Six months ago, I was sitting in my little cubby at home when I found a faded piece of paper I’d completely forgotten about.
It was a letter I’d written to myself while I was in Spain, and honestly, I almost threw it away. The ink had faded, making some parts hard to read. But something made me stop and actually read what my past self had written.
What I discovered changed everything, not just about my business, but about who I was becoming.
The Letter That Started Everything
Here’s what I had written to myself six months earlier while I was in Spain:
“Dear me, Jonathan, you were that kid people liked or disliked, but we never cared if they wanted to be our friend. I am writing this to you because we are ready to become what we need to be to go to the next level. We cannot be lazy anymore. We cannot wake up with no drive.
We want this type of future. Nice house, sophisticated wife, nice cars, great friends. But we don’t do the work.
It is time for us to take control and take us home. I will make us proud of the man we want to be. They will know Mr. Schwartz, the CEO, the great man, a stage speaker, and everything else.
2025 is going to be the year of change mentally and physically. We’re going to win. All we need to do is adapt and become someone new.
P.S. Jonathan Schwartz. It’s time. They don’t know us.”
Reading those words hit me like a truck.
But it also reminded me of a pattern I’d been struggling with throughout my three-year journey that started in 2022: I was making the same mistakes I had already learned from. I would learn something valuable, then choose to avoid what I learned and repeat the cycle. I was sabotaging myself by forgetting my own hard-won wisdom.
The Shame and the Revelation
I felt ashamed.
My past self had such clarity about who we were becoming, such determination about the work that needed to be done. And here I was, six months later, realizing I had stopped doing that work.
Sometimes we fall into a pit, and all we can think about is what we’re going through, not the whole process we’ve been through. Since I started my personal growth journey in 2022, fitness journeys, traveling journeys, you name it, I’d learned so much. But I kept forgetting the lessons.
But that faded letter from Spain reminded me of something crucial: I had the courage before, which meant I still had it now.
The Video from Morocco
The letter wasn’t the only message I’d left myself. I had also recorded a video when I was in Casablanca, Morocco in 2024. Finding that video felt like discovering treasure.
In it, I told my future self:
“I hope you read this message that I’m about to leave you. I hope we achieve what we set out to achieve. We just need to let time set its course because I know that we have what it takes to go where we want to be.
We completed EchoeBack website and I know it’s just the beta version. I hope you update it soon, get the first customers or first users to use it. I hope you help people start their own journey.
We’re one of the good ones. We always help people when they need it… Take the world by storm for me, for you, and love you. I’m proud of you.
When you’re feeling afraid, when you’re scared, remember we had courage. We went to all these places in the world Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines, Spain, Morocco, all other places in between. Remember, my guy. Take care.”
Watching that video, I realized something profound: my past self believed in me more than I believed in myself.
Why I Really Built EchoeBack (The Selfish Truth)
That moment sitting there with a faded letter from Spain and a video from Morocco is when I truly understood what EchoeBack needed to be.
But let me be honest about why I really built this: it was completely selfish.
Since 2022, I’ve been on many journeys traveling journeys, fitness journeys, you name it. In my fitness journey alone, I went from 265 pounds to averaging about 195. That’s a 70-pound transformation. But here’s the thing: I don’t recall all the small victories and the very powerful things I learned in that journey.
That’s the problem I was trying to solve.
Sometimes I forget the great deeds. I forget a lot of things. So I made this thing out of selfishness to keep a dialogue between my current self and my future self, and all the selves in between.
But then I realized: if not me, then who? Who’s going to make this product if it’s not me?
A good friend of mine reviewed the website and told me something that stuck: “This reminds me of journaling, but in a visual way. Most people don’t have people rooting for them, so this is like a pat on the back for you cheering yourself on.”
I think people need to be more grateful for their small wins and sit in the wins. So when they get a big win, they can truly be grateful and know how to go to the next goal or the next step.
That’s when I understood what EchoeBack really was: a platform where you can leave descriptive messages for your future self, capturing not just the destination, but every step of the journey.
We all go through stuff in life. We have to see the bigger picture and allow ourselves to grow and reflect on what we learned so we can keep pushing forward. Everything’s a mountain. We’re always going to climb the next mountain and the mountain after that.
But if we don’t take in the information from each mountain, if we don’t remember the lessons from our journey, we’re doomed to repeat the same struggles over and over.
The Courage We Forget We Have
My past self reminded me of something I’d forgotten: I’ve traveled the world. I’ve had courage before. I’ve taken risks and survived them.
When you’re in the pit, you forget about the mountains you’ve already climbed. You forget about the courage you’ve already shown. You forget about the person you’re becoming.
But when your past self reaches across time to remind you when they tell you “they don’t know us” and “we’re one of the good ones,” something shifts. You remember not just what you’ve done, but who you are at your core.
What EchoeBack Really Does (Beyond Digital Messages)
EchoeBack brings back something we lost. Back in the 90s, people used to put their memories in little containers and dig them up 20 years later to have that nostalgic feeling, looking at their childhood memories and little things like that.
But EchoeBack is more than digital nostalgia. It’s about creating a dialogue between your current self, your future self, and all the selves in between. It’s about:
- Capturing Small Victories: Those powerful moments you learn that get forgotten in the rush to the next goal
- Staying Grateful: Being more grateful for your small wins so you can truly appreciate the big ones
- Personal Growth: Reflecting to help your future self remember what you did or what you’re doing
- Staying on Track: Getting more connection to the way you felt, the way you’re feeling
- Remembering the Journey: Because sometimes you live in the present and it kind of fades—life fades, you forget things. We’re human.
When I lost 70 pounds, I didn’t just forget the end result—I forgot all the small victories that made it possible. The first time I ran a mile without stopping. The day I fit into old clothes. The moment I realized I was becoming the person I always thought I could be.
Most importantly, EchoeBack helps you remember that you’re one of the good ones.
In my video to myself from Morocco, I ended with: “Remember, we’re one of the good ones. Don’t forget this. We’re one of the good ones. Don’t let them let our kindness be for nothing.”
Sometimes you need your past self to remind you of who you are at your core.
The Vision Growing Beyond Digital
Right now, EchoeBack is digital; you can record videos and send text messages to your future self. But the vision is bigger.
I’m working on a physical product where you’ll actually receive your videos in a physical time capsule. You’ll get a personal envelope with your memories, delivered only on the day you chose to receive them.
The goal isn’t just to create a platform. It’s to help people track their journey and reflect for their future self to stay on its path. Whether that’s a small win, a big win, an emotion you felt, or something you just want to remind yourself of so you don’t lose track of your journey ahead.
Because here’s what I’ve learned: we’re all climbing mountains. We’re all going through stuff. But when we take the time to document the great deeds, when we create that pat on the back for our future selves, we don’t just survive the journey. We remember why it was worth taking.
Your Turn to Remember
I don’t know what mountain you’re climbing right now. Maybe you’re in your Morocco moment—clear, inspired, ready to take on the world. Or maybe you’re in your cubby, feeling lost and forgetting the courage you once had.
Either way, your future self needs to hear from you. And your past self has wisdom waiting for you.
Ready to start that conversation across time? Create your first message with EchoeBack. We’re still in beta, so it’s free right now. But more importantly, it’s a chance to become the person who receives exactly what they need, exactly when they need it.
Your future self is waiting to meet the person who had the courage to send them love across time.
Want help getting started? Download our free guide, “25 Time Capsule Prompts That Actually Matter,” inspired by the real messages that changed my life.
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25 thought-provoking prompts to help you write meaningful messages to your future self
What would you want your past self to remind you of right now? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
