How you can be a late bloomer and pursue your interests late in life

The common circle of life we see is:
School > University > Job > Marriage

While this is seen as a fairly normal and acceptable approach (and if it truly works for you then that's okay too). It is seemingly common to disagree and bottle frustration at the ‘system' that you're not living a full life.

It is normal to feel this way (Even if people tell you otherwise)

It's never too late to pursue your interests. In fact, some of the biggest names are late bloomers.

1. Mark Twain was 40 when he wrote “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", and 49 years old when he wrote “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

2. Leonardo Da Vinci was 51 years old when he painted the Mona Lisa.

3. J.R.R Tolkien was 62 when the Lord of the Ring books came out

If you do plan on pursuing your interests, here are 3 things to help you along the way

1. Accept that it's going to take some time
   It's a hobby/passion for a reason. While you may not need motivation to pursue it, it doesn't change the fact that you're going to have to put in efforts to see yourself be proficient at it.

2. Embrace failures as a learning curve
   Like anything you pursue, proficiency demands repetition, exposure and failures must be seen as a stepping stone. Be kind to yourself because you WILL get better.

3. It's about you (not lofty idols)
   My colleague, Daniel Eckhart said something that hit me: it is about you, not them, your life, not theirs, your joy, not theirs. By keeping the most successful people as idols, and comparing ourselves to them, we're making it much harder than it should be.

“Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion.” ― Martha Graham