Never Too Old - Unless You Want To Be - Day 11

When I turned thirty I thought I was old. My life pretty much done. I had passed my prime. When I turned forty that viewpoint seemed rather ridiculous.  I admit that when I saw fifty looming on the horizon I started to seriously worry that maybe this landmark would be it. I would be officially "old." I would now become "too old" to do "things." You know - like leave my career to go start a new one.

Of course, we know how that turned out.

While I am fully aware I am no longer twenty-four years old I never think I am "too old" to do anything. In fact, I may have gotten more brazen than I was when I was that age. But I may be in the minority. 

I know people who will tell me they're too old to wear their hair long anymore, or a bikini, or make a new friend.  They have a long, dog-eared list of what they consider not appropriate for someone their age - like dating a man ten years younger.  And then of course, my personal favorite - they're "too old" to get hired for that job.

I will not deny age discrimination occurs in the workplace. But I will offer that the more you think that's why you're not getting hired the more likely it is to be the reason. 

If you're keeping up with what's changing in your industry, continuing to be learning something new every day and approach life with an open mindset, age diminishes as a factor.

I had this conversation with someone the other day who after saying three times in a row that the reason they were not getting hired was because they were too old,  looked rather perplexed when I said I viewed my age as an asset. 

I went on to explain that the way I saw it the fact that I am not twenty-four and have embraced and understand digital marketing and find it all very exciting makes me better equipped to train and consult than if I was. My advantage is that I also understand traditional marketing and have the work and life experience to bring to the table.

The look I got back was as though I was from an alien planet.

But I know I'm not. Even Google gets it. They recently hired Patrick Collister as head of design in London who refers to himself as a "grey hair."  (I recommend listening to his podcast interview on The Future of Advertising in which he touches on this idea of being "too old." "


The thing is you're never too old. Unless you want to be.

note: This is Day #11 of a 30 Day Experiment. Here are the details on how it all started.

Never Too Old For Adventure!

One of my pet peeves is when people tell me they are too old for something. Too old to learn to ski, to stay out past midnight, to fall in love, to change jobs, to lose weight, to get in shape, to wear a bikini, to have wild, crazy sex.

Back when I was selling, if a prospective client said they really liked our station but they just didn't have the money, we knew we had not uncovered the real objection. Buying is never about having the money. If you really want something, whether it is an ad schedule on the station or a new pair of Cole Han boots, you'll find the money.

I say the same thing holds true for using age as a reason not to do something. If your choice is not to do it, give me the real reason. Maybe you're too scared, maybe you're afraid you'll fail,  but don't tell me you're too old.

And if you need a little proof let me introduce you to  Shari Nedler. Shari is the mom of my friend Karen Quinn, author and founder of Testing Mom. Right now Shari is off on a cruise around the world. By herself!  In fact as of today she is somewhere in Tasmania.

How old is Shari? As a girlfriend of mine who grew up in Alabama used to tell me, a true Southern woman never tells her real age,  so we'll pretend Shari is a southern girl. Suffice it to say, if she is old enough to be Karen's Mom, she is old enough to be mine and that qualifies as not as young as we all used to be.

But I digress. Shari had planned this trip with her boyfriend Marvin, a man she met after Karen's Dad passed away. They set sail over a year ago and not too far into the trip Marvin got sick. They had to go home and not long after Marvin passed away.

Shari initially had no intentions of taking this cruise again, much less traveling by herself. But she had what  I like to call a lot of appetite. That desire won over those, including herself who might have said she was too old to be taking a cruise around the world by herself.

Although she's not really alone. Karen and her brothers are joining her at selected ports. And Shari is blogging her adventures. If you'd like to keep up with Shari you can subscribe to her blog through RSS. She'll remind you everyday that you are never too old, for anything, especially adventures!


Do you think you are too old to do something? 
Or do you defy what others say and not let age stop you? 

You're Never Too Old

The first time I saw Elton John perform live was circa 1970 at Carnegie Hall. It never occurred to me that I was witnessing a legend in the making, one whose music I would follow for years to come.  It probably never dawned on him. He was just a man following his passion with an extraordinary talent that would provide the soundtrack for many lives along the way, mine being one of them.

That passion evolved from  my very favorite album of all time "Elton John"

to his pop days to the present. He has just released a new collaboration with the man who was his music idol, Leon Russell. That's what happens when you follow your passion. You just never want to stop working! Because it doesn't feel like work. It's fun! It's exhilarating! It always feels new!  It's the only way you can breathe!

I caught the two, both men over 60 on  The View singing this song off their new album  The Union. It's appropriately called "You're Never Too Old."

Do you think there are things you're too old for anymore?