While it's often fashionable to dwell upon what might have been, John, what's usually overlooked is that, really and truly, it couldn't have. 

Because, invariably, any romanticized versions of how things "might have been," are based upon fictionalized versions of the past. 

Uh-huh,

   The Universe

John, LAST CHANCE for Las Vegas early-bird discount! 

You see, John, most of the time when people think the present could have been different than it is, it's because they think the past was different than it was. Happily, the future can still be anything, when you surrender to the details (and who has to do what).