Dear Dean,

I’m here to tell you it’s going to be okay. Right now, it probably doesn’t seem that way, but trust me, it will be.

You’re going to experience some real lows. You won’t achieve your original dream of becoming a footballer, and as you try to reorient your career, life will be difficult. You’ll face some of your lowest moments, but you will pull through.

Part of the reason you’ll pull through is because you’ll meet your future wife, Danielle. She will help you in so many ways—she’ll teach you how to use a PC, how to write a CV, and how to get a job in an office. It will be hard at first, but you’ll figure it out. In time, not only will you come to enjoy it, but you’ll also become pretty good at ‘working in an office.’ You and Danielle will later get married and have three amazing children. Side note: all of you will have the initials DF!

Everything you go through in your early life will become the foundation for your future success. You’ll almost monetise your resilience and succeed in places and environments where others might not survive. I don’t want to tell you too much because you need to experience every knock you’ve taken and will take, every disappointment you’ve had and are yet to have, and every dark moment. They will all make you stronger and better, though I know it may be hard to see that now. You will make mistakes, both professional and personal, but you’ll learn your lessons and improve as a businessman, leader, and person. It’s all good.

The relationships you think will be lifelong and key will change. It will upset you, but people change, and so will you. You’ll learn to love from afar, and you’ll build an impenetrable circle of friends and family that will be your bedrock. You’ll become very protective over that inner circle, and rightly so. It may never sit well with you that some of your most important relationships changed, but you’ll come to accept it. You’ll always be grateful for the better days with those people, wishing them nothing but success from a distance.

You won’t believe me, but you’ll buy your dream house. You’ll buy your dream car several times over, and you’ll buy homes for your mum and other family members. Your friends and family will call you ‘Uncle Phil’ from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and you’ll enjoy amazing extended family holidays in some of the planet’s most stunning places. You’ll live a fulfilling life, pursuing things that bring you joy, and you’ll fill your days with purpose. You’ll spend a lot of time laughing, and don’t worry—you’ll still be as funny as you are now. That doesn’t change!

Above all, I need you to remember who you are—your personal core values and character. You’ll be tested, but always remember who you are when no one else is around, when no one is watching. Remember that despite always sharing what you have, you’ve never been without. Hold onto the warm feeling you get when you help others, and never forget that clean hearts win. Try to choose the right path more often than the easy one.

What else? Oh, Arsenal goes through a long trophyless spell, and Man City (yes, Man City!) becomes dominant. People will use phones more than TVs and computers. Invest in a company called Amazon and Apple (thank me later), and being Black will be cool in the future (it may not seem like it now – but trust me). As soon as you turn 17, be sure to give blood as often as you can, and lastly be ready—you’ll start losing your hair at 19!

Take care,

Dean

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