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I wish that when I was 18,
I would have been more willing to make mistakes than I was.
I think that people are capable of doing ridiculously impressive things.
And that the easiest way to learn that is to try to do something.
To be willing to mistakes, and to go out on a limb and just try something out.
I actually think that if I were to say our society had one major flaw,
it might be the fact that we tend to think of mistakes as something that are embarrassing,
as something that shouldn't be talked about.
I actually had a friend tell me recently a little story about making mistakes and decisions, and she said,
"Imagine you're in a room that has two doors coming out of it.
One door is going to be the key to your happiness,
and the other door there's going to be a very, very hungry lion."
And this is kind of a metaphor that she was drawing for how we think about our decisions,
and the magnitude of every single decision we make.
When in reality, it's really…as long as we're choosing doors,
there's usually going to be that same key behind both of them.
It just might take a little bit longer to get there.
So you know, gosh, I mean it is amazing how many times I've messed up things,
various things, throughout my life,
been turned away from schools and jobs and all those things,
weird dynamics with social circles, all that kind of stuff.
But in the end, you know, things have worked out all right.
And I think they would have worked out even better
if I had been willing to make some more mistakes.
And now that I've been around a little bit longer,
I find that the things I remember most are the mistakes that I have made
and that's what has gotten me to where I am today.
So there are people out there, people older than I,
who say that they've never had to work a day in their life.
And I think that is just an incredible thing to be able to say.
It's not because they're unemployed for their whole life,
but it's because they've found something
through experimentation, that they love to do.
And I think if you're able to go out there and try stuff until you find something that you love,
and then do that for the rest of your life,
then really, what more could you ask for?
And that's what I would send back to people, and back to myself,
if I could talk to myself when I was 18.