It Is Not Too Late

Are you one who uses age as an excuse for not doing something?  Do you believe that your best years are behind you?  If so, you are one of the people who needs to understand what I am about to write.  Excuse making never leads to success and believing that the passing of a certain number of birthdays means anything is fool's play.

Running After Most Are Dead

Do you know who Fauja Singh is?  If not, this is a person who you should acclimate yourself with.  He is a source of inspiration for anyone who reads his story while eliminating the build in excuse of age.

Recently, Singh ran his last marathon.  It was a 10K run in Hong Kong which he did in about 1 hr 30 minutes.  Since I am not a runner, I have no idea how this time compares to what others can perform.  Nevertheless, my intuition tells me this is not a very good time.  So why do I bring this guy up?  Simply because he completed his racing of marathons at the ripe young age of 101.  Yes you read that correctly.  He is 101 years old and still running marathons.  Contrast this with your inability to even get up and get yourself a drink from the refrigerator.

As astonishing as this is, it is not the most unbelievable aspect of the story.  What is striking is that Singh did not take up running until he was 89.  Can you imagine waking up one day at 89 years old and deciding "I am going to take up running"?  Listen to most people this age and you will hear the defeated attitude from them.  Statistically speaking, he started running at an age when most people are already dead.

Another caveat to this tale is the reason why Singh took up this particular exercise pattern when it did.  It seems that he was suffering from depression after the death of his wife and the tragic killing of his son (beheaded in front of his eyes).  Running was a way that Singh chose to deal with the pain from these personal situations.  Again, compare this with what most would have chosen to do. 

Fauja Singh is an inspiration to us all.

It Is Never Too Late

He is also an example of the idea that it is never too late in life to try anything.  I can cite hundreds of people who went against this idea.  One of the most famous is a man named Harlan Sanders.  He was an individual who retired and started collecting Social Security.  Upon receiving his first check, he realized he needed to find a way to make more money so he started to travel around trying to sell a recipe that he created.  In the end, he did well but few realize that Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame did not get started until he was 65 years old. 

So, what is your excuse?  Why are you allowing to days pass believing that you are too old for anything.  The wonderful thing about age is that it is just a number.  Another great aspect of life is that nobody is certain how long they will live.  There are people in this world who are 35 years old who will not make it to next week.  At the same time, there are people who are in their 80s who will be on this planet another 20 years or more.  How awful that many of these people have the mindset that their best years are behind them and they are awaiting their passing from this existence. 

There is a saying "life as if you are going to die tomorrow but plan as if you are going to live forever".  Take a few minutes to ponder that idea.  Since you have no idea how long you are going to live, why do you jump to the view that it is too late?   Do you realize how much can be accomplished in 20 years?  What if you have another 20, 30 or 40 years on this planet?  It would be a shame to keep the wonderful idea that is within you from the world simply because you feel you are "too old".

Using age as an excuse is just another one of the roadblocks that we choose to erect as to why we cannot accomplish something.  Successful people operate from a completely different premise.  They simply take the approach whatever they want is possible no matter where they are starting from.  If Fauja Singh could take up running at 89 years old, I figure most of us can do a heck of a lot more with our lives if we are only willing to get past the excuses.  Our alibis are worthless.  The proof is in your life.  If you are operating at less than what you are truly capable of, it is time to kick things up.  You do not have to wait until you are 89 to get things going.


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