We live longer, retire later and focus more and more on the quality of our life. We do care about how we spend our lifetime. And how to manage such a change?
Recently I saw a cute and optimistic tweet of Douglas Lumsden which was running around the world on various platforms (I actually caught it on LinkedIn). That tweet was engaging so many people globally, sharing so many great stories – it was incredibly encouraging. Seems life is sometimes really great, doesn’t matter how old are you! So this piece might not be so much for GenZ and GenY and Millennials – SORRY GuysJ But no worries and don’t give up so quickly – there is a lot of inspiration for all age categories further on! Douglas started his dream job in 51, published his first book in 67 and seems he is doing pretty well, as he can’t wait to turn 70! Is it unique or is that something that we all can do or live? How does it work in THAT age? Why do some people feel to retire and some feel to learn to fly? Is it possible, or is it unique and exceptional? I started to dig deeper into this subject to get answers to all my questions – and for the impatient reader: the simple answer is YES! It’s NEVER TOO LATE! Not for your career nor for your life change. We live longer, retire later and focus more and more on the quality of our life. We do care about how we spend our lifetime. And how to manage such a change? Are there any rules or recommendations, on how to manage career change, when you are 40 – 50 – 60 or even beyond? Well, there are some. Marie Forleo talks about three keys to successful career change. The first is to drop the “It’s too late / I am too old” bias narrative. Nobody cares about how old are you but you! To get out of ageism try to skip the outside world and focus on the inside world, on your own thoughts. The average working age is going up, people are retiring much later. According to studies in the next few years over 25% of the workforce will be 55+. Research shows, that people 55+ have had the highest rate of business start-up activity globally over the past decade (source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor). And this your start would not be from scratch – you have gained a lot of experiences, wisdom, and skills. Despite all you already have, Marie in her Key No. 2 recommends paying attention to get more actual info about the business – it’s not enough to be great at the new profession, you need to know some more about the facts related to the market, sales, sustainability and profitability of your new dream job. Key No. 3 is to develop a bias towards action. You have a choice – either you sit and think, about how stressful it can be to make the change, how many obstacles it will bring to your life you simply do it. Every day you make a few small steps for your new career, that’s how you will create a habit which will become a part of your daily life. While doing it, focus on “right here & right now”, and don’t look far to the future, you risk that a big portion of work ahead
might stop you from doing anything. Always be present and keep asking yourself about the next right action step, just the next one – and do it (however simple and small it looks at the moment)!
In my consultancy, I often meet people, who are ready for a move towards a new career or life change. It is so inspirational and motivating for me to see all of them on their path, doing all those little steps leading to great results – happiness and purpose in their lives…
If you still hesitate, whether isn’t too late, here is a little insight into the Late bloomers topic.
Late bloomers – people who succeed in their career “bit later” are an interesting phenomenon which has attracted recently many journalists, HR people and managers. There is plenty of scientific evidence that many people find their talents and gifts later in life. Parents of course expect, that their kids will succeed right after graduating from a carefully and strategically chosen and very expensive university and create a career like the early achievers e.g. Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs. There might be even some push, which kids feel. But good things may come to those who wait – and guess what… They might enjoy much more. We can applaud early achievers, we might even feel a bit of jealousy. But when success comes at a certain age, you can handle it better, with all it is bringing along. There is a different value ladder, resiliency level, and maturity to apply in so many aspects. So – don’t wait for the change, do it!