Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You

An inspirational poem by Baz Luhrmann, 1999   

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, it would be to wear sunscreen.

The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. 

I will dispense this advice now. 

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. 
No, never mind. 
You will not understand the power 
and beauty of your youth until they've faded. 
But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of 
yourself and recall, in a way you can't grasp now, how much 
possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. 
You are not as fat as you imagine. 

Don't worry about the future. 
Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as 
trying to solve an algebraic equation by chewing gum. 
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things 
that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that 
blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday. 

Do one thing every day that scares you. 

Sing. 

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. 
Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours. 

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. 
Sometimes you're ahead, 
sometimes you're behind. 
The race is long and, in the end, 
the race is only with yourself. 

Remember the compliments you receive. 
Forget the insults. 
If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. 

Keep your old love letters. 
Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch. 

Don't feel guilty if you don't know 
what you want to do with your life. 
The most interesting people I know didn't know at 
22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some 
of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't. 

Get plenty of calcium. 

Be kind to your knees. 
You'll miss them when they're gone. 

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. 
Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. 
Maybe you'll divorce at 40, 
maybe you'll dance the funky 
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. 
Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself 
too much, or berate yourself either. 
Your choices are half chance. 
So are everybody else's. 

Enjoy your body. 
Use it every way you can. 
Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. 
It's the greatest thing you'll ever own. 

Dance, 
even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, 
even if you don't follow them. 

Do not read beauty magazines. 
They will only make you feel ugly. 

Get to know your parents. 
You never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings. 
They're your best link to your past and the people 
most likely to stick with you in the future. 

Understand that friends come and go, 
but with a precious few you should hold on. 
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, 
because the older you get, the more you need the 
people who knew you when you were young. 

Travel. 

Accept certain inalienable truths: 
Prices will rise. 
Politicians will philander. 
You, too, will get old. 
And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you 
were young, prices were reasonable, politicians 
were noble, and children respected their elders. 

Respect your elders. 

Don't expect anyone else to support you. 
Maybe you have a trust fund. 
Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. 
But you never know when either one might run out. 

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the 
time you're 40 it will look 85. 

Be careful whose advice you buy, 
but be patient with those who supply it. 
Advice is a form of nostalgia. 
Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the dustbin, 
wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts 
and recycling it for more than it's worth. 

But do trust me on the sunscreen.