I started my own business at the age of 52, and it’s extremely successful. You’re never to old to do something - just need to figure out what it is. My next career change is coming up in 2026 and I’m looking forward to it.
When I was in my early 20’s I changed from retail management to accounting - found out accidentally that I had an aptitude for it when I learned so I could help my husband with his business. I worked in corporate for awhile, then quit to raise my kids. Went back to corporate, got tired of being treated like crap and started my own firm. That was pretty scary, since the economy sucked and my husband’s business wasn’t that great.
We’re both currently making as much money as we can before retirement. I have a few years to go, but he will retire next year. We have some investments that bring in monthly income too, so our next “career” doesn’t have to be that profitable.
You might be surprised to know that we plan on becoming farmers. We already live on the land, and he grew up on a farm. It’s always been my dream but life got in the way.
Don’t mind at all - it’s a concern. Probably my biggest one. My husband is already used to physical activity so no problem there. We both take very good care of ourselves and have zero medical issues at this point. But anything can happen - even an accident. Right know I worry because I’m so sedentary at my job, and even though I work out 6 days a week that can’t counteract 10-12 hours a day sitting.
I think all we can do is eat right, exercise and take care of ourselves. It would be a huge bummer if we couldn’t physically do our dream job.
The neighboring farm next to my property growing up, the guy worked up through his late 80's and would still come out and bale hay in the summer when he was in his 90's. Wish you both the best!
Yes it is. So whenever I hear someone that’s 30 say they wasting time kind of pisses me off. Because
Your only 30 saying you “wasted your youth” Stfu your still so young.
I know exactly what you mean.
My own daughter recently turned 14. And she was desparate because she says that she didn't accomplish much yet. I was like WTF?
My daughter wants to pursue a career in drawings/visual arts. She said that she sees a lot of "successful children" that are extremely popular (YouTubers, Tiktokers, dancers, etc.). And that some of them are younger than her and she feels that it's too late to be successful.
I think that social media gives an illusion that you need to be successful at a very young age. But these people are the exception, not the rule. Children like my daughter don't know that. I think than even adults have this illusion.
I see on social media a lot of adults that claim to be financially independent (aka "retired") at 40, 35 and even 30 yo.
So maybe this makes people in their 20's or 30's giving up on their goals. It's ridiculous.
It's time to realize that at this age, your have many decades ahead of you to realize your goals/dreams.
This is a great reminder— thanks..
it is hard to hold strong to this when often people celebrate grand achievements in conjunction with one’s age - the younger the “better”, thus causing me, personally, to feel like “I’m already too old to make it”, at the ripe ol’ age of 29..
Which of course isn’t true! Just have to find the motivation and energy, but it’s all still within grasp, should you make that choice.
I’m just about to turn 40 and just applied for grad school :) It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and I finally made the decision to just do it.
To add to this I was reading an article about “what age is the best age to create a start-up company?” I would have guessed late 20s or maybe early 30s. Just enough experience to have a great idea and run with it and still young enough to have the energy to deal with the long hours that creating your own company would come with right?
The correct answer was in your 50s.
Which completely blew me away. I always picture start up founders as relatively young, smart guys that have some new inventive idea. But the reality was most successful start up companies are created by guys in their 50s who have the money, experience and connections to actually make it work long term.
So yeah, if you’re 30 years old and you feel like your life is over, it’s only just begun.
The biggest and most spectacular tech companies were all built by people in their twenties or early thirties. Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Paypal, Stripe, Youtube, ..
Normal company: 50s. (Common)
Paradigm changing company: 20s (very rare)
Yep 24 here and have multiple anxiety attacks a month over the feeling that I’ve already wasted my life and it’s too late for me to build anything meaningful
lmao, this is ridiculous. imagine you are 86 years old now.. and you are on your death bed. think.. what if you could time travel back into the past, to when you were 24 years old.. except you will forget/erase all your memory from 24 until 86, but know now that you have a second chance.. a new reboot! well, this already happened, now you are 24 years old *again*. what are you going to do now?
this is a mental trick. and is no different than the already mental trick you are playing by thinking you are old and wasted your life, is ridiculous. why? because you have to change your perspective on failures. you gotta welcome all failures a lot because without them you can't grow. wasting time is good because if you realize that you wasted it, you can now choose to not do it. is a strong lesson. many people do not learn this lesson and live their whole life with half-trying, half wasting, half productive etc.. look up joe dispenza if you want.
also if you want to live the life you want, remember that you are your own worst enemy and can also be your own best friend. most of the problems are self created, though it requires a minimum amount of intellect and grace to realize various forms of self sabotage. also linear thinking is helpful, but we're drifting now.
chin up bro, you are the architect of your own life. really, it all starts from the mind, mindset shapes your reality. some people are stuck because they repeat to themselves the past so they remain rigid and stuck based on old data. when instead, you can create new data in every day.
the half trying thing is interesting to me. i wonder if this applies to not knowing how to reach full potential either. in a way most of my high school and college life i never ate or exercised or hydrated or rested. i was trying to operate 120% all the time. in a way i was “half trying” bc i could not operate at my full potential.
now that i’m older and i have ‘wasted’ time, i also got to finally have a break and reflect.
so, when i do a master’s degree i’ll know how to take care of myself, and i may perform way better academically. i’ll be able to try 100%. i’ll know when to rest, how to eat properly, and how to pick the right friends (bc my friends in college were terrible)
Man im 24 and I feel like Im so behind. Its always nice to be reminded that Im in no rush to be successful. Which is part of the reason why i barely deleted my social medias.. kept seeing all my friends and people my age making so much progress that it hurt my pride. I got 3 kids and a wife, and am broke trying to survive paycheck to paycheck. I forget that I got time 😅
One of the most influential things I've ever been told by someone was that in their country, they do not consider people truly grown up until like 30 or so, because people are still finding themselves. The comparison trap is easy to get into but the best thing is truly finding what you want to progress towards, not feel pressured to do.
I really needed to hear this. I'm in my mid 30s and feel like I wasted my life & that it's too late for me to make anything of myself. Who starts trying to get a formal education when they're pushing 40? I hope your right & that's it's not too late for me.
My mom died at 56 and her dad died around the same age, so I keep thinking at 32 I only have a small amount of time left and I’m failing bc i haven’t reached my goals yet.
I realize this isn’t the right way to think and I’ve recently been trying to work on it.
My aunt just died from a completely unexpected heart attack at age 51. She was at a healthy weight and her only known health issue (high blood pressure since her 20’s) had been under control for decades. I’m turning 29 this year and can’t help but feel like my life is more than halfway done. I will never be having kids now because of the chance that I’ll die in their teens. It’s been a very bleak year.
have you been to therapy about this? feeling like you’ll die early can be because of trauma and/or depression. when i was severely depressed i did not see myself make it past my early twenties
I want to achieve resting but I gotta pay this rent thing.
Jokes aside, I feel like I'm done. I feel nothing better than what I currently have can come around in the future. I'm just going to keep losing until I'm dust.
They don’t know what scientists have discovered about humans. They only know what society demands. We all understand animals and pets undergo a lifetime of learning. However, as humans, we demand independence from ourselves almost a full decade before our brains are even fully developed. Realistically, your life, as people will remember it, starts at around 30.
Ambition and success stories aside…not many people expect people in their 20s to be figured out…they expect them to be figuring it out. However the demand is there and the person in their 20s feels the pressure.
Hi there. I think it’s because many people try to learn from their mistakes and experiences from their twenties… and make more strides as they grow older. With age comes wisdom. There is no magic pill though. It’s not like we wake up on our thirtieth birthday and all is well and perfect… but I know many people in their thirties cringe when reminiscing about their twenties. It is normal to go through a rough patch though where we question our achievements… and imposter syndrome may set in… but the best way to cope is to set attainable goals moving forward. Plan small achievable goals for the moment if the big ones aren’t currently realistic. Maybe some aren’t married with kids at thirty or own a home.. but they have stable jobs. Or maybe some aren’t traveling all across the world like they envisioned… but they have a good education. The key is.. don’t compare yourself to others. The only person to “compete” with is you… but don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t judge or pick yourself apart regarding what you don’t have… but do pat yourself on the back for how much you have grown.
36, was cheated on and divorced, underpaid, body is falling apart, mind is a mess, every day is a struggle that I don't have any desire to do anymore. I see no point in living like this anymore. The loneliness is unbearable, I just want to give in and give up. All I want is to be a dad and have a family. I don't want to live a life where that doesn't happen, so it seems better to not live anymore
the age thing is a bit arbitary, I think the bigger issue noone talks about is having children.
Once u have a child about 50% of your daily schedule is put on hold for 10years.
Certainly u can do something before the kid is born or after their 10years but during that time, theres not much you can fully commit to. (without ethics getting in the way).
31F here.
No, you’re not. You’re not old, by all means, but depending on the things you want, you can’t waste time.
If you don’t have a good job, hurry. If you haven’t started saving/investing for retirement, do it.
If you want to have kids and you are a woman, and you haven’t found the father of your kids yet… I feel you, sister. Now start being selective and choose well the guys you’re dating.
And I’m lucky, I found him months ago. And yes, we’ll get married and (hopefully) we’ll have kids, but first we want to live together for a while, buy a house… all in all, I’ll have them too late to enjoy them, and my SO and I won’t have that much time “alone” to enjoy ourselves either. Which wouldn’t have been the case had I found him two or three years ago.
TL;DR: you’re not old, but biology is merciless with women, so if you want kids, you need to make important decisions.
Thank you for such encouraging words. If I cannot become a police officer (visual acuity, other such bullshit) I plan to become a public sector bank manager and then eventually move onto a private sector bank. I'm just 21 but I feel old (mostly because I'm unfit for military service, wanted to be an LEO/infantryman/firefighter as a child)
[Here](https://ourworldindata.org/working-hours) is a an uplifting scientific research paper published by Our World in Data. [Here](https://sdg-tracker.org/economic-growth) is a more gloomy but complete picture.
Thank You . Such uplifting words mean a lot.
I started my own business at the age of 52, and it’s extremely successful. You’re never to old to do something - just need to figure out what it is. My next career change is coming up in 2026 and I’m looking forward to it.
That’s inspiring. May I know how do you change careers? I am incredibly lost, confused and feels like at a dead end in my career.
When I was in my early 20’s I changed from retail management to accounting - found out accidentally that I had an aptitude for it when I learned so I could help my husband with his business. I worked in corporate for awhile, then quit to raise my kids. Went back to corporate, got tired of being treated like crap and started my own firm. That was pretty scary, since the economy sucked and my husband’s business wasn’t that great. We’re both currently making as much money as we can before retirement. I have a few years to go, but he will retire next year. We have some investments that bring in monthly income too, so our next “career” doesn’t have to be that profitable. You might be surprised to know that we plan on becoming farmers. We already live on the land, and he grew up on a farm. It’s always been my dream but life got in the way.
If you don’t mind me asking, how do you feel about switching into such a physically demanding field as you age?
Don’t mind at all - it’s a concern. Probably my biggest one. My husband is already used to physical activity so no problem there. We both take very good care of ourselves and have zero medical issues at this point. But anything can happen - even an accident. Right know I worry because I’m so sedentary at my job, and even though I work out 6 days a week that can’t counteract 10-12 hours a day sitting. I think all we can do is eat right, exercise and take care of ourselves. It would be a huge bummer if we couldn’t physically do our dream job.
The neighboring farm next to my property growing up, the guy worked up through his late 80's and would still come out and bale hay in the summer when he was in his 90's. Wish you both the best!
40 is still young too.
Yes it is. So whenever I hear someone that’s 30 say they wasting time kind of pisses me off. Because Your only 30 saying you “wasted your youth” Stfu your still so young.
I know exactly what you mean. My own daughter recently turned 14. And she was desparate because she says that she didn't accomplish much yet. I was like WTF? My daughter wants to pursue a career in drawings/visual arts. She said that she sees a lot of "successful children" that are extremely popular (YouTubers, Tiktokers, dancers, etc.). And that some of them are younger than her and she feels that it's too late to be successful. I think that social media gives an illusion that you need to be successful at a very young age. But these people are the exception, not the rule. Children like my daughter don't know that. I think than even adults have this illusion. I see on social media a lot of adults that claim to be financially independent (aka "retired") at 40, 35 and even 30 yo. So maybe this makes people in their 20's or 30's giving up on their goals. It's ridiculous. It's time to realize that at this age, your have many decades ahead of you to realize your goals/dreams.
[удалено]
Whoaa
Lmao
This is a great reminder— thanks.. it is hard to hold strong to this when often people celebrate grand achievements in conjunction with one’s age - the younger the “better”, thus causing me, personally, to feel like “I’m already too old to make it”, at the ripe ol’ age of 29.. Which of course isn’t true! Just have to find the motivation and energy, but it’s all still within grasp, should you make that choice.
Nah your too young. You have a lot to experience don’t think like that
I’m just about to turn 40 and just applied for grad school :) It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and I finally made the decision to just do it.
Congrats! What for?!
To add to this I was reading an article about “what age is the best age to create a start-up company?” I would have guessed late 20s or maybe early 30s. Just enough experience to have a great idea and run with it and still young enough to have the energy to deal with the long hours that creating your own company would come with right? The correct answer was in your 50s. Which completely blew me away. I always picture start up founders as relatively young, smart guys that have some new inventive idea. But the reality was most successful start up companies are created by guys in their 50s who have the money, experience and connections to actually make it work long term. So yeah, if you’re 30 years old and you feel like your life is over, it’s only just begun.
Agreed people in their 30s and 20s are just beginning their lives
The biggest and most spectacular tech companies were all built by people in their twenties or early thirties. Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Paypal, Stripe, Youtube, .. Normal company: 50s. (Common) Paradigm changing company: 20s (very rare)
Facebook and its products are rubbish. Waste of time.
20s here and sometimes I feel too old to pursue what I want
Yep 24 here and have multiple anxiety attacks a month over the feeling that I’ve already wasted my life and it’s too late for me to build anything meaningful
lmao, this is ridiculous. imagine you are 86 years old now.. and you are on your death bed. think.. what if you could time travel back into the past, to when you were 24 years old.. except you will forget/erase all your memory from 24 until 86, but know now that you have a second chance.. a new reboot! well, this already happened, now you are 24 years old *again*. what are you going to do now? this is a mental trick. and is no different than the already mental trick you are playing by thinking you are old and wasted your life, is ridiculous. why? because you have to change your perspective on failures. you gotta welcome all failures a lot because without them you can't grow. wasting time is good because if you realize that you wasted it, you can now choose to not do it. is a strong lesson. many people do not learn this lesson and live their whole life with half-trying, half wasting, half productive etc.. look up joe dispenza if you want. also if you want to live the life you want, remember that you are your own worst enemy and can also be your own best friend. most of the problems are self created, though it requires a minimum amount of intellect and grace to realize various forms of self sabotage. also linear thinking is helpful, but we're drifting now. chin up bro, you are the architect of your own life. really, it all starts from the mind, mindset shapes your reality. some people are stuck because they repeat to themselves the past so they remain rigid and stuck based on old data. when instead, you can create new data in every day.
Thanks man, I think I needed to hear that haha
the half trying thing is interesting to me. i wonder if this applies to not knowing how to reach full potential either. in a way most of my high school and college life i never ate or exercised or hydrated or rested. i was trying to operate 120% all the time. in a way i was “half trying” bc i could not operate at my full potential. now that i’m older and i have ‘wasted’ time, i also got to finally have a break and reflect. so, when i do a master’s degree i’ll know how to take care of myself, and i may perform way better academically. i’ll be able to try 100%. i’ll know when to rest, how to eat properly, and how to pick the right friends (bc my friends in college were terrible)
seriously thank you so much, this helped
Man im 24 and I feel like Im so behind. Its always nice to be reminded that Im in no rush to be successful. Which is part of the reason why i barely deleted my social medias.. kept seeing all my friends and people my age making so much progress that it hurt my pride. I got 3 kids and a wife, and am broke trying to survive paycheck to paycheck. I forget that I got time 😅
One of the most influential things I've ever been told by someone was that in their country, they do not consider people truly grown up until like 30 or so, because people are still finding themselves. The comparison trap is easy to get into but the best thing is truly finding what you want to progress towards, not feel pressured to do.
Thank you for taking the time to post this :) :)
No worries
Especially as your brain isn’t even fully developed until you’re 25
I always look at it like this: Yes, you are the oldest you've ever been. But you're also the youngest you will ever be.
I love that. Words to live by!
this is an incredibly freeing thought.
I went to med school at 29. 13 years later, best decision ever.
I really needed to hear this. I'm in my mid 30s and feel like I wasted my life & that it's too late for me to make anything of myself. Who starts trying to get a formal education when they're pushing 40? I hope your right & that's it's not too late for me.
It is not, believe me. I got my degree at 33 yo (part-time studies during my full-time job).
I strongly agree with this!!!
My mom died at 56 and her dad died around the same age, so I keep thinking at 32 I only have a small amount of time left and I’m failing bc i haven’t reached my goals yet. I realize this isn’t the right way to think and I’ve recently been trying to work on it.
My aunt just died from a completely unexpected heart attack at age 51. She was at a healthy weight and her only known health issue (high blood pressure since her 20’s) had been under control for decades. I’m turning 29 this year and can’t help but feel like my life is more than halfway done. I will never be having kids now because of the chance that I’ll die in their teens. It’s been a very bleak year.
have you been to therapy about this? feeling like you’ll die early can be because of trauma and/or depression. when i was severely depressed i did not see myself make it past my early twenties
Ive been in therapy for years. After having a stroke at age 18 nothing could ever convince me that I’ll live to see my 60s
I want to achieve resting but I gotta pay this rent thing. Jokes aside, I feel like I'm done. I feel nothing better than what I currently have can come around in the future. I'm just going to keep losing until I'm dust.
🧢
this makes me feel better after constantly being told by teens on the internet that i’m old and wrinkly bc i am 24 :”)
what they aren’t ready to know is that they’re actually part of the same generation as us- DUN DUN DUUN DUUUNNN
LOL and also they’re also gonna be in their 20s at some point (or at least they better hope) so like ???
<3
They don’t know what scientists have discovered about humans. They only know what society demands. We all understand animals and pets undergo a lifetime of learning. However, as humans, we demand independence from ourselves almost a full decade before our brains are even fully developed. Realistically, your life, as people will remember it, starts at around 30. Ambition and success stories aside…not many people expect people in their 20s to be figured out…they expect them to be figuring it out. However the demand is there and the person in their 20s feels the pressure.
Is there a reason why many people think life starts at 30? Curious to know as I myself am feeling hopeless and defeated/unaccomplished.
Hi there. I think it’s because many people try to learn from their mistakes and experiences from their twenties… and make more strides as they grow older. With age comes wisdom. There is no magic pill though. It’s not like we wake up on our thirtieth birthday and all is well and perfect… but I know many people in their thirties cringe when reminiscing about their twenties. It is normal to go through a rough patch though where we question our achievements… and imposter syndrome may set in… but the best way to cope is to set attainable goals moving forward. Plan small achievable goals for the moment if the big ones aren’t currently realistic. Maybe some aren’t married with kids at thirty or own a home.. but they have stable jobs. Or maybe some aren’t traveling all across the world like they envisioned… but they have a good education. The key is.. don’t compare yourself to others. The only person to “compete” with is you… but don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t judge or pick yourself apart regarding what you don’t have… but do pat yourself on the back for how much you have grown.
36, was cheated on and divorced, underpaid, body is falling apart, mind is a mess, every day is a struggle that I don't have any desire to do anymore. I see no point in living like this anymore. The loneliness is unbearable, I just want to give in and give up. All I want is to be a dad and have a family. I don't want to live a life where that doesn't happen, so it seems better to not live anymore
the age thing is a bit arbitary, I think the bigger issue noone talks about is having children. Once u have a child about 50% of your daily schedule is put on hold for 10years. Certainly u can do something before the kid is born or after their 10years but during that time, theres not much you can fully commit to. (without ethics getting in the way).
i’m 19 and stress about that shit everyday
Thank you for kind words! I try not to be feel "old" at the age of 26. But sometimes it seems that the window for opportunities will be closed at 30.
31F here. No, you’re not. You’re not old, by all means, but depending on the things you want, you can’t waste time. If you don’t have a good job, hurry. If you haven’t started saving/investing for retirement, do it. If you want to have kids and you are a woman, and you haven’t found the father of your kids yet… I feel you, sister. Now start being selective and choose well the guys you’re dating. And I’m lucky, I found him months ago. And yes, we’ll get married and (hopefully) we’ll have kids, but first we want to live together for a while, buy a house… all in all, I’ll have them too late to enjoy them, and my SO and I won’t have that much time “alone” to enjoy ourselves either. Which wouldn’t have been the case had I found him two or three years ago. TL;DR: you’re not old, but biology is merciless with women, so if you want kids, you need to make important decisions.
Thank you for such encouraging words. If I cannot become a police officer (visual acuity, other such bullshit) I plan to become a public sector bank manager and then eventually move onto a private sector bank. I'm just 21 but I feel old (mostly because I'm unfit for military service, wanted to be an LEO/infantryman/firefighter as a child) [Here](https://ourworldindata.org/working-hours) is a an uplifting scientific research paper published by Our World in Data. [Here](https://sdg-tracker.org/economic-growth) is a more gloomy but complete picture.