Ahead of his 50th birthday next week, Simon Cowell got introspective and published a lengthy letter to his younger self in the UK’s Daily Mail. In the letter, he looked back on the past few decades, scolding himself for poor decisions, and patting himself on the back for good ones.

“You are on a roll and you think the good times will last forever but, oh dear, Simon. You are so, so wrong,” he writes to the 1980s version of himself. “You look like a complete idiot…you are overconfident, far too cocky and dressed from head to toe in expensive designer gear…It hasn’t dawned on you yet, you idiot, that you can’t afford any of this stuff.”

Of course, toward the end he’s a bit nicer to himself:

“I must say, despite everything, I’m quite proud of you, Simon,” he says. “You’re happy, you’re content and just incredibly grateful for where you are.”

I must admit this is a nice idea – taking a step back on a milestone birthday and looking at what you’ve accomplished as well as the stuff that didn’t work out so well. Of course, mine probably wouldn’t be published in the Daily Mail, but oh well. Here’s to many more birthdays, Simon.