Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover. –Mark Twain

These are enduring words of wisdom by Mark Twain. Explore, Dream, Discover – what powerful words to live by.

Getting caught up in ups and downs of the daily minutiae prevents us from seeing the bigger picture.  Is what we are doing today going to matter ten, twenty, thirty years from now? Or will many of the things we do, out of volition or compulsion, fade into inconsequential drivel that we may not even recall several years from now.

Will you remember the umpteenth PowerPoint you are drafting many years from now?

Do the project fires that seem to erupt every other day mean much in your sunset years?

The stifling feeling you get from working for a toxic boss remain forever?

Perhaps not!

Explore Dream Discover

Instead, you will always regret not taking that 3-month work vacation in Italian Alps teaching snowboarding and or not taking that chance on an entrepreneurial endeavor irrespective of whether it made you riches or failed to launch.  You may regret the 14-hour workdays that gave you a fat paycheck but made you miss all the little things in life.

Or to quote Robin Williams in Goodwill Hunting, “No, I’m not kiddin’ you, Will. That’s why I’m not talkin’ right now about some girl I saw at a bar twenty years ago and how I always regretted not going over and talking to her. I don’t regret the 18 years I was married to Nancy. I don’t regret the six years I had to give up counseling when she got sick. And I don’t regret the last years when she got really sick. And I sure as hell don’t regret missin’ the damn game.”

So, true.  Focus on what matters in a couple of decades. Engage in experiences that will be meaningful and add to the rich tapestry of your life. Take risks. Be Bold. Embark on a journey on the road less traveled.

Agree? What are your thoughts?