All we have is right now. I used to be a box person. I thought I could tie my life up in a bow and that would be it. Black and white. But I found my box seeps out gray matter and the ribbons get frayed. And realizing that makes life a lot more enjoyable. You can’t control everything.” – 40-Something, philanthropy, CA
In hindsight life is so short, You think, ‘oh I’ll get to that’. But in your 20s there are so many opportunities to be alive. Take advantage of that youth today. I see too many young people being too serious at too young an age.” — 40-something, widow, restaurant owner, AZ
Be strong about where you have been and what you have experienced. Bad experiences are never an excuse to be bad. You can choose how to act. You meet people all the time who say…’when I was young this bad thing happened so it is okay to be neurotic or to treat people crappy’. That is just unacceptable to me. We all have bad family dynamics but you can choose to either go right or left. Perpetuate it or move on.” – 40-something, small business owner, AZ
If you could just tell people in their 20s to have self-confidence. It is so hard because you can’t just get it. There are still 40 years olds that don’t have it. But in retrospect…the things that you are petrified of doing, except fears like death, are so minuscule and meaningless. It’s the toughest thing is to have self-confidence. Even though there have been times when I have not had it, I had channeled it. There were certainly awkward moments in high school. I remember in high school when I asked a guy, a football player, to go to a dance and he was like, what?. But at least I had the confidence to do and it and I laugh because today we are friends. Take that risk. Do it early and often to build yourself up. – 40-something, designer / entrepreneur, NY
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