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A lifelong fascination

Time Travel

Some kids loved dinosaurs. I, well, yeah, I also loved dinosaurs. BUT, even more, the idea of going back in time to SEE Dinosaurs. It never wore off. It became a TEDx talk, and it traces back to a very specific set of cartoons.

Where it started

The cartoons that started it.

The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones Two families, two eras, one machine bridging them. The first time I realized the past and the future could touch, and I was hooked. More on this episode →
DuckTales: Duck to the Future
DuckTales: Duck to the Future Scrooge bouncing through time to set things right. It planted the idea that the future is somewhere you can go, study, and change. More on this episode →
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The "what if they never existed" episode. It got me obsessed with how a single choice ripples out across an entire timeline. More on this episode →

It's basically meditating

How to time travel

Here's how I do it. It's a lot like meditating, only instead of clearing your mind, you walk your future timelines. Pick one and play it out. Look at how the choices you make today land on the person you turn into.

You won't know everything, nobody does. But taking the time to walk around in your future a bit really does help. Then, once you've wandered up there for a while, comes the most important part: you have to come back to today.

Get clear on what needs to happen now, before that time, to make the future you just visited the one that actually arrives. So next time you get the chance, try a little time travel.

Where it all comes together

A TEDx talk about it.

I gave a TEDx talk on exactly this: time travel as a tool, using the lens of your past to imagine and build the best possible future for yourself. Same idea I've been chasing since the cartoons, just on a bigger stage.

Discover Your Incredible FutureTEDxYouth@Wrigleyville

A 2017 project

Advice to your 18-year-old self.

Traveling the US and Canada in 2016 and 2017, I met some pretty awesome people, and I started asking each of them one question: if you could go back, what advice would you give your 18-year-old self? Their answers, straight from the street.

Had the opportunity to meet AG. He told me it stands for "All Good." Born in Cabrini Green, he's 57 and spent 10 years, consecutively, in prison. His advice to his 18-year-old self: "stay out of crime."
Met former Australian pop star Terry, on stage about 5 nights a week for the last 50 years. I asked where he'd time travel to. "I don't care about projections or nostalgia. I care about now."
Met retired Marine Quincy. If he could time travel, he'd go back to when he first got out of the service, the first time he started learning how to really be an adult.
Met Nikki on my ride home. Her advice to 18-year-old her: "You're gonna have a lot of downfalls, times you smile and times you cry. But in the end, be patient. Patience and humbleness."
Bonded with Craig on our zip line tour. He was just as terrified as I was. His advice to his 18-year-old self, immediately: "DON'T GET MARRIED NEXT YEAR!"
This is Tysha. Her advice to 18-year-old herself: "You're one of a kind and there's no one else like you. Rock that shit!"
Met Ansy on the train into work. His advice to 18-year-old him: "listen to your elders."
Charles from Denver. His advice to his 18-year-old self: "Don't waste your time trying to be something you're not. Have fun and enjoy life."
Antonio in Seattle. His one piece of advice to his 18-year-old self: "stay away from alcohol." He said it ruined a big part of his life. Really great guy.
Met Naquemeii on my Blue Line ride home. He's currently homeless, and his advice to his 18-year-old self: "keep ya head up and stay positive."
Met Greg at the train stop. His advice to his 18-year-old self: "go to college and get an education so you don't have to work hard later." Then: "and after THAT, stay off drugs!"
Joann is a mother of 6 and started her family at 15. Her advice to younger her: "take your time growing up and enjoy being young."
Adelaide is 78 and was a professor for 50 years. I found her so I didn't have to eat lunch alone. Her advice to 18-year-old her: "be optimistic and always do your best."

Your turn

Share what you love about time travel.

Got a favorite time travel movie, show, book, or theory? Sign the museum guestbook and tell me about it.

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