Written by: Craig Stanland, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
As we age, we may think we've missed our chance to reinvent. That couldn't be further from the truth.
"It's never too late to be what you might have been." – George Eliot
You can only pursue your passions and dreams in your twenties. This a myth that pops up in my work quite a bit. The idea that,
"You're too old."
"You missed your chance."
"You only know how to be a (insert profession here).
"You don't know how you could possibly learn anything new."
This myth is directly tied to another myth of reinvention: You have to give up everything you fought so hard to build.It also misses that your current skills are more transferable than you realize.
If you think you're too old to start something new, then this is for you:
Toni Morrison published her first novel, The Bluest Eye, at age 40 as a single mom.
Dorothy Allison was 42 when Bastard Out of Carolina came out.
Mark Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn at age 49.
Chef, Julia Child, didn't learn how to cook until her 40s and didn't have her television show until her 50s.
Frank McCourt didn't publish his first book, Angela's Ashes (he won the Pulitzer Prize for this book) until he was 66.
Alan Rickman, who played Snape in the Harry Potter films, got his first film role at 46.
Singer, Susan Boyle, was 46 when she got discovered on Britain's Got Talent.
George Eliot published her first novel at 40.
Anna Mary Robertson Moses (Grandma Moses) started painting when she was 75 and became a famous painter.
Filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock, made some of his best work between his 54th and 61st birthdays.
Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe at 58.
Cezanne's works in his mid-60s are valued 15 times higher than those he created as a young man.
At 74, Norman Maclean published his first and only novel, the 1976 best-selling book, A River Runs Through It.
Laura Ingalls Wilder became a columnist in her 40s. But did not publish her first novel in the Little House series of children's books until her 60s.
Sculptor, Louise Bourgeois, reached her greatest artistic success in her 70s and 80s. She died at 98, having finished another one of the sculptures the week before.
Painter, Carmen Herrera, sold her first artwork in 2004 when she was 89 years old, after six decades of private painting.
I published my memoir, "Blank Canvas, How I Reinvented My Life After Prison," when I was 47.
Time will pass with or without you, and you can choose how you invest it. Let the time slip by, and you'll taste the bitterness of regret, wondering, "what if..." Invest the time wisely pursuing something you've always desired, and you'll say, "I'm grateful I..." Massive difference in the richness and depth of your life.
Let's talk if you're ready to invest in 1:1 support so you can write your extraordinary life story.
Join me for your Free Reinvention Clarity Call.
My best-selling book, "Blank Canvas, How I Reinvented My Life After Prison," is available on Amazon.
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Craig!
Craig Stanland, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Craig Stanland is a Reinvention Architect & Mindset Coach, TEDx & Keynote Speaker, and Best-Selling Author.
In 2012, Craig Stanland made a choice that would cost him everything. After exploiting the warranty policy of one of the largest tech companies in the world for almost a year, the FBI finally knocked on his door.
He was arrested and sentenced to 2 years of Federal Prison, followed by 3 years of Supervised Release, and ordered to pay $834,307 in restitution. He lost his wife, his home, his cars, his career, and even his identity. He wanted nothing more than to die.
A well-timed prison visit from his best friend of over thirty years turned his life around. Craig rebuilt and reinvented his life from rock bottom to a life of meaning and fulfillment.
As a Reinvention Architect, Craig leverages his experiences and personal reinvention to work 1:1 with clients so they can re-architect their lives with freedom, passion, purpose, fulfillment, and meaning.Craig's mission is to help people cultivate the courage to pursue their calling so they can live meaningful lives.
His book, "Blank Canvas, How I Reinvented My Life After Prison" is available on Amazon.
