Dear Isaac:

Dave Dix, over on Facebook, asked me the following:

Ike, if you were writing a letter to your 25-year old self (you were in TV then? or still school?) — what advice would you dispense? Kung-Fu sayings, sound bites, and movie clips welcome, with big bonus points for anything that helps with personal epistemology.

So, here was my answer.

Here’s my advice to you, young whipper-snapper:

1. Don’t get stuck in ruts. You have an amazing ability to find peace and comfort where others find chaos. You “figure out the rules” and adapt faster than anyone I know. So quit squatting and take a couple more leaps.
2. Don’t be stupid. I said a COUPLE more leaps. You also will find you have a knack for jumping when the time is right and grabbing hold of good opportunities. Ike missed a couple along the way, but not too many. Go with your gut and thrive.
3. Pay more attention to family stuff. You have an interesting family with a lot of history. Spend more time with the older relatives you have now, and for God’s sake start recording some of their anecdotes and experiences. I’ll thank me when you become me, if that makes any sense.
4. Be a better chronicler of your own experiences. I can’t tell you how or why, but you’ll be in a position to bring all of those stories together under one roof — and you can affect a lot of people be sharing them in ways that resonate with where they are now in life. Don’t forget them. Especially that train story…
5. Start now on writing short. So you won’t have to split advice in multiple wall posts, or Tweets. Don’t ask.
6. Oh, and in a few years, there will be this Google thing. 10 years from now when you’re 35, there’s going to be an IPO of $85. Snap it up, it’s a steal. Sell at $500.