I turned 73 this month, and I’ve been thinking about a question people always ask me: If you could go back and give your 25-year-old self some life advice, what would you say?

My answer usually surprises them: my 25-year-old self probably wouldn’t have listened, and even if he would’ve, I wouldn’t have wanted to change a thing. Many of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my life have had to be earned through mistakes and failures.

But for all the other 25-year-olds out there, or anyone who would be receptive, I want to share ten lessons.

1. Love everyone all the time, no exceptions. Nothing in life is more important than love, and practicing universal love will completely change your life for the better.
2. Stay curious. The world changes, science changes, people change. The moment you think you know everything you need to know is the moment you stop growing and evolving.
3. Your health is your greatest investment. The habits you build now become the foundation for the next fifty years. Your energy, your relationships, your work, and your happiness all begin with your health. Eat real, whole foods, mostly plants, and avoid processed foods. You will stay healthy and vital, and live much longer if you do.
4. Read widely. Read outside of your comfort zone, and read things that challenge your existing beliefs. Some of my biggest shifts in thinking started with a book I almost didn’t pick up.
5. Choose your relationships carefully. Spend your life around people who challenge you, encourage you, and make you better. Hang out with happy people, and you will be happier too.
6. Learn to change your mind and admit it when you do. That gives other people permission to change their minds too.
7. Don’t let fear hold you back. Nearly every meaningful chapter of my life began with uncertainty. Beyond fear is adventure, growth, and love. Master fear and your life expands.
8. Be an optimist. Not because it’s comfortable, but because it’s true. The world is genuinely getting better in most of the ways that matter most, and choosing optimism isn’t a departure from the facts; it’s one of the most factually defensible positions you can hold. I highly recommend reading Matt Ridley’s The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves. It’s fantastic!
9. Meditate, practice breath work, and spend time in nature. Tune in to your deeper self and find beauty and harmony in nature.
10. Practice gratitude and forgiveness every single day. These practices open our hearts to love and make lesson #1 possible.