“You can start late, look different, be uncertain, and still succeed.”
Misty Copeland, Ballerina
We have all heard the expression “It’s never too late” but how many of us really believe it? For Misty Copeland, who did not fit the mold for of what a ballerina should look like, who was repeatedly told her body wasn’t right, who was made to feel as if her skin color wasn’t right, who began dancing as a teenager rather than donning ballet slippers as soon as she began to walk – what if she had listened? Not followed her dream? Held on to that uncertainty about whether or not she could do this? Let the other voices hold her back? Not only would the world not be blessed with her grace, her dancing and her story but the world of young, inspired dancers of all races and ages would not make up the classes, dance companies and dance audiences that we see today.
I had a dream of being a corporate attorney. After a long career in the public sector and not going to law school until I was 40, I thought that was out of reach. But I kept the dream and seized the opportunity at the age of 56 when I left the public sector for a position as in-house counsel with a nationally recognized energy company. Life it too short to live with too many “What ifs.”
We all need to take a look deep within and allow that unspoken dream to take place front and center in our lives. Dream it! See yourself doing it! Find out what steps you need to take to get there – then start stepping! It may not be a prima ballerina or an Emmy award winning actress. It may be to have your first book published as two dear friends of mine have done or getting your dream job or finding a friend that you lost touch with years ago but now, through social media, can find reconnect with as if the time never passed. Its never too late and you are never too old. We are all different and by looking past those differences we can find so many similarities that can help erase the uncertainty that we may feel about putting ourselves out there. Success is in the doing because you get that much closer to the dream.