If I Knew Then What I Know Now

How many times have you said to yourself, “I wish I knew this then because I would’ve made a better choice or gone in another direction”?

There are many people walking around with regret, wishing they could turn back the hands of time and reverse past decisions. The reality is that we make the best decisions at the time based on our current information, intuition, or just pure not wanting to appear indecisive.

Believe me, I am not regretting the path that I have taken. I am just reflecting on where I have been.

These insights are for Gen Y (that’s you, Millennials) and Gen Z. Enjoy.

1. If I knew then, what I know now… I would’ve finished my degree at Morehouse College in four years instead of goofing off the second semester of my freshman year by going from a 3.0 GPA to a 1.8 GPA. You probably wonder how there could be such a dramatic drop in my GPA after one semester. I could accredit that to laziness, little motivation, and wanting to discover all that college life had to offer, aka, spending too much time at Spelman College, all-male Morehouse’s all-female sister school.

2. If I knew then what I know now… I would’ve invested $1,000 in Home Depot stock in 1990 when my friend Mercedes asked me to. I decided not to because a thousand dollars to me back then was like $100,000. I couldn’t see far enough down the road to invest for the long haul.

3. If I knew then what I know now… I would’ve asked my leaders in all of my previous jobs these questions:
a. What is the strategic direction of the company?
b. What should I do to position myself as a viable asset to the company?
c. What problems do customers continue to say plague them?

4. If I knew then what I know now… I would’ve been more intentional about networking with other cast members (employees) at Disney instead of just staying connected to those in my immediate department.

5. If I knew then what I know now… I would’ve learned Spanish in addition to German when I was in high school and college. Of course, now it’s possible with Duolingo.

6. If I knew then what I know now… I would’ve obtained a passport at 21 years of age instead of 31 and lived overseas in Singapore, Australia, Paris, or South Africa for a couple of years before returning to the United States.

7. If I knew then what I know now… I would have started a side hustle sooner in life, even during my years at Disney and other companies I worked for.

8. If I knew then what I know now… I would’ve focused on my core passion right out the gate instead of meandering around life, relationships, careers, and thinking. However, I must say, as I look back, the meandering was truly a gift.

9. If I knew then what I know now… I wouldn’t have taken myself so seriously. I would have focused on enjoying life a bit more.

What about you? I’m curious to hear about your gems of revelation as you look back and wish on what you could’ve known. Please post in the comments below. We all could learn from your wisdom.