The Power of Starting: It's Never Too Late

The other day I came across a reel on Instagram about 4-time world indoor rowing champion, Richard Morgan. Unsurprisingly, his body fat percentage was an impressive 15% with a muscle mass index of 80%. Pretty standard for an athlete, you would think. But did I mention Richard Morgan was 93 years old? And that he wasn’t a lifelong athlete, having taken up rowing only in his 70s.

While his physical feats are exceptional, it is his mindset that interests me more. After all, the body follows the mind and most battles are lost between our ears.

Many of us are discouraged from starting something new solely because we didn’t start earlier, viewing it as a lost opportunity. But is not starting today also a chance missed? After all, if twenty years ago was the best time to have begun something, surely today is the second-best time. In the words of the author, C.S. Lewis,

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

LIFE’S WINDING WAYS

Life isn’t a straight path. Our interests, goals and requirements change over the years. Beginning early can be beneficial because it gives you more time to pursue your interest but that isn’t necessarily a guarantee for success or even sustained motivation. Ask any child prodigy who lost interest or got sidetracked.

That brings me to Vera Wang. She spent her childhood from age 8 striving to be a figure-skater. When she didn’t make the US Olympic team, she was devastated. With that dream behind her, Wang went to college and earned a degree in art history.

Hired by Vogue straight out of university, she worked as a fashion editor for 17 years before resigning her post in 1987 when she realised that she wasn’t in line to be promoted to the position of Editor. Wang decided to move to a fashion house, Ralph Lauren as accessories design director.

Photo courtesy: Harper's Bazaar

In 1989, as a bride-to-be, Vera was unable to find a wedding dress she liked. So, she designed her own dress. The next year, at 40 years of age, Vera Wang launched her independent bridal wear brand. Over the last three decades, Vera Wang has dressed the who’s who of the world. Her brand is valued at more than a billion dollars today.

It is neither possible nor advisable (in my opinion) to plan every step of one’s life. The ebb and flow of one’s life is unpredictable. To say nothing of a world perpetually in flux. Adaptability is the name of the game and nothing helps it more than the ability to course-correct and take on a change in plans with an open mind. And sometimes, that’s all it takes to fulfil a lifelong desire.

A STORY OF HIS OWN

Photo courtesy: LA Times

Frank McCourt immigrated to New York from Ireland at 19. For thirty years, he taught English to high school students in New York City's public schools.

Meanwhile, memories of his impoverished childhood in Limerick, Ireland lurked in the backrooms of his mind. It was a story he wanted to tell. Writing it, however, meant dredge up the painful past. It also called for the sort of time McCourt didn’t have. The classroom consumed all his energy and time. Decades passed.

Post retirement, McCourt finally sat down to write the story of his life. Angela's Ashes, his memoir of growing up poor in Ireland, written from the perspective of a child, was published in 1996. McCourt was finally a novelist at 66 years of age.

Angela's Ashes went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and spent over two years on the bestseller list. Speaking of his late blooming, Frank McCourt said,

"The world was shocked to learn that I wrote a best seller at sixty-six. No matter how long you live, you have stories to tell."

I dare say McCourt's three decades as an English teacher taught him enough about storytelling and engaging an audience. And all the years he spent biding his time was probably for the best. Sometimes, the best thing a writer can do when writing about something deeply personal and emotional is to give it the benefit of time.

The passage of time is a sort of sedimentation process that allows for disturbed sediments to settle, the water to clear, the most salient parts to become visible and for incisive clarity to replace choppy feelings and muddy emotions.

IN CONCLUSION

It’s never too late to be who or what you want to be. While it may be hard to match Richard Morgan’s awe-inspiring fitness or Frank McCourt’s literary success but that’s not really the point. The really important bit is to get started, unsure of success and even when doubtful of our own abilities. Accolades may or may not follow but sometimes a dream deserves to be brought to life by someone who wants it enough. For its own sake.