I’ve been listening to an audio version of the updated for the 21st Century edition of Napoleon Hill’s classic book Think and Grow Rich
. For some reason I resisted reading this book for many years but about a year ago I decided I needed to focus on making money so I bought the audio book. I’m glad I did.
A bright spot in the book is Hill`s assertion that most people don’t become a success until after 40 or even 50. In fact, he says “For the average person the greatest capacity to create is between 40 and 60”. I suspect that if Hill were alive today he’d expand that upper end.
Why are people not able to achieve before their 40s or 50s? According to Hill, it’s sex. We’re too focused on it in our youth.
At first I laughed at this quaint notion written by a man from another time. But then I started looking more closely. Maybe he’s right. And it’s not just sex, it’s all the things that go along with it. I’ve been married for two decades so dating etc are out of the way. I no longer have a toddler under foot, demanding my attention. When my teenage son comes home from school he can pop a pizza in the oven all by himself; he doesn’t need my help or permission. Maybe Hill wasn’t so crazy after all.
Mark Walton, author of the book Boundless Potential: Transform Your Brain, Unleash Your Talents, and Reinvent Your Work in Midlife and Beyond
agrees with Hill. Walton writes “neuroscience has revealed that we are hard-wired for reinvention through the emergence of extraordinary new creative and intellectual powers in life’s second half”.
For those of us who are starting or building a business in the second half of our lives, this is encouraging news. We may be competing against young people with more energy, but we have the advantage of more knowledge, experience and apparently creativity and intellectual prowess.
As we continue this transition into the knowledge based economy – where are brains not our brawn are what powers the work – age will not be a factor in your ability to do the work.
Employers seem slow to recognize this fact as we can tell from the unemployment numbers for people over 40, as well as anecdotal evidence I’m sure you’ve heard. However, since many of us are turning our backs on the corporate world and becoming Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs, we may find that successful companies will be those that embrace mature workers.
Regardless, I find both these books encouraging. Although I haven’t achieved the level of financial and business success that I want, I know I’m on track. And I have decades ahead of me to continue to expand and grow my business.
What do you think? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Andrea J. Stenberg
