I told my dad that I was interested in self-help, personal development, and how it applies to career growth. I got a bit of a cold shoulder. Now of course, he’s supported the things I wanted to do with my life. But this cold shoulder was from lack of interest in the actual content (or application thereof).
“My future’s so bright I gotta…” etc etc etc
He had pretty much told me that he was fine with where he was at and wasn’t interested in any type of growth outside of his current career path. I think he said he wanted to successfully make it to his retirement so he could live on the castle foundation that he had built and that was good what would work best for him and his family.
I understand where he was coming from and maybe that is the best path since he’s a bit past the young age of 45. But if you’re only 45 years old, this is not the reality for you. You still have plenty of awesome decades to come and you need to have the motivation, the confidence, and the gumption to get there. Here are a couple of tips to help you out along the way.
#1. It’s Never Too Late
Even if you’re 61 and you plan to retire at 62, it’s never too late to do more. People are living to much older ages these days. And with the advancement in technology, medicine, and creature comforts, there’s really no excuse for shutting down that extra level of motivation and drive at that early of an age. Especially at 45 I mean come on, life is just getting good! For instance, look at Ray Croc of McDonald’s fame. He didn’t start out in creating his hamburger and real estate empire until he was over 50 years young. If you think 45 is too late, you are absolutely wrong. Colonel Sanders started even later – he sure wasn’t chicken.
#2. Keep Assets In Mind
Don’t just work on little bitty tasks to get to the next step. Don’t just go hum-drum through your career and position. When you’re doing hobbies and projects at work, do things that will help you build your assets. Assets are things that you keep for the rest of your life and they keep benefiting your life in some way from that point on.
Assets are not one-off tasks that benefit one person or one company and then there gone forever. These are the things that you create once and then they continue to show some type of return to you for the rest of your life. Whether your asset of choice is through books you’ve written, investment strategies that are working, or businesses you created, you have plenty of time to get something going. These are the things that you’ll be able to keep forever and then pass on to those you love.
#3 Financials and Retirement
Don’t trick yourself into thinking otherwise here as this is still a great age to get started on your investment and retirement planning. If you’re at 45 and you’re thinking that it’s too late to start a 401K or it’s too late to get interested in a safer aspect of the stock market, then you’re not thinking right. Probably you’re a little bit scared of the unknown and of the risks that are involved. I completely understand that given the recent financial events that have happened.
However, I’m here to let you know that it’s a lot riskier to get to an older age where it’s harder to get things done, without having the proper foundation in place. Risk is not a dirty word that you need to avoid all together. Walking down the street is risky. It’s all about managing your risks, not avoiding them. There’s plenty of help for you out there.
Forever Young – New Jobs Are Okay
The ripe young age of 45 years old is still a great age to change your career. As long as you know it’s never too late to change, you keep working on your assets, and you keep your retirement in mind, then you can up your confidence and keep your mind open! The future is there for you, if you’re willing to take it. Now get up and out there and see what’s available for someone with your skills and experience.