Watch: A 56-year-old’s funny, revealing conversation with his 18-year-old self

What would you ask your future self? For novelist Peter “Stoney” Emshwiller, this is not a theoretical: In 1977, an 18-year-old Emshwiller made videos asking his future self all sorts of questions about life. At 56, Emshwiller answered them — to funny, revealing results.

While many of younger Emshwiller’s questions focus on fame and fortune, his older self dismisses these queries in favor of other, more positive aspects of his life — while providing some pretty important lessons. “You should spend as much time as you can with them,” older Emshwiller said of his family. “Spend more time with Dad.”

The video takes a pretty lighthearted tone, but overall it gives a very important takeaway that just about anyone can use: Even if life doesn’t turn out as expected, that doesn’t mean you failed.

Emshwiller said he wants to make a movie with the footage called Later That Same Life, which he’s set up an online funding campaign for. If the clip above is a fair indicator, it’s going to be very good.

Hat tip to Slate’s Sharan Shetty and Boing Boing’s Mark Frauenfelder.