30 Regrets Not to Have in My Next 30 Years

I’ve spent precious time with my Papa Wilde, either on road trips or sitting on his back porch reminiscing about the past, talking hopefully about the future, but always with a voice of reason and caution. Now, as a man of leisure, he says, he has a lot of time to reflect and he’s spent some of that time wishing he had made other choices – been a better father, husband, etc. I wish he wouldn’t spend time regretting, but in fact, spend more time cherishing the great memories he did make and all the new ones yet to come.

Since my grandma passed about now almost 14 years ago, (man, that crushes my soul thinking about it), I think he wishes he would have made more of the time he’d had with her. She was, in fact, a beautiful, selfless, loving person who, to this day, is everything I hope to be someday. I don’t think she had a bad bone in her body, and even if someone told me she wasn’t perfect, I wouldn’t believe them ;)

The reason for this blog is because you never know when God will call you home. You shouldn’t exhaust precious moments wishing you had done things differently. To deflect that initially, you have to put the right people and plans first, but be willing to change course for the better if life sends you on a new adventure.

My Papa’s reflections, as sad as it makes me when I think about it, are valuable to me - to remind me not to have those regrets later, to remember to value the right people and things in life.

I’ll be thirty at the end of this year. Holy shit. I can’t believe it. Before I get there, here are 30 regrets I don’t want to have in my next 30 years.

1. Spending too little time with the right people. – Sooner or later, you just want to be around the people who make you smile. So today, spend time with those who help you love yourself more. And remember, the people you take for granted today may be the only ones you need tomorrow. Never be too busy to make time for those who matter most.
2. Not making your loved ones smile more often. – The most beautiful thing is to see a person you love smile, and even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason behind it.

When life flashes before your eyes, will it be worth watching?

It's been awhile since we last met. I moved to San Francisco, traveled to a few new cities, my little sister got married, and I graduated with my MBA. I've met many new friends and spent precious time with old ones.

My dog, Blaze, and I are still thick as thieves hiking, backpacking, running, and swimming until we have no further energy to give.

OK, OK. Confession. I certainly get to a point of exhaustion sometimes, whereas Blaze is still ready to ascend another mountain or sprint through more trees. Rude, I tell you. No reason to show off like that in front of your owner and embarrass her! At least I have another being willing to keep up with me on a moment’s notice.

Anyway, I sit here on the beach watching the sun go down behind the Golden Gate Bridge with only a few crazy souls in the "cold" San Francisco winter wind. By no means is it Chicago weather, but we Californians are pansies. We can't deal with cold to save our lives.

It's dark and quiet, almost too quiet for this city. The water is calm and smooth; not at all fierce and threatening. I can’t hear any traffic, any voices, or really any noise pollution apart from my soft music and ocean waves.

I have finally jumped on the Spotify bandwagon after years of stubborn, brand-loyal me couldn't walk away from Pandora. This is relevant because my playlist is The Most Beautiful Songs in the World. Add calm waves and a light cool breeze, it's the makings of a reflective, thought-filled evening.

Pause. My fingers are about to fall off from the cold. It's 55°F and I've become a wuss. Too bad I don't have logs to make a beach fire. It's probably for the better as I’d get too comfortable and wake up to cops or bums telling me to get to steppin’.

Helping Others By Telling Your Story

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I think the most humble and selfless act in life is to tell your story to help others. Whether that's to express the pain you went through to hopefully save others or enable those who've been through the same thing to feel like they aren't alone, that is true character.

A friend of mine, Matt Pipkin, was sexually assaulted when he was 5 years old. Just a child. A young boy. Many of you could never imagine such pain and suffering to hold something like that in for years and years. I can't even imagine it myself. However, he was finally able to open up about it two years ago and is doing really well!

The reason I'm writing about this is that he's flying for AT LEAST 65 days WITHOUT landing (world record) and somehow conned his dad to fly with him. Bathrooms and showers? Well, even I have no idea how that will work. The cool and most important part about this is the national platform he's flying for: childhood sexual abuse. 1 in 3 young girls and 1 in 6 young boys have been sexually assaulted prior to the age of 18. It's a serious problem and Matt has taken it upon himself to raise awareness to show others that if it happened to them, it's not their fault.

But he needs your help!! Share his story on facebook, twitter, to your family and friends. Watch him on the Today Show, follow his story as it unfolds. It's such an inspiring story and I want you all to get engaged!

The easiest thing for you to do is spread the word! If you feel so inclined to help financially, that would be amazing as well! He has 53 days left and needs to raise $50K. Every dollar counts!

Of course, I can't give justice to his story. Watch this short presentation to hear his story in his own words!

So get excited and help stop this national tragedy!

Visit http://commit365.org/ for more information.

Matt Pipkin

Twitter: @commit65 and @themattpipkin

Facebook: search “Commit 65”

Matt's email: purduepipkin@gmail.com

Matt is Boldly Challenging Status Quo. How about you?

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