Today as I watched bread leven in a wood burning oven, anticipating the feast I would film and then eat, I took a moment to appreciate that it’s never too late to reinvent yourself.
I started to take life seriously, especially my music, around the age of 24.
Significantly older than a lot of my peers, I pushed forward feeling weird how old I was.
Little did I know the feeling of ageing gets worse, but everything else would get way better.
It may take a decade to establish your skillset so start now
I read somewhere (couldn’t find the article) that it takes 7-10 years to establish yourself in a profession.
In my case, 10 years into music I started to get paid to perform. The truth is I could have been paid much faster if I’d played my cards even half right. Instead I let hubris blind me.
But, it does take quite a few years to both get good, and understand how to use those skills for profit.
Usually when it takes less time, the person has real help.
Bribe some mentors to mentor you
Left to your own devices you may make some bad decisions.I know I did. Then I had mentors through work and life that showed me wiser ways to get what I want. While a younger me would consider older me a sellout, I’m doing a lot better now.
Mentors are people with experience that you want, who will take the time to help you.
Via mentors, and the humility to listen, you can make the process go faster.
Given it will take time, may as well start now
There are obvious limits to what we can do, at 5’7 and pleasantly plump, the NBA was never for me.
Turns out I like writing and rapping more anyway. To pursue that I needed to put time into those skills. Because I developed those skills over time, today I can use them for cool endeavours.
Even if your dreams seem impossible, in 5-10 years you really could be out there doing it. I’ve talked to countless artists who started in their 30’s and 40’s and now live off their art. Maybe it’s less parties, but probably not, old people still do drugs.
What’s important is that if you start now, you’ll get there sooner, so stop dilly dallying and put the work in.
Like how I just did my planks so I could Lose Weight.
Live Long and Prosper Everyone