|
 |
|
Back to Work
Don't Let Age Hold You Back
by Valerie Young |
Think you're too
old (or young) to go after that dream? Think again.
How many dreams have you discarded because you believe you are "too old," or
"too young?" I recently picked up my local newspaper and was fascinated by a
story about a teenager for whom age was no barrier. Her name is Sara Shandler, and even
though she's only a high school student, she decided to submit a proposal to write a
teenager's response to the best-selling book Reviving Ophelia. Not only was a
major publishing house interested in what Sara had to say, but it was so impressed that it
gave her a sizable advance.
Sara's story got me scrounging through my "opportunity file" for clippings about
other inspiring souls for whom age is irrelevant. I thought I'd share with you few ageless
role models I learned about from my local paper. (I intentionally selected people living
right here in my own backyard in western Massachusetts because I want to underscore the
fact that "ordinary people" do some extraordinary things.)
- Up until five years ago, 49-year-old Scott Reed was a computer programmer and
42-year-old Ferdene Chin-Yee was a 15-year veteran of the banking industry. Now, after
stints as interns and then paid employees at a local food bank farm, the couple has bought
an 8-acre parcel of land to pursue their dream of running their own organic farm.
- I was particularly impressed with painter and sculptor Dana Salisbury. Dana always
wanted to be a dancer. You'd think that being in her mid-forties would have convinced her
to give up on what many would consider to be a young person's pursuit. But at age 46 she
decided to take up dance. Four years later, she splits her time between Northampton,
Massachusetts and Manhattan where she choreographs, directs and performs.
And it's not just baby-boomers who are going after their dreams.
- Three years ago, when he was 65, Herschel Shohan decided to write and produce a play
he'd been "carrying around" in his head for years. And why not? Grandma Moses
didn't start painting until she was 80, and she was most prolific after turning 100!
Inspired to dust off some your old (or new) dreams? I got so re-invigorated about
pursing my own publishing goals that I called Sara to ask how to contact her literary
agent! To expand a bit on a George Elliot observation, "It's never too late (or too
early) to be what you might have been.
Reprinted with permission
of CareerBuilder.com. CareerBuilder, Inc. has emerged as
the leading provider of E-cruiting (electronic recruiting) services with the CareerBuilder
Network, its pioneering model to provide employers with a choice of the best career sites
on the Web from a single vendor. The CareerBuilder Network is made up of over 25 leading
professional, broad appeal, diversity, and industry career centers.
WomensFinance Links:
------------------------
Find a Job
Choose a Career
The Workplace
Working Mom |
