Ageism

Age doesn’t and shouldn’t define you.

Age is a metric for classified probabilities. For example, in the US education system, a typical 5 year old is in kindergarten learning the alphabet. A typical 10 year old is in 5th grade learning about the country’s great history and writing short essays. A typical 40 year old probably shouldn’t stay up all night drinking and plan on going into work bright and early the next day.

That is to say, while there are correlations, it’s not causation.

I saw on my Facebook feed, a friend shared insights about many famous individuals. Success is not pre-defined at certain intervals. You can increase your odds in a number of ways (i.e. good sleep habits) but you can’t control every aspect of the future. You can prepare well enough that you’re available to tackle opportunities as they are presented and therein lies why you should focus on things that make you happy.

Everything below is copied and pasted verbatim.

• At age 23, Tina Fey was working at a YMCA.
• At age 23, Oprah was fired from her first reporting job.
• At age 24, Stephen King was working as a janitor and living in a trailer.
• At age 27, Vincent Van Gogh failed as a missionary and decided to go to art school.
• At age 28, J.K. Rowling was a suicidal single parent living on welfare.
• At age 28, Wayne Coyne (from The Flaming Lips) was a fry cook.
• At age 30, Harrison Ford was a carpenter.
• At age 30, Martha Stewart was a stockbroker.
• At age 37, Ang Lee was a stay-at-home-dad working odd jobs.
• Julia Child released her first cookbook at age 39, and got her own cooking show at age 51.
• Vera Wang failed to make the Olympic figure skating team, didn’t get the Editor-in-Chief position at Vogue, and designed her first dress at age 40.
• Stan Lee didn’t release his first big comic book until he was 40.
• Alan Rickman gave up his graphic design career to pursue acting at age 42.
• Samuel L. Jackson didn’t get his first movie role until he was 46.
• Morgan Freeman landed his first MAJOR movie role at age 52.
• Kathryn Bigelow only reached international success when she made The Hurt Locker at age 57.
• Grandma Moses didn’t begin her painting career until age 76.
• Louise Bourgeois didn’t become a famous artist until she was 78.

Whatever your dream is, it is not too late to achieve it. You aren’t a failure because you haven’t found fame and fortune by the age of 21. Hell, it’s okay if you don’t even know what your dream is yet. Even if you’re flipping burgers, waiting tables or answering phones today, you never know where you’ll end up tomorrow.

Never tell yourself you’re too old to make it.

Never tell yourself you missed your chance.

Never tell yourself that you aren’t good enough.

You can do it. Whatever it is.

/end copy

This has been a public service annoucement to remind everyone to stop being judgemental about others and instead turn their focus on their own dreams. Everyone is unique, even identical twins.