There’s a new movie out about Ray Kroc and McDonald’s called The Founder. Did you know that Kroc was selling milkshake machines into his 50s until he stumbled on a pair of brothers buying a ton of milkshake machines for their new hamburger shop?
I don’t know if I would call him a role model, but Ray Kroc’s story does show that it’s never too late to start something. You don’t need to have started at age 18 in your college dorm room. Here’s an infographic from Anna Vital of Funders and Founders that provide other examples of people who took an indirect path to success. Click for original:
Here’s another interactive infographic breaks down various successful self-starters with the age at which they started their companies. It turns out that 35 is actually the most common age to start a large, successful company. Perhaps it helps to build up a platform of experience (and failures?) first. Click on the image to reach the interactive version.
Hopefully that provided a bit of motivation to keep reaching for that idea that always comes up when your mind is quiet.
It’s never too late to start putting money aside. It’s never too late to start working on your business idea. It’s never too late to spend your time differently.
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My favorite example is Enzo Ferrari – who started Ferrari in his early 40s. Even though he had a career with Alfa Romeo, his company went on to produce the most beautiful and best cars ever produced.
I appreciate this. It’s nice to get some motivation from time to time. I’m 25 and the second graphic pretty much describes my life so far. I got married last year and we have aspirations to achieve FI in 10 years, so I’ve been racking my brain to find ways to generate reliable sources of passive income to support us by then.
How ironic, I started writing a blog post last night titled “It’s Never Too Late”, then came across your article today! My story is about an amazing couple who had NOTHING saved at Age 50, yet still managed to retire in their 60’s. Inspirational. Indeed, it’s never too late to start.
On one hand, love the optimism. And yes, dreaming and wise goal setting is great for every age.
On the other hand, these stories only tell of the well known successes and don’t tell the impact of those who tried later in life and failed.
It’s easier to try for things when you have nothing, can fail, fail, fail again, and recover it’s still years away from your frail years or years when you might be struggling with more physical problems, decreased physical energy, memory challenges and just generally move a little slower.
It would be interesting to know the stats on people who took big risks, it didn’t work out, they didn’t have time or as many opportunities offered to them (ageism in the workplace) to recover and it seriously affected their options and quality of life when they were more physically limited by their age.
Let me know if anyone knows of interesting, wise resources on how to make up lost ground after 50.
(edited original comment)
It would also be interesting to see whether those who tried and failed, regret their efforts. Some who try will succeed, and some who try will fail. But is trying and failing better than not trying at all?