It’s never too late to….
So many of you know I’m a runner. Proudly I’ve completed a couple half-marathons and numerous other races. I’m a back of the pack girl, it’s never about winning it’s always about finishing and for me…not being last!
You see I never considered myself an athlete. In fact, back in the 70’s high school gym class was brutal. There were always team captains (not me) and they got to choose their teams. You guessed it, this girl was always chosen last. Team sports – not my thing.
Fast forward a couple decades and I’m 45. I find out I have high blood pressure, like everyone else in my family. The doc told me if I didn’t reduce it I would likely have a stroke. My options – meds or exercise. For some reason, I decided that running is what I should do. I signed up for my first road race. A five miler on my 45th Birthday – in August, in the heat. Oy Vey!
First “training run” I couldn’t even make it 1/8th of a mile. But slowly I built up and I finished that race. I wasn’t last – but close to it. The rest, shall we say is history. So, what does this have to do with business? Everything. You see, you are never too late to do anything in life.
Change careers, launch a business or hell move to an island and sell shell necklaces if that’s what brings you joy!
Here are some examples:
Leo Goodwin, founder of Geico did so at the age of 50 – it’s no longer a family business and in fact it’s a household name.
Harlan David Sanders – AKA The Colonel, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken launched that franchise at the age of 62. Most of his peers, I would guess, were retiring, not the Colonel.
Robert Noyce with a PhD from MIT in hand founded Intel at the age of 41 – a youngster compared to the above two!
And then there is Reid Hoffman who founded LinkedIn at the ripe age 35, quite old for a tech start up. That company went public when Hoffman was 43.
So when I hear, I’m too old to launch a business, or I’m too old to do this or do that, or I’m too old to run a marathon…I simply shake my head and smile. Because I know better – you are never too old to try ANYTHING!
What’s on your list that you haven’t done because you thought you might be past your prime? Inquiring minds do want to know!