Famous Regret Quote Traced To 1990 Book, Not Twain

There is a very famous saying that goes: 'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.'

Many people think a famous old writer named Mark Twain said it.

But smart people who study Mark Twain looked everywhere and found no proof that he ever said it.

Researchers found that the words first appeared in a book called P.S. I Love You, written by H. Jackson Brown Jr. in 1990.

In that book, Brown said the words came from his mother, Sarah Frances Brown.

The words tell us that trying something and failing can be better than always wondering 'what if?'

A ship that never leaves the harbor never discovers what lies beyond it.

The story also teaches us that even when a famous name is attached to an idea, we should check whether it is really true.

The message behind the quote can still be helpful, even though Mark Twain probably never said it.