Many people started 2018 worried about their achievement levels in life but the last two weeks have offered an opportunity to understand why some people are late achievers in life.
This is the concluding part of the series on Late Bloomers. A late blooming adult is a person who does not discover his/her talents and abilities until later than normally expected. In certain cases, it happens well into retirement.
There are several examples and even worse case scenarios that make your case a rather simple one.
There are also several examples of famous achievers who were rejected or written off earlier in life as failures.
And for those who think they have been buffeted by the devil, the revelation is that there is something in you worth fighting for, which is why the devil is fighting you. He sees your huge potential, the glory in you, which is his target.
Some people have mistaken the devil to be just a wicked destroyer. He is more than that – smart enough to know your weaknesses; smart enough to know that if he gets to control your mind, he has got you tied; smart enough to keep you as far from God as possible. He is also a good organizer, which is why he is able control legions of demons. A legion, as used during the time of Jesus, was a Roman Legion which could be anywhere between 3,000 and 6,000 troops.
No matter how far back behind in life you are or how low you feel, you still have the ability to succeed.
JK Rowling
As the examples from the records show below, except in careers that require strong youthful energy like sports, there is no age limit to most of life achievements provided you are willing to reorder your steps or persevere if you are doing the right thing. Unknown to many people, later achievers even enjoy some special advantages, highlighted in this article.
JK Rowling, the current world’s richest author made something out of nothing when she was at the lowest point of her life. At 30 years old, Rowling was a divorced mother of two, clinically depressed and living on public assistance. During her lowest point, she began writing as an outlet and a way to heal. Rowling sent the acclaimed Harry Potter manuscript to twelve publishers and was rejected by all. A year later, she received the green-light from another publisher and the rest is history.
She is now the highest-paid author, grossing a hefty $95 million on her books in the year to May 31, 2017. The story of Colonel Sanders and the Kentucky Fried Chicken has been told but there are many more examples.
Other examples of Late Achievers
Grandma Moses. Anna Mary Robertson Moses was a happy, long-time embroiderer until arthritis made that painful and difficult. Instead of the needles, she took up the paint brush at the age of 75, in 1935. Although she started out selling her paintings for $2 or $3, depending on size, in 2006–one of her 3,600 paintings, Sugaring Off (1943)–sold for $1.2 million.
Alexander Fleming. Fleming discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin. Reflecting on his discovery aged 47, Fleming recalled, “When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn’t plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world’s first antibiotic, or bacteria killer. But I guess that was exactly what I did.”
It was not until another war broke out, World War II, that others overcame the problem of producing penicillin in sufficient quantities to be widely distributed and clinically useful. For his discovery, Fleming received the Nobel Prize in 1945, at age 64.
Rejections
It is important to strive for the purpose for which one is born than to try to please people, or believe contrary things to God’s written script for your life. The following are example of people who defied rejection to become world-famous people.
Beethoven’s music teacher once told him that as a composer, he was hopeless.
John Creasy, the English novelist who wrote 564 books, was rejected 753 times before he became established.
Charles Darwin’s father told him he would amount to nothing and would be a disgrace to himself and his family.
Walt Disney was fired by the editor of a newspaper because he, Disney, had “no good ideas”.
Henry Ford’s first two automobile businesses failed.
Michael Jordan, the best NBA Player Ever, was cut from his high school basketball team.
There are even advantages of starting late, according to this compilation by experts.
When you finally get on the same level as your peers, you have more appreciation for reaching that milestone. Some things in life people just expect to get and experience because, for whatever reason, life has just been easier for them. But for you – you’ve been waiting your whole life to get the same thing someone else achieved years before. And when you finally get there you truly appreciate the moment.
You never stop working hard for what you want. Late bloomers sometimes have the feeling that even after they’ve “made it” – whatever that means to them – that there’s the chance the rug could be pulled out from under them again. After they reach their goals, they create new goals to focus on because they never want to stop actively working on their progress.
You understand great things take time and because of that you’ve developed a great amount of patience for dealing with the lows of life. If something doesn’t happen the way you thought it would or you don’t get the results you’re after, you don’t get mad right away.