1. The Myth of Being Too Late
Creativity doesn’t retire. It doesn’t expire. It lives in the quiet corners of our hearts, in the notebooks we tucked away, in the humming of a song we half-remember, in the dreams we never stopped dreaming.
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Is It Ever Too Late To Make Your Dreams A Reality?
How old is too old to begin?
That question has haunted so many of us, quietly tucked beneath our daily routines and practical decisions. We hear it in passing from a friend who says, "You still think about writing that novel?" Or feel it in the pause before admitting we want to start painting again, or finally learn guitar. There’s a cultural weight behind the idea that if you haven’t made your mark by a certain age—if you didn’t go to art school, publish young, go viral—you missed your chance.
Let’s challenge that.
Because the truth is: the myth of being too late is just that—a myth. Creativity doesn’t retire. It doesn’t expire. It lives in the quiet corners of our hearts, in the notebooks we tucked away, in the humming of a song we half-remember, in the dreams we never stopped dreaming.
Real Stories, Real Timelines
Consider the countless people who began their creative work "late" by conventional standards:
Toni Morrison published her first novel at 39. She went on to win a Nobel Prize.
Grandma Moses began painting in her 70s.
Rodney Dangerfield didn’t become a comedy icon until his 40s.
Anna Mary Robertson Moses was a widow in her 70s before she picked up a paintbrush—her folk art eventually hanging in museums.
These aren’t exceptions. These are reminders that creative timing is deeply personal—and not bound to societal timelines.
Why the Myth Persists
Part of the myth comes from how we celebrate youth in our culture. There’s a certain romance around the idea of the prodigy, the wunderkind. But what we don’t talk about enough is how much richness, depth, and wisdom come from creating after you’ve lived some life.
When you begin later, your art carries stories. You’re not just making something beautiful—you’re translating a lifetime of experience into color, rhythm, or language. That’s not a deficit. That’s a gift.
Creativity Waits for You
If you’ve felt a tug to return to your creative self—to paint, write, film, sing, build, design—trust that it’s not too late. That feeling isn’t naïve. It’s persistent for a reason. It’s calling you back to yourself.
You don’t have to leap. Just begin. Begin badly, joyfully, imperfectly. You don’t owe anyone an explanation or a polished portfolio. You owe yourself the chance to explore what’s been waiting inside you.
Because the real myth isn’t that it’s too late.
The real myth is that you needed to be early at all.
Are you curious about exploring the myth of being late & just starting? Here are a few books that we recommend to dive even deeper into this subject:
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
How Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day by Michael J. Gelb
The Artists Way by Julia Cameron
Coming soon - Post #2: Why We Wait: Fear, Family, and the Path We Didn’t Choose
