Never too late

Have you ever heard a child say? “I want to grow up and work for someone else, and make their dreams come true.” 

People usually gravitate to careers that are exciting, that are noble or rewarding. It all depends on what you want.

I remember when I was a child, most of my peers wanted to be an astronaut or a firefighter: they want to be James Bond or a policeman. I wanted to be rich. I had plans that I would be a millionaire by the time I was thirty. When I turned thirty, I was very disappointed.

I can remember when I was in my late twenties and thirties thinking, “If I do that, it will take too much time.”

Riding in this morning to my “Brick and Mortar” I was thinking about this subject, and going through my daily list of personal disappointments: There are things that I wanted to do, and time passed anyway.

I recently watched the movie “My Old Lady” with Kevin Klein. The movie was listed as a romantic comedy, but it was more of a drama (which, for this post, really doesn’t matter). The best line in the movie comes from Mathilda Girard, played by Maggie Smith, where she says, “You have life!”

I am 46 years old, and she is right: I have life!

We need to remember that faint hearted people never make history. Joan of Arc could have said, “I’m just a girl.” William Wallace could have said, “I’m nobody.” Where would we be if Paul Revere didn’t do his midnight ride? The point is these people didn’t say “Oh well, I can’t.” My wife use to tell my kids “Can’t never did do anything.”

Deciding not to let another opportunity pass us by, should be our daily mantra. How many opportunities pass us by every single day? How many of us go thru our daily grind, with our heads down, focused on just one small part of the “Big Picture,” without stepping back and looking at the whole picture.

I heard a phrase “Seeing the situation from 35,000 feet,” Which means you seeing everything at once. This is something we need to do sometimes. Now seeing things from that far, and “The whole picture” all the time will diminish your ability to focus on specific areas. What I propose is see the big picture, but focus on what is important - when it’s important. 

My focus is to be a writer.

When I worked at a print shop in Arizona, there was an author that would come in to copy off his transcripts. I told him one day, “I always wanted to be a writer.” 

He told me, “You either are a writer or you aren’t a writer, you cannot ‘want to be’ a writer.” I decided right there I was a writer. However, I always felt I never was good enough. So I have never poured myself into it. I have had many false starts, but it has never been a true focus: Until now.

So the best thing I can tell you is: get out there. If you aren’t good enough, then keep working till you are. Nobody is born with knowledge of how to do something, they have to learn it, and then practice it over and over and over again. 

If you are a writer (and I assume you are since you are reading this), make it a habit to write every day. I write at my “Brick and Mortar” between calls. I write in the morning and at night; I write in the bathroom and at lunch.

I guess the whole reason for this post is to remind you, it is never too late to do something you want to do. As for me, I am looking for freelance writing jobs, I still have my “Brick and Mortar” but I am still looking, and one day - no matter how old I am - I will find that job.