Criminal Defense Lawyers

The Letter That Changes Everything

Look. If your reading this, theres a pretty good chance you just recieved something in the mail that made your stomach drop. Maybe it was certified mail from a US Attorneys office. Maybe an FBI agent showed up at your door or your office and handed you an envelope. Either way, you opened it, and now your sitting there with this official looking document thats telling you that your a “target” of a federal criminal investigation.

Your not crazy. This is exactly as serious as it feels.

I’ve seen alot of people in this exact moment. Hands shaking. Mind racing. Trying to figure out what they could of done, who they could of talked to, what they might of said that led to this. And the first thing I want you to understand is that this reaction is completly normal. Everyone has it. The executives, the small business owners, the accountants, the doctors—everbody who gets one of these letters goes through the same thing.

The second thing I want you to understand is that what you do in the next few days matters. It realy matters. The decisions you make right now—before you talk to anyone, before you respond to anything, before you even call your friend whose a lawyer—these decisions can affect everthing that comes after.

So lets talk about what this letter actualy means, what your options are, and what you should do next. Becuase theres alot of information out there about target letters, and honestly most of it doesnt tell you what you realy need to know.

What Is a Target Letter, Really?

A target letter is an official notification from a federal prosecutor—usually a US Attorney or someone from the Department of Justice—informing you that your the target of a grand jury investigation. Thats the technical definition. But lets talk about what it actualy means in practice.

The Department of Justice has specific categories for people involved in investigations. There’s targets, subjects, and witnesses. A target is someone the prosecutor believes has committed a crime and against whom substantial evidence exists. I’ll come back to that word “substantial” in a minute becuase it matters alot. A subject is someone whose conduct falls within the scope of the investigation but who isnt necessarily believed to have committed a crime. And a witness is just someone who has information—they’re not suspected of anything.

Most experts say the letter will tell you a few specific things. It’ll identify the investigation. It’ll mention that a grand jury is looking into certain potential crimes. It’ll list those crimes—often by statute number, like “potential violations of 18 USC 1343” which is wire fraud, or “18 USC 1349” which is conspiracy to commit fraud. And it’ll tell you that you have the right to invoke your Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.

Some letters—and this is important—will invite you to testify before the grand jury. We’ll talk about why thats almost always a terrible idea. But the invitation is there.

Heres what the letter doesnt tell you: how much evidence the goverment has, who else there investigating, whether they’ve already made up their minds about charging you, or how much time you actualy have before things move forward. The letter is deliberately vague about all of that. And thats by design.

The 80-90% Reality Nobody Wants to Tell You

I’m gonna be real with you here becuase I think you deserve honesty more than you deserve comfort right now.

Studies show that somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of people who recieve target letters end up getting indicted. Thats not a typo. Eight to nine out of every ten people who get these letters will eventually face criminal charges.

I know what your thinking. Your thinking “but I didnt do anything wrong” or “theres been some mistake” or “once they understand the situation theyll realize this is all a misunderstanding.” And look—maybe your right. Maybe your one of the ten to twenty percent. It happens. People do get target letters and then dont get charged. Its not impossible.

But you need to understand what this letter represents. The goverment doesnt send these casually. By the time you recieve a target letter, the investigation has probly been going on for months. Sometimes years. Federal prosecutors have been gathering documents, interviewing witnesses, reviewing financial records, analyzing communications. They’ve been building a case. And they’ve reached the point where they believe—based on substantial evidence—that you committed a crime.

This is the end of their investigation. Not the beginning. Not the middle. The end.

The target letter is basicly the prosecutors way of saying “we’re done investigating, we think you did it, and were about to present this to a grand jury.” Some people think of it as a courtesy—a chance to respond before charges are filed. And it is that. But its also a signal that the goverment has already made up its mind about you. There giving you an opportunity to change that mind. Most people cant.

Does this mean you should give up? Absolutly not. That ten to twenty percent exists for a reason. Good lawyers have gotten target letter recipients completely cleared. Theyve negotiated plea deals that avoided the worst charges. Theyve convinced prosecutors to hold off. The situation is serious, but its not hopeless. You just need to understand what your actualy dealing with.

Target vs Subject vs Witness—Your Status Matters

I mentioned those three categories earlier. Lets break them down becuase your status in the investigation affects everthing about how you should respond.

Target: This is you, if you recieved a target letter. It means the goverment believes you committed a crime and has substantial evidence to support that belief. Your the focus. Your the person they want to charge. When prosecutors talk about their “target,” they mean the person at the center of the case.

Subject: A subject is someone whose conduct falls within the investigation but who hasnt risen to target status yet. Maybe there looking at your company, and your an executive. Your conduct is relevant—but they havent decided your the one who committed crimes. Subjects sometimes become targets. Subjects sometimes become witnesses. The status is fluid.

Witness: A witness is just someone with information. Your not suspected. There not building a case against you. They want to talk to you becuase you might know something. Witnesses have much more freedom to cooperate—though even witnesses should be careful about what they say and should probly have a lawyer present.

Now heres the thing—actualy let me back up becuase this is important. Your status can change. You might get a target letter today and then, after your lawyer presents information to the prosecutors, get reclassified as a subject. Thats good. Or you might be a subject today and then become a target next week after they talk to other witnesses. Thats bad. Or you might start as a witness, say something incriminating during an interview, and suddenly find yourself a target. Thats really bad.

The point is that these categories arent permanent. But moving from target to something else is hard. Once the goverment has decided your the target, convincing them otherwise takes serious effort. They’ve already got substantial evidence. Your not just fighting suspicion—your fighting evidence.

I had a client once who—actually, I shouldnt share that. But the point is, status changes are possible. Just dont count on them happening automatically.

Why Districts Matter—The SDNY Problem

Where your being investigated matters enormously. And most people have no idea about this.

The Southern District of New York—SDNY—is probly the most aggressive federal prosecutors office in the country. They handle alot of high profile financial crimes, securities fraud, public corruption. And they move fast. Realy fast. I’ve seen SDNY go from target letter to indictment in three weeks. Three weeks. That gives you almost no time to respond, to negotiate, to do anything.

The Middle District of Florida moves a bit slower—maybe six weeks from letter to indictment. Still not alot of time, but more than SDNY. Some rural districts might take months. It depends on teh prosecutors caseload, the complexity of the investigation, and how much they want to get you specifically.

Heres the deal: your lawyer needs to know the local prosecutors. Not just know about them—actualy know them. Federal prosecution is a small world in any given district. The prosecutors and defense lawyers often know each other. Theyve worked together on cases. They understand each others styles. An experienced federal defense attorney will know whether the prosecutor who signed your letter is the type to negotiate or the type to push straight to indictment.

Third… actually I’ll come back to that. The point about districts is that timing matters, adn timing varies based on where you are. If your in New York, you need to move immediately. If your in a smaller district, you might have a little more breathing room. But dont count on it. The goverment moves on its own timeline, and that timeline can accelerate without warning.

The Clock Is Ticking—Timelines You Need to Know

The target letter usually includes a response deadline. This is typically somewhere between 10 and 30 days—sometimes written as “ten business days” or “two weeks” or just “14 days.” The exact format varies. The urgency doesnt.

Now heres something most people dont realize: this deadline is negotiable. Your lawyer can call the prosecutor and ask for an extension. Most prosecutors will grant at least one extension, sometimes two. They want to appear reasonable. They want to give you a fair chance to respond. And frankly, they have alot of other cases—they’re not sitting around waiting just for you.

But dont mistake flexibility for patience. The grand jury is scheduled. The prosecutor has a timeline. Theyre going to present the case eventually, with or wihtout your input. Extensions buy you time—they dont stop the process.

Typically, from target letter to grand jury presentation is about 30 to 45 days. Could be faster. Could be slower. SDNY, as I mentioned, can do it in three weeks. Other districts take longer. But somewhere in that thirty to fourty-five day window, the prosecutor is planning to walk into a grand jury room and present evidence that you committed federal crimes.

After the grand jury, assuming they vote to indict—and they almost always do, grand juries are famously prosecution-friendly—you get arrested. Maybe you get a call from your lawyer saying “the indictment came down, lets arrange a self-surrender.” Maybe you get a knock on your door at 6 AM from FBI agents with handcuffs. Maybe you get pulled over during your morning commute. The arrest can happen various ways, and how it happens depends partly on what your lawyer negotiated beforehand.

Which brings me to pre-indictment positioning. Everything—and I mean everthing—is easier before the indictment than after. Before indictment, you can negotiate. After indictment, your negotiating from a much weaker position. Before indictment, you can potentially avoid certain charges. After indictment, the charges are filed—removing them requires dismissal or acquittal. Before indictment, you might be able to self-surrender and avoid a public arrest. After indictment… well, the arrest is happening either way.

Time is not your friend here. But neither is panic. You need to move quickly and deliberatly—30 days, actualy 21 business days in some cases—to make the best decisions possible.

Document Preservation—The Obstruction Trap

Read this carefully. From the moment you recieve that target letter, your document preservation obligation is absolute. This isnt optional. This isnt advice. This is the law.

If you delete a text message, thats obstruction of justice.

If you shred a receipt, thats obstruction. If you clean out your email inbox, thats obstruction. If you ask your assistant to “organize some files” and some files happen to disappear, thats obstruction. 18 USC 1519 makes it a federal crime to destroy, mutilate, or conceal documents “in contemplation of” a federal investigation.

Guess what that target letter proves? Contemplation.

You cant argue you didnt know there was an investigation. You literaly have a letter telling you there is one. So any document destruction after that letter arrives is presumptively obstruction. The goverment doesnt even have to prove you destroyed something important. They just have to prove you destroyed something with intent to impede the investigation.

This applies to everthing. Your personal email. Your work email. Your text messages. Your social media accounts. Your physical files. Your computer files. Everthing. Dont touch any of it. Dont delete anything. Dont move anything. Dont “organize” anything.

And if you have employees or colleagues, you need to tell them the same thing. Immediately. In writing. Becuase if your assistant deletes files and it comes out that you knew about it—or should of known about it—your looking at obstruction charges on top of whatever else there investigating.

I’ve seen people turn a survivable situation into an unsurvivable one by panicking and destroying documents. The original charge might of been defendable. The obstruction charge usually isnt. Dont make it worse. Irregardless of what you think those documents contain, leave them alone.

The Grand Jury Invitation—Its a Trap

Some target letters include an invitation to testify before the grand jury. This sounds reasonable. Its your chance to tell your side of the story. Its your opportunity to clear up misunderstandings. Its your moment to explain what realy happened.

Its a trap.

Real talk: almost no experienced federal defense attorney recommends grand jury testimony for a target. Heres why.

First, your testimony is under oath. If you lie—even about something minor, even about something that seems irrelevant—thats perjury. Thats a separate federal crime. Thats additional years in prison. The prosecutors know the case inside and out. They know what your going to say before you say it. And if you say something they can prove is false, youve just handed them another charge.

Second, no lawyer can be present with you in the grand jury room. None. You can step outside to consult with your lawyer after each question, but you cant have them sitting next to you objecting to improper questions or advising you in real time. Its just you, the prosecutor, and twenty-three grand jurors who are already inclined to believe whatever the prosecutor tells them.

Third, the prosecutor can ask you anything. Anything. There’s no judge moderating. There’s no rules of evidence in the traditional sense. They can ask you about your finances, your relationships, your business dealings, things that happened twenty years ago. And you either have to answer or invoke the Fifth Amendment.

And heres the thing about invoking the Fifth: it looks terrible. Grand jurors are regular citizens. They watch TV. They think people who “take the Fifth” are guilty. Invoking your right against self-incrimination in front of a grand jury basicly tells them you have something to hide. And while they’re not supposed to hold it against you… they do. They’re human.

So what does this mean? It means the grand jury invitation is a lose-lose proposition for most targets. If you testify and tell the truth, you might incriminate yourself. If you testify and lie, you commit perjury. If you invoke the Fifth, you look guilty. And you cant have your lawyer there to help you navigate any of it.

There are exceptions. There are rare cases where grand jury testimony makes sense. But those cases are rare. And taht decision should only be made with an experienced federal defense attorney who knows the specific facts of your case, the specific prosecutor involved, and the specific risks and benefits for your particular situation.

What Happens If You Ignore It?

Some people think “maybe if I dont respond, this goes away.” I get it. Its a natural reaction. You dont want to engage with something terrifying. You want to pretend it isnt happening. Maybe if you ignore it long enough, they’ll move on to someone else.

They wont.

Studies show that ignoring a target letter is almost always the worst possible choice. Heres what actualy happens if you dont respond:

The grand jury convenes anyway. The prosecutor presents their evidence anyway. The grand jury votes to indict anyway. And now you’ve been indicted without ever having a chance to present your side, to negotiate charges, to explore cooperation, to do any of the things that could of made your situation better.

Once your indicted, you get arrested. And if you ignored the target letter, the government has no reason to let you self-surrender. So they show up. Maybe at your office in front of your colleagues. Maybe at your home in front of your family. Maybe at your kids school during pickup. They can do all of that. And they might, especially if theyve decided your not taking this seriously.

All of your pre-indictment leverage disappears the moment you ignore that letter. The ability to negotiate charges? Gone. The ability to cooperate for benefit? Still there technically, but worth much less. The ability to avoid a public arrest? Gone. The ability to get bail conditions you can live with? Harder.

I’ve seen it happen. People who were scared, who buried their heads in the sand, who convinced theirselves that silence was the safe choice. It never is. The letter doesnt go away. The investigation doesnt stop. The only thing that happens when you ignore a target letter is that you loose options.

The Cooperation Question

Should you cooperate with the goverment? This is probly the most important question youll face after recieving a target letter. And honestly, there’s no universal answer. It depends on things only your lawyer can evaluate after reviewing the specific facts of your case.

Lets talk about what cooperation actualy means and when it might make sense.

Cooperation usually starts with something called a proffer session—sometimes called a “Queen for a Day” agreement. This is a meeting where you and your lawyer sit down with prosecutors and agents, and you tell them what you know. The idea is that you give them information, and in exchange, they consider reducing charges or recommending a lighter sentence.

But proffer sessions are risky. Realy risky. Heres the deal: the “Queen for a Day” agreement usually says that the goverment cant use your statements directly against you in their case-in-chief. Sounds good, right? But there’s exceptions. Alot of exceptions.

They can use your statements to develop other evidence. They can use your statements if you testify differently at trial. They can use your statements if you lie during the proffer. They can use your statements in sentencing. For all intensive purposes, once youve done a proffer, youve told the goverment everthing, and they can use that knowledge against you in various indirect ways.

So when does cooperation make sense? Generally, when the goverment already has a strong case against you and you have valuable information about others. If they’re going to convict you anyway, and you can help them convict someone bigger, cooperation might reduce your exposure. If youre the biggest fish in the pond, cooperation is usually worthless—you have nothing to trade.

Timing matters too. Cooperation before indictment is worth more than cooperation after. Cooperation early in the investigation is worth more than cooperation late. If your the first person to walk into the prosecutors office and offer information, you get the best deal. If your the third or fourth, the deal gets worse. The goverment doesnt need five cooperators saying the same thing.

Heres what I want you to understand: the decision to cooperate is complicated. It requires evaluating the strength of the goverments case, the value of your potential testimony, the risks of the proffer, the likely sentence with and without cooperation, and dozen other factors. No good answer here. Well, probly no easy answer anyway. This is exactly the kind of decision you need an experienced federal defense attorney to help you make.

More on the specifics of cooperation agreements later… actually, lets move on to your pre-indictment options.

Pre-Indictment Options Most People Dont Know

You have options at this stage that most people are completly unaware of. These options disappear once your indicted, so understanding them now is critical.

Option 1: Waive Indictment and Plead to an Information

Instead of waiting for the grand jury to indict you, you can waive your right to a grand jury indictment and plead guilty to an “information”—which is basicly a formal charging document that doesnt require grand jury approval. Why would you do this? Becuase it shows the court that you accepted responsibility early. Under the sentencing guidelines, that can reduce your sentence. It shows your not fighting the inevitable. It shows your taking accountability.

This isnt right for everyone. If you have a strong defense, waiving indictment makes no sense. But if the evidence is overwhelming and your going to plead guilty eventually anyway, doing it early can help you.

Option 2: Enter a Cooperation Agreement Before Charges

If your going to cooperate, doing it before indictment is way more valuable than doing it after. You can negotiate a cooperation agreement where you provide information in exchange for certain benefits—lesser charges, a recommendation for reduced sentence, sometimes even deferred prosecution. This kind of deal is much harder to get after your already charged.

Option 3: Negotiate Specific Charges

Grand juries basicly do whatever prosecutors ask them to do. If the prosecutor wants five counts, the grand jury returns five counts. If the prosecutor wants fifteen counts, the grand jury returns fifteen counts. But before indictment, your lawyer can sometimes negotiate which charges get presented. Maybe the prosecutor agrees to drop certain counts in exchange for a quick plea. Maybe they agree to charge a lesser offense. This kind of negotiation is genuinly differant before indictment than after.

Option 4: Convince Them Not to Charge

Its rare. Really rare. But sometimes a good lawyer can present information that convinces the prosecutor not to charge at all. Maybe there’s exculpatory evidence they havent seen. Maybe theirs a legal defense that makes the case unwinnable. Maybe theres mitigating circumstances that make prosecution seem unjust. Its a long shot—remember that 80-90% statistic—but its not impossible. And this option definitly disappears once your indicted.

Seriously. If your going to take action, now is the time. Not after the indictment. Not after the arrest. Now.

The No-Closure Problem

Heres something nobody tells you about target letters: if the goverment decides not to indict you, they wont tell you.

Think about that for a second. You recieve this terrifying letter. You hire a lawyer. You spend money. You lose sleep. You worry about your family, your career, your freedom. And then… nothing happens. Weeks pass. Months pass. No indictment. No arrest. But also no letter saying “congratulations, were not charging you.”

You just wait. In limbo. Watching every car that drives by your house. Jumping when the phone rings. Wondering if today is the day.

This can last for years. I’m not exaggerating. I’ve seen people wait two, three years for closure that never comes. The goverment has no obligation to tell you that theyve closed the investigation. They might keep it open indefinitely, just in case new evidence emerges. They might forget about it. They might be focused on other cases. You have no way of knowing.

Your only real friend in this situation is the statute of limitations. Most federal crimes have a five-year statute of limitations—meaning the goverment has five years from when the crime was allegedly committed to charge you. Once that deadline passes, they cant charge you anymore. Thats when you can finally exhale. Until then, your living with uncertainty.

The emotional toll of this is enormous. The professional toll too—because remember, you might have disclosure obligations that stay in effect as long as the investigation is open. You cant just “move on” while theres an active investigation. And the goverment has no obligation to let you move on.

Some lawyers try to get informal assurances from prosecutors. “Are you still planning to charge my client?” Sometimes prosecutors will give vague answers. Sometimes they’ll say “were not currently planning to indict.” But that doesnt mean they wont change their minds. It doesnt mean the investigation is closed. It just means, right now, today, theyre focused on other things. Tomorrow could be differant.

Professional Consequences Start Immediately

A target letter isnt public. Its not filed anywhere. The goverment doesnt issue a press release. But its consequences can become public very quickly, and they can affect your career even before any charges are filed.

Professional licensing boards often require disclosure of federal investigations. If your a doctor, lawyer, accountant, financial advisor, or any other licensed professional, you may have an obligation to report to your licensing board that you recieved a target letter. Failing to disclose—if disclosure is required—can create additional legal problems. It can be used as evidence of bad character. It can result in separate disciplinary proceedings.

Securities regulations may require company disclosure. If your an executive or director of a public company, an investigation targeting you might be material information that needs to be disclosed to shareholders. This is complicated and depends on the specific circumstances, but its something that needs to be evaluated immediately.

Employment contracts often have notification requirements. Many executive contracts require you to inform the company if your under criminal investigation. If your contract has this provision and you dont disclose, you might be giving the company grounds to fire you for cause. And getting fired for cause is alot worse than getting fired without cause—it affects your severance, your benefits, everthing.

The point is that even before indictment, even before arrest, even before any public charge, your career can be affected. You need to understand these obligations. You need to evaluate them with your lawyer. And you need to make decisions that protect you on multiple fronts—not just the criminal case, but the professional fallout too.

What a Good Lawyer Does at This Stage

I want you to understand what you should expect from legal representation after recieving a target letter. Not every lawyer knows how to handle federal criminal defense. Not every lawyer who says they do federal work has actualy dealt with target letters. This is specialized. You need someone who genuinly knows what theyre doing.

First, a good lawyer contacts the prosecutor immediately. Within days of your hiring them—ideally within hours. They introduce theirselves. They establish a line of communication. They signal that your taking this seriously and that your represented by competent counsel. This alone can change how the prosecutor approaches your case.

Second, they negotiate an extension of the response deadline. Almost always. The initial deadline in the letter is arbitrary. Prosecutors will usually grant reasonable extensions. This buys you time to evaluate the situation, gather information, and make intelligent decisions.

Third, they try to learn what the goverment has. This is harder pre-indictment than post-indictment becuase theres no formal discovery yet. But experienced federal lawyers have ways of getting information. They can ask the prosecutor whats driving the investigation. They can review public records. They can interview witnesses. They can piece together what the goverment probly knows.

And heres the thing. Your probly wondering “how much is this going to cost?” Federal criminal defense is expensive. Theres no way around that. But the cost of not having good representation—the cost of ignoring the letter, or hiring someone inexperienced, or making decisions without proper guidance—is almost always higher. We’re talking about your freedom. We’re talking about years of your life. We’re talking about everthing.

Fourth, they evaluate your options. Fight? Cooperate? Negotiate? Wait? Each option has pros and cons. Each depends on the specific facts. A good lawyer lays out all the options, explains the risks and benefits, and helps you make the best decision for your situation.

Fifth, if arrest is likely, they negotiate the terms. Self-surrender instead of public arrest. Avoiding the perp walk. Keeping handcuffs off in front of family. These things matter. They dont affect the ultimate outcome, but they affect your dignity, your privacy, your ability to maintain some control over an uncontrollable situation.

Look. This is scary. I know. But hiring the right lawyer is the single most important thing you can do right now. Dont wait. Dont try to figure it out yourself. Dont rely on generic internet advice—including this article. Get someone in your corner who knows how to fight this fight.

The Questions Everyone Asks

Lets address some of the questions I hear most often from people who just recieved target letters.

“Do the feds even have to send target letters?”

No. Thats the terrifying part. Theres no federal requirement to send you a target letter at all. Plenty of people find out there targets when FBI agents show up wiht handcuffs. The Department of Justice recommends target letters as a matter of policy, not law. If you got one, in a twisted way, your lucky. You have warning. Many people dont.

“How serious is this realy?”

Very. I’ll say it again: 80-90% of target letter recipients end up indicted. The goverment has already investigated. They already have substantial evidence. This isnt a fishing expedition. This is them telling you theyre about to charge you with federal crimes. Take it seriously.

“Why am I getting a letter from the FBI?”

Becuase somone in your orbit—your business, your associates, your industry—did something that attracted federal attention. And the investigation led to you. Maybe you were the target from the beginning. Maybe you started as a subject or witness and got upgraded. Either way, youre now in the crosshairs. The letter is telling you that.

“Whats the number one reason prosecutors choose not to prosecute?”

Honest answer? Usually its becuase they dont have enough evidence. Sometimes its becuase the defense presents compelling information that creates doubt. Sometimes its becuase resources get allocated elsewhere. Sometimes its becuase a key witness becomes unavailable. Theres no single reason, but evidence problems are probly the most common. That said, dont count on it. If they sent you a target letter, they think they have enough evidence. Maybe your lawyer can convince them otherwise. But its an uphill battle.

What To Do Right Now

If your still reading, you probly recieved a target letter recently—or your worried you might. Either way, heres what you should do right now.

Dont ignore it. I’ve said this multiple times but it bears repeating. Ignoring a target letter is almost always the worst possible choice. The investigation continues. The indictment happens. You loose all your pre-indictment options. Respond.

Preserve all documents. Everthing. Dont delete anything. Dont shred anything. Dont “organize” anything. Tell anyone who works for you to do the same. Document destruction after recieving a target letter is obstruction of justice—a separate federal crime taht can add years to your sentence.

Hire an experienced federal criminal defense attorney. Today. Not next week. Not after you “think about it.” Today. The clock is ticking. Every day you wait is a day you loose negotiating leverage. Federal criminal defense is specialized. You need someone who has actualy handled target letters, who knows the prosecutors in your district, who understands how to navigate this process.

At Spodek Law Group, we’ve represented clients through every stage of federal investigations—from target letters through trial, from cooperation negotiations through sentencing. Todd Spodek, our managing partner, has built a practice around federal defense work. We’re based in Brooklyn, but we handle federal cases nationwide. If youve recieved a target letter, call us at 212-300-5196. Today. Becuase what you do right now determines everthing that comes after.

This is your moment of maximum leverage. Don’t waste it.