I can’t think of a better way to illustrate that lost time can be recovered than to give a few examples of people who succeeded in achieving their dreams, some of them quite scary, despite having been written off as too old, past their sell by date or having lost too much time to recover let alone catch up and overtake.
These achievers are found in virtually every field you can think of. For one reason or the other, they lost time early in their careers but went on to achieve far greater things than most of their peers later in life. So, here goes!
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is one of my favourite actors. Honestly, the earliest image of Freeman that I have in my mind is not of a young man at all! That’s because he only found his major breakthrough in showbiz late but went on to eclipse virtually every actor you can think of. He has become a favourite where fatherly characters exuding authority and wisdom are required.
Who can forget Invictus (in which he plays Mandela), Shawshank Redemption (which has become a cult classic), Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty, the Dark Knight(which grossed over $1 billon worldwide, becoming one of the best selling movies of all time), Million Dollar Baby (for which he won an Oscar at 65 years of age); the list goes on and on. Not only is he an actor; he is also a film director, aviator and narrator. Morgan Freeman is 74.
According to Wikipedia, “Beginning in the mid-1980s, Freeman began playing prominent supporting roles in many feature films, earning him a reputation for depicting wise, fatherly characters.[5] As he gained fame, he went on to bigger roles in films such as the chauffeur Hoke in Driving Miss Daisy, and Sergeant Major Rawlins in Glory (both in 1989).”
By the time Freeman began to test real success, he was almost fifty!
Raymond Kroc (McDonald’s)
Born in 1902, Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald’s outlet at the age of 53 and went on to grow the franchise into the most recognisable fast food outlet in the world. Before he moved into the hamburger business he was a milk shake mixer sales person. Wow!
According to the McDonald’s website, “In 1954 he was surprised by a huge order for 8 multi-mixers from a restaurant in San Bernardino, California. There he found a small but successful restaurant run by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald, and was stunned by the effectiveness of their operation. They produced a limited menu, concentrating on just a few items—burgers, fries and beverages—which allowed them to focus on quality at every step.
Kroc pitched his vision of creating McDonald’s restaurants all over the U.S. to the brothers. In 1955 he founded the McDonald’s Corporation, and 5 years later bought the exclusive rights to the McDonald’s name. By 1958, McDonald’s had sold its 100 millionth hamburger.”
I am sure everyone had consigned this old chap to a life of obscurity but he proved them wrong!
Strive Masiyiwa (Econet)
Strive Masiyiwa’s story is every Zimbabwean’s pride and joy. He is known as the Bill Gates of Africa due to his advances in the telecommunications sector in Africa and beyond. In 2011, Forbes estimated his net worth at $285 million (R1,74 billion).
According to Forbes.com, “Zimbabwe’s telecom magnate Strive Masiyiwa founded mobile phone company Econet in 1993, though because of objections from the Zimbabwe government the cell phone network did not go live until 1998. It soon became the largest mobile telecom operator in the country. Today he serves as its chairman. Publicly traded Econet controls Mascom, which has 70% market share in neighboring Botswana. It also operates in Kenya and Burundi, and is the only African-based company with a telecom license in the UK (Econet Satellite Services). It has won a 3G license in New Zealand and will roll out a network there once the market is fully liberalized.”
Born in 1961, Strive was 32 when he founded Econet but by the time Econet went live, he was 37. Even though he was ready to go live in 1993, he was forced by circumstances beyond his control to delay the launching of the networking for a further 5 years but still managed to capture the largest market share within weeks of launching.
Talk about recovering lost time!
Nelson Mandela
Mandela spent 27 years in prison (he was jailed in 1963 at the age of 45) and became president of a free South Africa in 1994 at 76 years old. Imagine this; 27 years in jail, incapacitated by an ocean on all sides with virtually no contact with the outside world. Talk about losing time. I am sure more than anything else the one thing that must have eaten at Madiba’s heart was the loss of time. However today Mandela is celebrated as a legend and an icon of reconciliation. In fact we now have world Mandela Day!
I could go on and on but I believe it’s all too clear that no matter what stage of your career you are and how much time you have lost, you can still redeem time. The important thing is not to lose heart, remain focused on high value objectives and outcomes, and see your vision through trials and tribulations. Indeed you will achieve your goal.
Just for good measure, I site a few more examples adapted from an article by Kristen Houghton, Author of ‘And Then I’ll Be Happy! Stop Sabotaging Your Happiness’ posted on the Huffington Post website.
Clint Eastwood directed his first movie at 41.
Andrea Bocelli didn’t start singing opera seriously until the age of 34. Some ‘experts’ told him it was too late to begin.
Phyliss Diller became a comedian at the age of 37. She was told by many club owners that she was “too old” to become a success.
Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, was 43 when he began drawing his legendary superheroes and his partner Jack Kirby was 44 when he created The Fantastic Four.
Julia Child didn’t even learn to cook until she was almost 40 and didn’t launch her popular show until she was 50.
Mary Wesley was 71 when her first novel was published.
Ricardo Montalban had his dream house built at the age of 68.
Harlan Sanders, the Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, was 66 when he began to promote his style of cooking and create an empire.
And one more.
Jesus Christ, at age 30, finally stopped doing carpentry and started performing miracles!
igamechanger 