Dave Chapelle is a stand up comedian who was honored for his success with the Mark Twain Prize in 2019. The ceremony is made up of professional comedians talking about Dave, and ends with Dave talking about himself.

What I learned about Dave through the stories his colleagues told of him, and from what he explicitly said during his end of night speech, is that life is about making memories. That is his guiding life philosophy. That is how he makes decisions. That is how he lives his life. And I think it is an idea worth noting, worth sharing with you, worth emulating as well.

Most moments pass by and are nothing special, and if you don’t take action, that’s going to be most of your life. Train your mind to recognize opportunities to get something out of nothing. Look for actions you can take to make a memory out of a situation that otherwise wouldn’t be memorable. Be an active participant in the creation of the memories of your life. Make memories for yourself.

This new year brings about a new decade: the 2020s. As I reflect on my 2010s, I see that I have spent much of my time, energy, and resources on things that I won’t be able to take with me into my 2020s. This is an area of improvement. I want my effort to give me something back that isn’t temporary. If it is temporary then it is lost over time, so it didn’t matter anyway, so it wasn’t important to spend on. I want to spend on important things that I can look back and say: wow, good thing I got that so that today I am better.

Conclusion: Build something that lasts.

Ok, what follows is more of my thoughts on the topic.

I want for myself for the next 10 years to have a plan to have something that will last into my 2030s. To help me make this plan, I’m going to reflect on what has gone right and wrong in my life.

I know that entering my 2010s, I had a lot of skills. I was sharp in intelligence, reasonable in physical health, and progressing in emotional awareness.

I regret in my 2010s investing in relationships that didn’t last. I regret putting my trust in the wrong people. I regret relying on incorrect assumptions that I should have spent more time validating.

Looking back at my 2010s, I don’t regret learning. I don’t regret improving myself. I don’t regret being happy.

With all that being said, I think a good plan for me for the next 10 years for my 2020s is to: invest more in myself, do more things that make me happy, learn more, train my skills for work, health, and relationships. Don’t rely on others, learn to rely more on myself.

The week before 2010, I feel like I can take over the world. The week before 2020, I don’t even know if I can go through tomorrow without breaking down and crying. The week before 2030, I want to feel once more that I can handle it. I will be OK. Things will be OK. I want to build a mindset that “it will be ok” and I want this mindset to last past 2030.