I want to be the President someday.

Think about how many youngsters have said that comment. Or even think about how many kids have said, “I want to be a baseball player.”

You are probably a person who once had a big dream, and you just might be a person who is currently living that dream out. Or, perhaps you’re someone who is getting close to the big call-up where you are named to the C-suite or a position of power.

What would you tell your younger self now?

Perhaps, “Don’t do that youngster?”

If current history should teach you anything, those things called skeletons that you thought were in the closet will only be in the closet if no other human being was a part of that skeleton’s creation and you didn’t tell a soul. If others participated in your activity or if you spilled your deepest, darkest secrets, understand that in today’s world – and in tomorrow’s –  there will be very few secrets that remain.

The argument used to be, “I did some dumb things when I was younger.” The truth is, “when you were younger” is still a part of you today.

This summer, Major League Baseball players went on a tear frantically deleting homophobic and racist comments from their old Twitter pages. Think those are actually gone?

Who you are is who you are. There is no more hiding.

For those of us who have made mistakes, don’t lie about them if they come up. The truth is more exposed and controlled than ever before. For those of us who are young enough to not have made any mistakes, really listen to your elders, as they may have learned life lessons that you should really, really, really try to listen to.

There is this thing called karma. I am an absolute believer in it. What goes around, comes around, and for some who did some really stupid things in the past, good for those who had to deal with it – as karma seems to have a way of working out. It certainly doesn’t make the pains of those who had to deal with it feel any less painful, but, knowing that the seemingly invincible are not always so has to be a little warming.

Crisis management starts will telling the truth and working toward forgiveness. If you want the glory of the spotlight but did some idiotic things in the past, then you better be willing to face those demons in order to have those dreams come true.

Someday, “I want to be President” may quickly diminish based on the dumb things you did in your past.