Dear Younger Fred… many of the things you're looking for are already right in front of you…
When you're younger, you'll think having a lot of friends is what matters.
The bigger the circle…
the better!
But as the years pass, life has a way of quietly teaching you otherwise.
People get busy.
Careers change.
Families grow.
Life moves on.
And you'll realize that some relationships weren't meant to last forever.
Not because anyone did anything wrong.
But because people sometimes grow in different directions.
And that's okay.
Over Canada Day week, with your 39th birthday just around the corner…
and after spending 17 years with your wife…
you'll realize something you should have noticed years ago.
She was one of those people all along.
The one who believed in you when you didn't believe in yourself.
The one who saw your potential long before you did.
The one who stayed through every version of you.
Then your mind starts wandering.
You think about your brother, Tony.
Your mom and dad.
Your in-laws.
Your children.
And the handful of lifelong friends who have quietly walked beside you through every season.
Different people.
Different relationships.
But all connected by one thing.
They stayed.
And suddenly it hits you…
Many of the things you spent your life searching for…
were already sitting around the table.
The people who celebrate your wins without envy.
The people who tell you the truth when you need to hear it.
The people who believe in you when you've forgotten how to believe in yourself.
The people who remind you who you are when life gets loud.
Those are your people.
You'll also realize something else.
The people you surround yourself with quietly shape the person you become.
So that means...choose the ones who challenge you to grow.
Who inspire you to think bigger.
Who make you kinder.
Who leave you better after every conversation.
And just as importantly…
be that person for someone else.
Because one day, someone you love won't need your advice.
They won't need you to solve anything.
They'll simply need to know you'll stay & that you will keep showing up.
Younger Fred…
don't spend so much of your life searching for more…
that you forget to appreciate what's already here.
Because one of life's greatest forms of wealth isn't measured in dollars.
It's measured by the people who would still choose you…
when it's not convenient.
Hold on to those people.
Tell them what they mean to you.
Cherish them.
They're rarer than you think.
Baaaaam — that's it for today.
See you next Thursday.
Stay curious,
Fred
