I’m always harping on about trying new things, and I know it’s easy for me to say, but harder to do. Especially when trying something new is about starting over in a career. So today, for some inspiration, I’ll give you 5 people who started over at midlife (and beyond.) There are also some simple steps to think about if this is something you’re interested in doing.
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Did you know that Harland Sanders (Kentucky Fried Chicken) was in his 50’s when he opened his first restaurant? Prior to that, he was a steam engine stoker and an insurance salesman before opening a service station in his 40’s where he started serving meals out of the back.
Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65 when she started writing the first of her twelve book series, The Little House on the Prairie. In fact, her daughter Rose was already an established writer and it’s her connections that helped her mother get her books published.
Grandma Moses was in her 70’s before she started painting in earnest. Prior to that, she worked in embroidery and quilting, but arthritis made sewing too painful and she turned to a different medium in order to continue creating.
Phyllis Diller was working as a journalist when she first appeared on “You Bet Your Life,” with Groucho Marx. That appearance led to an opportunity to debut as a stand-up comedian.
Edmond Hoyle was in his 60’s when he first sold a book on the game and rules of Whist. It’s success led to other short books on backgammon, chess, and other games, which were then compiled into “Mr. Hoyle’s Games Complete.” This publication created and popularized the phrase “according to Hoyle,” which was a phrase heard around the house when I was growing up. I still have a Hoyle book in my library and consult it on occasion!
Contemplating A Career Change?
If you’re contemplating a career change, you should think about why. It shouldn’t be about what you’re running away from (a horrible boss, a job you hate) it should be about what you’re running towards. What do you want to do? What are you passionate about? I love the Hoyle story best. You know what he did before he wrote the book? He played the games, he was an expert and tutored the aristocracy before penning the books that would still be around over 300 years later. Passion perhaps? I started blogging a couple of years ago as a way to overcome some fears I had, but now I’m enjoying it as it fulfills a lifelong dream of writing (yes, blogging is writing too!)
Then you need to think about your plan, the how. Do you need to save money? Go back to school? Move to a different state or country? Can you stay in your current job? For some, the “how” is forced on you through a layoff. While others still have a job and need to figure out whether the next step is to keep the job or leave it while working towards their passion. I can blog while working full time, but the more I write, the more time I want to spend writing.
Finding a support group is also important. What’s that phrase….no man is an island? You need to connect with people and sometimes the best to connect with are those that don’t know you yet. Maybe it’s a Facebook Group or a meetup group. Or another group of people, like fellow students, already doing what you want or working towards the same goal. Remember, sometimes your biggest fans might be your family. But sometimes it might feel like your family isn’t supporting you, so it’s important to find a group that will. I’ve found a couple of supportive blogging communities on Facebook. We learn from each other and support each other, but I’m lucky that my husband is supportive too.
So take that next step, but be prepared for what it means. Maybe a new job or going to school full-time means earning less money. Have you been putting any money aside or have you made lifestyle changes that will support earning less income? We are starting to pay down debt as we downsize our household. We’ve found that as we get older we need less anyway.
What’s your passion? What step have you taken in the direction of your passion? You can check out this book The Dream Chaser: If You Don’t Build Your Dream, Someone Will Hire You to Help Build Theirs. Kind of says it all, don’t you think?
Then there is my person favorite – Julia Child. She didn’t publish her first book and become well know until she was 55. Just because we are in our 50″s doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of life left…a lot.
I can’t believe that I forgot to include Julia! My husband is a chef and we were just watching one of her shows when I wrote this!
Inspiration to us all1
This post with filled with practical and usable suggestions! I really like how you brought in real-life people for inspiration. I just hopped over from the MBA FB group.
Shellie
http://www.thefabjourney.com
Love this! I’m a regular “begin again” person and it started in my 20s. Who knows what version I’ll be at by the time I hit 50 or 65 – maybe 8 to 10? Thanks! (in the MBA FB group – a fantastic place to not be an island!)
This is great! Reinvention and re-creation is what life is: change.
It’s like Anais Nin says: “Life is a process of becoming, … Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.”
I’m not sure if I’ve got ‘Quirky-and-responsive’ in me… I’m way too knackerbobulated for Q&R this morning… but this is a great post, Jennifer. Inspirational! – I’ve read it before actually, and pinned it I believe. I hopped back to it today after your facebook share… I’m glad I did 🙂
Ugh! Quirky-and-creative I meant (not responsive) which clearly I’m not o_O See, told you I was knackerbobulated. Perhaps next time I comment I’ll make sense. 😉
So fascinating! I just shared a video about Anthony Bourdain yesterday. He got his ‘start’ at age 44! There’s always a chance to begin again!!
Always. I didn’t realize that about Anthony Bourdain, thanks for the info.
I will have to find that!
Grandma Moses was in her 70’s when she started painting? Wow! Well, it just goes to show – it’s never too late to start something new!
It is never to late! Pick an age and you’ll find someone who is starting over.
I am only 32 and I already find myself saying it’s too late for me to start something new, perhaps my dad early passing has something to do with my strange distorted sense of life span and reality. This past week, listening to my 90 year old grandmother tell her life story she told she hadn’t started her (incredibly successful) design business until her late 30’s. Hell she hadn’t even started studying it for her certification until her mid 30’s. There was so much hope in inspiration in that, just as there so much hope and inspiration to be found in stories like Grandma Moses, just need to hear them again from time to time to remember. <3