My Biggest Regrets in Life

As a young, 28 year old adult, one of my greatest motivators is to minimize regret. It’s what fuels me to get out of bed each morning, and what pushes me to step out of my element, even when I don’t feel like it. “Time is money”. If I’m not getting the most bang for my buck with what I have, then I’m not maximizing my life and am wasting my precious time.

When I use the word “regret” in this article, I’m not using it in the way most typically would. Rather than “regret” being a source of negativity, I use those past situations as motivators for where I’m currently at. Without getting too deep into it, let me go ahead and get started.

Not Going Harder With Basketball

As a young kid, I loved basketball with all my heart. I watched college and NBA games. I practiced in the driveway relentlessly. On the way to school I would be excited all morning just to hop on the court and hoop with the older guys in gym class. At that time I could pretty much hoop all day. Gym class, after-school conditioning, pickup games in the neighborhood, practice sessions at home or at the park, and so on.

However, through it all, I never did play for any sort of organized team. All my hooping was done out in the streets. By the time I was a Junior in high school any thought of taking my ball-playing more seriously had pretty much vanished. I had a job at the time and was taking college classes as a dual enrollment student. So basketball got let go.

Do I think I would have been a good NBA player? Probably not. Could I see myself having played in college or overseas? Maybe. Regardless, I didn’t maximize my talent as a player. I didn’t take my game as far as I could have taken it, even though I had the passion and the talent.

Not Going Harder as a YouTuber

From the time YouTube first hit the scene in 2007 – 2008, I was all for it. From that point on, pretty much anything I did would get turned into YouTube. Whether it was video games, sports, or just funny ideas friends and I would come up with in the neighborhood, YouTube was always involved.

I went out and bought equipment. Learned editing techniques and software. Started collaborative channels with friends. And for a kid in middle school, I didn’t do too bad. Some videos would get a decent amount of views, and would get a fair amount of engagement in the comments section.

The thing was, this was long before YouTube was looked at as a popular way to earn money. There was a YouTube partnership program at the time, but that was typically reserved for only the top video creators. And even then, it was nothing compared to what it is today.

Back then it seemed like the only way to make it on YouTube was to go “viral”. At least the way I saw it. I didn’t really understand the power behind sticking with it and playing the long game. I would start a channel, post for a few months to a year, then start a new channel. Because of that, I was never really able to generate much of a consistent audience. By the time I was in high school, YouTube was pretty much an afterthought. I didn’t start posting again until about 6 years ago.

Letting Opportunities Pass Me By

Due to resistance, passivity, procrastination, or just general laziness, I let a lot of opportunities pass me by when I was younger. A good looking girl would sit next to me in class and I would ignore her. A job prospect would be on the table and I would turn it down. Opportunities would be up for the taking and I would let them pass.

Sometimes it was because I didn’t know what to say or how to react, other times it was just out of inner-resistance or anxiety. However, a lot of that turned out to work in my favor. I would miss one opportunity and then find another that was better. Or I would miss an opportunity, but learn something important from the experience that helped me move forward better than I was previously.

There is Still Time

The beautiful thing is that I am still young enough for these things not to matter. Does it really matter that I didn’t become a viral YouTuber as a middle schooler? Not really. I am still young enough to make up for it. Does it really matter that I never made it as a basketball player? Not really. Even though I love the NBA and watching basketball, I am okay with not playing in it myself. I am doing what I want to be doing, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for using those situations from the past to help me get to where I am today.

The main takeaway is that I use those things from the past to help fuel me in the present. When I approach my music or my entrepreneurship, I do so with focus and purposefulness to ensure that the past doesn’t repeat itself. I work to minimize regrets later on down the line. And I say that with genuine appreciation just to be on this path in the first place.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed, and I look forward to seeing you on the next article.