I’ve only been on this planet for 27 years, yet I feel like I’ve lived 50. Time is funny that way, isn’t it?

Here are ten things I’d tell the Henri from ten years ago:

1. Passion. A lot of people throw around the term passion these days, but to me it’s a label, a concept. It’s not the word that matters, but what’s beyond it, and what’s beyond it is doing something you care about, something you enjoy, and something that makes you heart sing. Refuse to let fear bully you into a life you don’t want to life. Do what makes you come alive.
2. Relax. Don’t take life so seriously. You can’t know what will happen, even if the worst does happen. If you go broke, who knows if that is the best thing that could’ve happened? Relax, because no one really knows how life works. They’ll tell you they do, but they don’t.
3. Ideas. You create ideas and definitions about life. These definitions determine how you live your life. If you’re afraid of being homeless or broke, fear will rule your life. But it’s an idea. It’s an idea/assumption that you’ll end up broke. It’s an idea that being broke is bad. Look closely at the ideas that control you, because they aren’t yours. You didn’t come into this world carrying them in a secret backpack.
4. Curiosity. Take a clean sheet of paper and explore your fears. Your biggest worry is money. You want to take care of the people around you, and you want people to like you. Money is also a barrier you put up between people and yourself. Money gives you security, but look deeper. Look at the fear hiding there. Get curious, because it’s not until you get curious that you can free yourself from the shackles of fear.
5. Let Go. Let go of the tiller. You aren’t in charge. You’ll notice when you try to control things because you get frustrated, and you worry. I have no way of proving this, but it’s what I’ve noticed. Coincidences happen in life. You are nudged in certain directions, your heart (your inner GPS) pulls you places. Is life predetermined? I don’t know. What is life? Who are you? What do you really know? Examine and explore. Take nothing for granted. Find out for yourself.
6. Do the Work. But let go of the results. You are ambitious, and that’s because you focus on the outcome of what you’re doing. It makes you impatient, and it pushes the present moment out of your life. This goes back to fear. You want things because deep down you are afraid of other things. When you examine your fears, and let them be there, you can settle in this very moment and do your best, because that’s all you can ever do. The rest is up to life.
7. Heart. Follow your heart, your excitement, and your nudges. You will know where to go next and what to do by listening to your positive feelings. You will feel drawn to play poker, to write, to explore online business. People won’t understand, but your heart will.
8. Mind. Your mind may not agree at first (with your heart), because it seems illogical, but the more you do it, the more you realize that following your heart is the most logical way to live, because it leads to a life of fulfillment and purpose. Use both your heart and your mind, but don’t try to control where life takes you.
9. Embrace. There will be struggle and pain. When you let go of old baggage and examine your fears, it will sting. It will be like burning away layers with a blowtorch. The struggle is a sign that you’re letting go. Let it happen. Let what’s not you burn away.
10. Feelings. When you have bad days, your thinking will be clouded. You will believe that the whole world is against you. But you’re just having a bad day, and you’re having a bad day because you believe definitions that have been put in your brain like a bad cop plants evidence at a crime scene. Just relax. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy both the ups and downs, because this is life. Life is both plus and minus.

I know there’s more I’d like to tell the Henri from ten years ago, but this is what came out.

Thank you for reading.