Are You Too Old To Succeed?

Do you consider yourself too old to succeed?

If you are over 45 and think that you have past your prime in terms of your career, then I have good news for you. A survey of four hundred exceptionally successful people in all lines of work were conducted. It was found that 66% of their greatest achievements were accomplished after their 60th decade.

Between the ages of 50 to 60 years, 25% of the achievements were found. Between 60 and 70, 35% of those achievements were accomplished here. Between 70 and 80, 23% and beyond 80, 8%. So if you are under 60 and think your best days are over, think again.

I am sure we have all heard of McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) fast food restaurants. Ray Kroc founded the McDonald franchise at the age of 52, he was a paper cup salesman before that. Colonel Sanders who founded KFC was broke at 66 and later turned around and became a millionaire at age 73. Coco Chanel started her fashion company at age 85. Retired astronaut and Congressman John Glenn re-entered the U.S. space programme and at age 77 entered space again. Ronald Reagan became president of the U.S. at age 70.

The first 10 years of our lives, we were totally dependent on our parents. From 10 to 20, we were all at school acquiring knowledge and being naughty.

From 20 to 30, we were out working, learning multiple job, interpersonal skills and about life in general. From 30 to 40, we began to have wisdom, more experience and financially more steady than our earlier years. From 40 onwards, with all of life's wisdom, experience and some capital at our disposal,the prime of one's career is just beginning. This decade of our lives is the decade where we venture out to achieve our life's career goals and if we are not successful yet it is because we are still in a trial and error stage. I was moved to tears when I first realised this because I too thought I was too old to succeed.

We need to change our values on what is old. Most of us thought we are old when we have past a certain age, when our hair start greying or thinning, more money spent on anti wrinkle cream, youth features gone, harder to blow out all your birthday candles in one breadth etc.

If you want to be Miss World or a sports star then this is true. You are only old if you have no more dreams, hopes, ambitions and most of your time is occupied with reliving the past, but if you have exciting goals to achieve one after another that keep you in an enthusiastic mood most of the time, then you are not old regardless of your biological age.

We have all heard of and maybe even met people who became millionaires below age of 30, we have to accept that they are the exception rather than the norm. I hope my article has encouraged you to fight on to live your life to the fullest and make things happen and expect the best years of your career are yet to come.