or tri-athlete, rather, just obeyed some simple rules. Moderate resistance training of some sort 3 or 4 times a week, and a half an hour or so of walking every day. Not a terrible regimen, but when combined with eating what you want, in moderation, it would have made 60 a lot more comfortable.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR MIND 
This is one thing I believe I got right. I’ve always been a reader and am rarely without a book (easier now in the age of the Kindle and Audible). One thing I would have done differently is that I would not have tried to go to college right out of high school. I just wasn’t ready for it and it caused more problems than it solved. As a consequence I did not get my bachelor’s degree until I was 28, then went right into a master’s program and then to law school. While I was an educational late bloomer, it was much more appreciated at that point than it could have been at the age of 18. If I could have put off starting college until I was 22 or 23, the entire thing might have worked out more smoothly. This is one I am trying to remember when it comes to my daughter.
ENJOY THE JOURNEY 
I think I got this more right than wrong as well, but it would have been helpful had I known at 25 that this concept was really what life is all about. If you’ve read my previous posts, you know that I’m a big proponent of doing the things in life that bring you the most happiness. This whole shebang is all about being as happy as you can be for as long as you can be. If you work your ass off and hate every minute of it in the belief that when you get to your goal you will be happy, you are going to be really disappointed. It just does not work that way. Find the joy in every day and hold on to it. Remember that happiness is a choice, not a goal. Decide to be happy, every day, and you will be. It really is that simple.
Bringing It All Together 
When you are standing at, or near the end of the path, and are looking back at the high and low points of what has been your life, the subtleties are highlighted. You see the things that really mattered and are able to see past the noise of the moment.
So in a nutshell, if you are nearer to the front end of your story: Take it easy on yourself, save more than you think you’ll need, get a little exercise, try to learn new things, and most of all, find the joy in every day. You do those things and when you are standing at the end of your path, you’ll look back with a real sense of satisfaction and achievement.
Until Next Time, FIRE On! – Oldster
