Where have you told yourself that it’s “too late” to make a change?
It’s not that it’s actually too late, but if we’re honest, we try to justify that it is so that we don’t have to face our fear of failing or what other people might say about us.
That’s really it. It’s not the timeline but fear that stops us from making the change we desperately desire.
The older we get, the more excuses we have readily available for why it's too late to start, but let's be honest—they're still just excuses.
Not facts.
Take for example June Squibb.
The actress just received an Oscar nomination for her very first starring role at the age of 94 in Thelma.
That's the same June Squibb who decided to make a career change at 61, going from plays and stages to the movie screen, where she had two-bit roles in Scent of a Woman and The Age of Innocence in the 90s.
When asked if she plans to slow down, Squibb smiled and said, "Each role is an opportunity to get better, to learn something."
Her story is inspiring - but it's not the only one of someone who made a pivot because they realized as long as they had air in their lungs, there was still time.
One of my former 1:1 coaching clients launched his very first executive coaching business at 54 after a long & successful career of working for other people.
I met a woman in her mid-50s last fall who changed careers at 41 to pursue law school & her dream of being a lawyer.
(I can't imagine studying for a single one of my graduate school tests at 41, much less the bar exam!)
Heck, one of the guys I follow on Instagram shared that his mother decided to get in shape at 70 (!) and lost 75 pounds.
I know, their story is different than yours.
But is it?
We tend to justify our excuse not to...
- Start working out...
- Launch that side hustle...
- Stop ignoring the red flags in dating...
- Put in for that promotion into management...
- Press record on our podcast...
- Take that trip...
...because we see all the reasons why we *think* it's too late to start.
In reality, it's not.
You have today - and that's all the time you need to kickstart your Day One.
Whatever that thing is you keep thinking about (and then pushing down & away because 'it's too late'), what if you gave yourself permission to ask:
"What if it's not too late? What could my world look like five years from now if it wasn't too late to start this week?"
You only have so many today's left in the que.
Use them to the fullest.