It’s never too late to change careers

'For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, "It might have been."' (John Greenleaf Whittier)

Imagine looking back over the years and deeply regretting not having done something you wholeheartedly wanted to do. Did you not pursue your dream job because you put yourself second to everything else in your life? Or maybe it was because you were afraid to try and became dejected about not being good enough to make it happen.

'It might have been' is a sad way to describe a life. It describes a life lived without personal fulfillment. Unfortunately, those words will become prophetic if, for whatever reason, you aren't nourishing your dreams.

What is sadder still is never having tried because you felt at a certain age that it was too late for you to succeed. The great news is that it is never too late to begin to put yourself at the top of your list and do what you’ve always wanted to do. Becoming successful is not limited to a certain age or even a single career. In fact, the most successful people are the ones who have reinvented themselves; who have tried, failed and tried again.
Let's redefine the word failure as simply a plan that didn't work the first time around. It may just need a few tweaks and perseverance.

Remember that God has a plan for you and he wants you to prosper: '"For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future"' (Jeremiah 29: 11-14).

Who’s who?

Here are some examples of famous people who started out doing one thing, often with limited success or satisfaction, and went on to do something monumental. Can you guess who is who? Scroll down to see the answers.

1. Before going to university, this famous politician spent a year trying to make it as a music promoter in London…

2. This man was fired by a newspaper editor because he 'lacked imagination and had no good ideas'…

3. This person did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped, slow and anti-social…

4. This person was often chastised by his father for being lazy. He himself wrote, 'I was considered by all my masters and my father rather below the common standard of intellect.' Who was he?

5. Teachers told this person he was 'too stupid to learn anything'. The workplace was no better, as he was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough…

6. During his youth, this man went to war a captain and returned a private. He didn't stop 'failing' there, however, as he also started numerous failed businesses…

7. She was practically penniless, severely depressed, divorced, and trying to raise a child on her own while attending school and writing a novel…

8. A famous American actor worked as a deli counter attendant well into his 30s and probably never imagined he would see himself on the big screen…