Let go of the past

What I've learned is: you can't carry everything forward. The past contains lessons, but it also contains limitations. The people who knew you as the poor, dirty kid on Dupont Street can't always see you as the successful entrepreneur. The friends who knew you in your twenties can't always support the person you become in your fifties. And that's okay—their expectations don't have to become your limitations.
Letting go doesn't mean forgetting. I remember every detail of those early years—the fear, the hunger, the uncertainty. But I don't let those memories define what I'm capable of today. The difference is crucial: memory as a teacher versus memory as a leash.