You can’t change the past, but the future holds possibilities. Our choices shape our lives, and although you can’t change the past, the future is full of possibilities. Japanese writer Toshikazu Kawaguchi makes a case for not leaving things until later in his book Before the Coffee Gets Cold:

Don’t leave anything for later.
Later, the coffee gets cold.
Later, you lose interest.
Later, the day turns into night.
Later, people grow up.
Later, people grow old.
Later, life goes by.
Later, you regret not doing something…
When you had the chance.

Life is a fleeting dance, a delicate balance of moments that unfold before us, never to return in quite the same way again. Regret is a bitter pill to swallow, a weight that bears down upon the soul with the burden of missed chances and unspoken words.

So, let us not leave anything for later. Let us seize the moments as they come, with hearts open and arms outstretched to embrace the possibilities that lie before us. For in the end, it is not the things we did that we regret, but the things we left undone, the words left unspoken, the dreams left unfulfilled.

Social entrepreneur and podcaster Raj Jana also reminds us that the time is now to act to create the life you want:

There is no rewind button or do-over on life. Time spent is forever lost – but that doesn’t mean today can’t be the start of something beautiful. True; the best time to start may have been 10 years ago, but the second-best time is now. So, grab the mic now and make a choice right now to squeeze everything you can out of this beautiful thing called life. Remember, you don’t have to finish where you started. Things don’t have to stay as they are because they’ve always been that way. You can make your own rules, choose your own path, and win big with whatever you want for your life. Live from your heart, create through the lens of love, and stay forever curious. Dance with every aspect of your being and allow every part of you to shine. Find your version of wholeness.”

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by 8 am, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.

As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window.

“I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

” Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room...”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with it. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.”

Inky Johnson was eight games away from playing in the NFL when tragedy struck. He played safety at the University of Tennessee and was projected to be a first-round NFL draft pick. But that dream evaporated. His football career ended in 2006 with an injury that permanently paralyzed his right arm. He reminds us that the things that happen in life are not designed to stop us but to grow us to serve others:

Anybody who has direct contact with people on a daily basis has an opportunity to change someone’s life. I won’t ever pass up an opportunity to be of encouragement to other people. Don’t ever pass up an opportunity to inspire someone. Don’t ever pass up an opportunity to empower someone. Don’t ever pass up an opportunity to show someone love because the thing about it — my wound — like you can see this. You can see my arm. My wound is visible. But there’s a lot of people in this room that are wounded. You can’t see it. It’s internal. So, the opportunities that we pass up to be a blessing to other people, we can save their life.

In professional tennis player Roger Federer’s 2024 Commencement Address at Dartmouth College, he explains that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. But it’s only a point.

In tennis, perfection is impossible... In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches... Now, I have a question for all of you... what percentage of the POINTS do you think I won in those matches?

Only 54%.

In other words, even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play.

When you lose every second point, on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot.

You teach yourself to think: OK, I double-faulted. It’s only a point.

OK, I came to the net and I got passed again. It’s only a point.

Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN’s Top Ten Plays: that, too, is just a point.

Here’s why I am telling you this.

When you’re playing a point, it is the most important thing in the world.

But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you. This mindset is really crucial, because it frees you to fully commit to the next point … and the next one after that … with intensity, clarity and focus.

The truth is, whatever game you play in life, sometimes you’re going to lose. A point, a match, a season, a job. It’s a roller coaster, with many ups and downs.

And it’s natural, when you’re down, to doubt yourself. To feel sorry for yourself.

And by the way, your opponents have self-doubt, too. Don’t ever forget that.

But negative energy is wasted energy.

You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That to me is the sign of a champion.

The best in the world are not the best because they win every point. It’s because they know they’ll lose—again and again—and have learned how to deal with it.

You accept it. Cry it out if you need to ... then force a smile.

You move on. Be relentless. Adapt and grow.

One of the problems of public life is that when you are in a position to do things that people consider to be beneficial, they will befriend you; but they won’t necessarily be your friend. There is a major difference between these two realities. Unfortunately, you can never really know where you stand with someone until your capacity to benefit that person is gone. That may sound like a jaundiced view, but it’s all too true.

My friend Dick Bass (now in his 70s) has traveled far and wide and had many adventures. His achievements include being the first person to climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents, as well as being the oldest person (by five years) to climb Mount Everest (at the age of 55.)

He once told me a story of a plane ride, on which he sat next to a nice man who listened to him go on about the treacherous peaks of Everest and McKinley, the time he almost died in the Himalayas, and his upcoming plan to reclimb Everest. Just before the plane landed, Bass turned to the man sitting next to him and said, “After all this, I don’t think I’ve introduced myself. My name is Dick Bass.” The man shook his hand, and responded, “Hi, I’m Neil Armstrong. Nice to meet you.”