No Matter Your Age, You Can Do Something Amazing

There’s a question that goes something like, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” The moment I came across it, it struck a chord with me.

I interpret it to mean, do as you feel or don’t let your age prevent you from doing something that feels right, lifts you up, challenges you, gets you excited, etc. After all, age is just a number; it should not define you.

Examples of men and women accomplishing something amazing in their later years are everywhere. Consider the following:

• Sam Walton opened the first true Wal-Mart at age 44
• Comedic actor, Rodney Dangerfield, was 46 when he got his first big break on the Ed Sullivan Show
• At age 55, Ronald Regan entered politics. Also at age 55, John Pemberton invented Coca Cola.
• Harland Sanders started Kentucky Fried Chicken at age 65.
• At age 66, Noah Webster completed “American Dictionary of the English Language.”
• Nelson Mandela was elected president of South America at age 75. Also at age 75, cancer survivor, Barbara Hillary, became one of the oldest people to reach the North Pole.
• At age 85, Theodor Mommsen received the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature.
• At the age of 87, Retired Lt. Col. James C. Warren became the oldest person in the world to receive his pilot’s license.
• At age 95, Nola Ochs received a college diploma.
• At age 99, Teiichi Igarashi climbed Mt. Fuji. He climbed it again at age 100. And again at 105.
• 103-year old Marie Hunt, who had to give up her education after the eighth grade, managed to get her high-school diploma 87 years after her class graduated.

It’s seems that many people feel the need to accomplish everything they should by a certain age. But there is no right age or age limit to unlocking your potential. Rather, your life can be whatever you want it to be – at any age.

It’s never too late to do something you’ve always wanted to do, and it’s never too early to get started. No matter what your something amazing is, the first step is to start.