While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die.

- Leonardo Da Vinci

The past is the past. In a very literal sense, the past doesn't exist. All that exists is the present moment, and the only thing we can change is the present moment.

But the past did exist. It was once the present moment and now occupies our mind with valuable insights. And these valuable insights can serve us, as well as others, well in the future.

I definitely have my fair share of experiences- a combination of mistakes and general challenges- that can serve as valuable insights for others.

My children are who I think of most when writing about something like this. I think about myself growing up, mostly wasting my years away in fear and reclusiveness (and then later, trying to make up for it in the wrong ways), and not wanting them to make the same mistakes that I did.

This is then, in some ways, written to my two sons. I want them to know all the things I wish I knew when I was younger. I want them to know all the most important insights I've received in my lifetime so that they can lead a fuller life earlier. I suppose my wish for this is only natural as a father.

For some time now I've planned on writing a book for them, placing in it all the insights I've received, and what little I do know about life, for them to keep with them for the rest of their lives. The more I think about it, though, it's more powerful to focus on what I can teach them when I'm with them experiencing life firsthand.

I know that they'll make their own mistakes, and I know that it's necessary for this to happen in order for them to grow strong and self-sufficient (in an emotional and mental sense). I'm totally OK with that, and I look forward to being of help to them if they decide to come to me for anything.

But I can also help to improve the quality of their lives by imparting in them what I know now. I know that this can have a powerful effect, as what our parents and those important figures around us teach us when we're growing up often has a significant effect on us for the rest of our lives.

This goes to the heart of the fact that you can create real change in the world right now if you decide to. Don't let others convince you that you can't make a difference- whether in your own life or the lives of others- that's just negativity without any basis in reality.

Take a moment to look around you and you'll find more than your fair share of stories of life-transformation and self-realization. I feel fortunate that I happened upon a more conscious path myself and was able to change my life for the better.

A Note On Regret:

It's natural to look back on our lives and think, "I wish I had known that back then." But this can sometimes lead to a strong sense of regret, a situation where we convince ourselves that we've somehow wasted our lives up until then.

But this is a misunderstanding about life at its very core. To have this regret is to be shackled by the need for confirmation of one's own self-worth. This is a thirst that will never be quenched because it's rooted in an insecurity which first needs to be overcome (and yet demands constant feeding).

If you can break the cycle of feeding, turn inward, and face yourself courageously then you'll be able to overcome this insecurity. It's your life that's at stake- you don't want to look back in another 20 years and have even more regret, do you?

The below list is one part letter to my younger self, one part letter to my children, and one part advice for anyone looking to improve the quality of their lives and realize their true selves. These are all things I'm reminded of, or live by, on a daily basis.

28 Things I Wish I Had Known When I Was Younger

1. The world is open to you

This is one of those points that I REALLY wish I knew when I was younger. You can open a business, you can write, you can go to school, you can travel, you can even study at a Buddhist monastery as a monk if you want.

You can do so much more than just go to college, get a basic degree, find a job, and live out your life in a 9-5. And this is truer today than ever before.

It might not always be clear exactly how you can make something like say, travel without a decent income, possible. But if you get creative you can find out a way to follow whatever path you choose.

Maybe it's not physically possible for you to be an NBA player. That's OK, you don't need something so specific to be happy and fulfilled, the real point I want to make is that you're not chained down like you might think you are.

I thought I had only one of a few options, and I wasn't aware of any desirable option that existed outside of going to school and getting a degree. But this couldn't have been further from the truth. Look around, get creative, talk to people, and you'll find you have more options than you think.

2. Work hard

Do you know that the harder thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing? Nothing that has meaning is easy.

- The Weather Man

The value of hard work wasn't instilled in me until I was in my 20's. All throughout school I had no concept of hard work, and never had any idea that whatever I applied myself to, however difficult, I'd be able to do.

I'd later find this out in my 20's, and it was nothing short of a revelation for me. It's not just some old played out saying, you really can do (just about) anything you put your mind to. That is, as long as you back it up with hard work.

Make sure to keep things in perspective, though. I don't mention this point so that you can be compelled to go out and work for a sports car and a mansion, as this is misguided for other reasons (if that's the case, ask yourself why you want those things).

Rather, I say this because anything of value takes hard work, even a daily meditation practice done for the purpose of removing negative self-talk and finding peace within yourself. The knowledge that not only is hard work required to accomplish anything of real value, but that with hard work you can actually do anything, is one of the most powerful lessons I think a person can learn in their lifetime.