Doc Emmet Brown - Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one
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Welcome to The Daily Quote—a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm your host, Andrew McGivern, for December 8th.
Thanks for being here today... Or should I say… back here? Forward here? What year is it now?
It’s Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day, so honestly, it’s all relative.
That’s right, today is your official excuse to wear a trench coat, talk in cryptic riddles, and casually tell strangers, “I’ve seen the future, and this is where it all begins.”
Since we’re channeling our inner time traveler, today’s quote comes from one of the most iconic time travel stories of all time.
Not Doctor Who... although I'm sure He/She/They/It or just the Doctor... has some amazing quotes.
I'm talking about Dr. Emmett Brown, the eccentric scientist from Back to the Future, who once said:
"Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one."
Now, if you’re familiar with Doc Brown, you know he said this while wearing an outrageous futuristic outfit, which just proves that wisdom doesn’t have to come from someone who looks like they have it all together. It can come from a man whose hair defies both time and gravity.
But think about it—“Your future is whatever you make it.” That’s empowering! It’s also terrifying because it means there’s no excuse for the weird stuff you bought online at 2 a.m. last week. That’s still on you.
This quote is a gentle reminder that the choices you make today—whether it’s taking that risk, apologizing to someone, or pretending to know what quantum mechanics is so you can impress a friend—those choices shape your future. And here’s the twist: you don’t need a DeLorean or a flux capacitor to alter your timeline.
Just small, intentional actions can change your trajectory.
So, on this whimsical day, I challenge you to embrace your inner time traveler. Think about the version of you five years from now. What does future-you want to see when they look back at today? Are they grateful you decided to start working out? Proud you finally tried sushi? Mortified that you wore socks with sandals to the grocery store?
If you write a daily journal, try a writing prompt that says... "my future self will be happy if I do BLANK today.
If you think of your future self as a dependent that is in your care. What would make your future self happy?
Remember, pretending to be a time traveler isn’t just about speaking in Old English and claiming you’ve come from the year 2525 (though I highly recommend trying that for fun). It’s about understanding that you already have the power to shape your own timeline.
So go out there and make it a good one!
So dress up in a futuristic outfit today. And if anyone asks, tell them you’re on a top-secret mission from the year 2033, but you can’t reveal the details. Trust me, it’ll make their day and yours.
That’s it for today’s episode of The Daily Quote. Thanks for time-traveling with me this morning, and I’ll see you in the next episode—or maybe, this is the next episode... Have we already been here?
Take care of yourself and your timeline!
And I'll see you tomorrow for another Daily Quote!