Start Now
One of the more popular phrases of motivational advice out there is: “It’s never too late to start.”
Sometimes when people say this, they accompany it with examples:
- J.K. Rowling was 32 when the first Harry Potter book was published.
- Warren Buffett was 34 when he took over Berkshire Hathaway.
- Harland Sanders was 62 when he founded KFC.
- Alan Rickman was 42 when he debuted in his first feature film, Die Hard.
- Andrea Bocelli was 34 when he released his first album.
If this is encouraging to you, good. Don’t give up because you think you are too old. Unless that something is playing running back in the NFL and you are 50.
The issue, though, is that “I can start whenever” is not the full picture. And I wonder if it is easier to come away with a lazy interpretation: “It’s never too late to start, which means I don’t have to start now.” If you are 21 and would like to write a novel, well, look at J.K. Rowling! You’ve got more than a decade left. Go fuck around. No need to write anything yet. You have time.
But do you?
Take a closer look at any of the people on the first list:
- J.K. Rowling wrote for decades, including rejected novels, before Harry Potter.
- Buffett started investing at 11 and learned under Benjamin Graham for years.
- Harland Sanders opened his first chicken restaurant over 30 years before KFC.
- Alan Rickman worked full-time in theater for years before landing a movie role.
- Andrea Bocelli was deeply musical his entire life and loved opera growing up.
It is dangerous to interpret “it’s never too late to start” as meaning “you don’t need to start anytime soon.” Sure, it’s never too late to start, but Rowling started decades before Harry Potter. Buffett started decades before Berkshire Hathaway. The odds that you are going to start and then hit a home run immediately are low.
Recently, after playing the brilliant indie video game Mundaun, I listened to an interview with the developer; I learned it was his first real game and that he was in his late 30s when the game came out.
My first reaction was: “Wow, I have so much time!”
But then I kept listening to the interview. He talks about how he’s been drawing all his life. How he did an illustration degree at college. How he spent more than 7 years working full-time on the game before it was published.
I came away thinking: Well, I better start now. [0]
* * *
[0] Looking at the paths of people who have created things I like, it seems that it’s not necessary to know exactly what you want to do; it is more useful to just do something. Even if that something is not your magnum opus.
Enjoy these essays?
Or, if you have any feedback, contact us.