Think You’re Too Jurassic to Start a New Career?

Hey -Yo mama so old Jurassic Park brought back memories. Yes, I’ve heard the “old people” jokes because sometimes they’re about me! Some of us are late bloomers. I didn’t become a mom until I was 46, so I’m pretty used to winning the oldest mom in the room award at kid’s events. And I’m in good company. My grandfather, who lived to be 104, got remarried in his 80s and toured the Scandinavian countries with his new wife, also in her 80s, as newlyweds on their honeymoon. He was married to my grandmother for over 50 years until she passed away, but that didn’t stop him, in his own way, from moving forward with his life. He did his own thing and you gotta’ admire him for that.

There are a great many amazing success stories about late bloomers who changed their careers and achieved great things later in life. Grandma Moses started her painting career at age 76. Colonel Sanders was 62 when he franchised Kentucky Fried Chicken. Louise Hay was almost 60 when she founded her publishing empire after overcoming cancer. Her own books and the books published by Hay House have reached and helped millions of people all over the world.

Salma Hayek said, “I’ll tell you, there is nothing better in life than being a late bloomer. I believe that success can happen at any time and at any age.”

I know for sure the opportunity to work is out there because we are one of the companies hiring. There are other jobs available as well, however, it might be necessary to change careers.

The birth of new careers. Between the impact of COVID-19 and the oil and gas industry in 2020, many people are facing big decisions about their careers. Today, I got my hair cut for the first time since March. There are a lot of other people like me, who have been cutting their own hair or pulling it back in a pony tail for the last six months. When you multiply all the people like me, collectively, that has had a very negative impact on the hair care industry. Fortunately, the same guy who has been cutting my hair for the last 21 years is still in business. His place of business was shut down for 9 weeks and is still slow because of COVID. His wife, on the other hand, has not been as fortunate. Her industry, the travel industry, has been hit even harder than the hair care industry. She has been working from home for years in the travel industry, but got laid off because of COVID. So, like a lot of people, she is looking at options for a new career.

Too…something. What’s interesting is hearing people in their thirties and forties ponder if they are too old to start something new, such as a new career. We’ve all heard people say, or maybe even said it ourselves, that they aren’t going to try something new because of being too old, too tall, too slow, too poor, too… something. A version of this “I’m too…something” comes in all shapes and sizes. I admit that when I was 29, I did have a dark moment when I thought for sure my life was over when I broke up with my boyfriend. But really, the best was yet to come. I believe the best is still yet to come.

Possibilities. One of the superstars in our company who has been here for over 20 years started out looking for a work from home job that was “anything but telemarketing.” We make outbound phone calls all day to set sales appointments, which some people call telemarketing. She was a single mom with kids looking for a way to make a good, stable income working from home. She interviewed and was offered the position. She had no previous experience in sales but she decided to give it a try, and as they say, the rest is history. She has broken production records and trained others to do the same. None of that would have happened without an open mind to possibilities. It turned out to be a great career move, and at the same time, provided a way to be home and take care of young kids.

In this time of change, it is also a time of opportunity. We have men and women here of all ages who are successful. They have something in common, which is a desire to find professional daytime work with a good earning potential working from home.

There are people in their 80s and 90s water skiing, mountain climbing and running marathons. Maybe you have some people like that in your family, like I have in mine. I have a friend whose parents live by themselves in their 90s and are driving around, doing just fine. I aspire to be like that as I get older.

The best is yet to come. Before my grandfather got married in his 80s, he lived through two World Wars, the Great Depression and the pandemic of 1918 that killed 675,000 people in the U.S. and 50 million worldwide. Plus, he was in the Navy fighting in WWI during that time. Not to make light of the current crisis we are going through in 2020, however, people in the U.S., like my grandfather, have lived through all kinds of horrible disasters before and come out on the other side. In 1918 he didn’t know the best was yet to come in his life, but it was.

As the “O.G.” of virtual call centers, I didn’t start TeleReach Corporate until I was in my 40s. I’m not sure how many other businesses I will start, but I do have plenty of things left on my bucket list. So, if you are worried that somebody will say to you that you’re too…something to try something new, it sure won’t be me. But I will say, the best is yet to come.