The future is a challenge and the outcome depends on your past

Study the past if you would define the future.
(Confucius)

The past should be a hot air balloon taking you to new heights in your future and not a bag of rocks dragging you down. Erasing the past is a mistake if you ask me. In the past we have all that made us the men and women we are today. All the knowledge, all the experiences and all the beautiful failures that made us stronger today are in our past. Yes we need to stop lingering in the past and accept that the best is yet to come but we get there climbing the steps we built in the past.

            In my past there are a lot of moments that I often thought of erasing. Both personal and professional, from time to time, I am remembered of scenarios that went wrong. I know now that all those moments were actually lessons that I had to learn in order to be prepared for the future. In the past we are all young, restless and reckless most of the time. Our past businesses were impulsive, erratic and not very profitable but we had fun. The future image we see of ourselves and our business is more stable, respectable and, mostly in the case of the business, profitable. If your path is the right one no hardship should stop the development of that business into what you see it becoming.

            Think about the humble beginnings of a butterfly. He is not the beautiful apparition we see flying around before spending time inside his cocoon. Now imagine your past as the cocoon you needed to transform your business from a caterpillar into a creature so elegant and admired. Nourish your business form past lessons and let it become what you know it should be.

            We have so many examples of success that started with bad past experiences that we must all stay true to our vision. You had times when the situation was harsh and maybe you had to ask your parents for money to pay the bills. Sometimes all the rejection from clients and partners seem as a mountain pushing down your chest and you start thinking if you are still on the right path. Remember all these times have a purpose, they build character and conviction. No pressure, no diamonds.

            More than ten years ago, while I was studying at ASE, I was thinking that immediately after I graduate job offers will start pouring like a summer rain. The experience I had after graduating was not as expected; I understood that we are not appreciated by the amount of diplomas and good grades but by what we can deliver. After four years of learning I was just a novice. But I took that knowledge my professors gave me and start building the story I can tell today. Be it a story about success or not, about creating value or not it all started with the four years I spent in ASE and the wakeup call I got when I graduated. And what is happening with me now will make me a better professional and human being. Giving up on my past will not only erase the bad experiences but also the good ones. “I desire no future that will break the ties of the      past.” ― George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss

The past is the lesson, the present is your gift and the future is your motivation. Learn from past experience, enjoy what you are and what you can do and be motivated to be a better version of yourself in times to come. You can always start a new challenge, a new business or job, but on that road to your future self you have to carry in your backpack your past self with all his stories. Even if the contents in the backpack serve only as a reminder of who you were and where you started it is still a good thing. If you remember that, then you also eliminate the risk of not liking your future self.

Every time I face a new challenge, as it is the case in my present, I want to say this words that I also recommend that you say more often: “Dear Past, thank you for all the lessons. Dear Future, I am ready!!!”