Tag: late bloomers

Gold Stars: Boon or Boondoggle

I checked the above book out of the library.

What if we took the off ramp on the high-stress mainstream highway?

What if you joined me in living life Left of the Dial?

The New Alt-American Dream is alive and well.

For those of us with the courage to veer off the beaten career path there’s joy, meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in serving others. More on this in the coming blog entry.

Right now the myth to bust:

We should stop inculcating in teenagers that they must get on the freeway to success early in life with high SAT scores and pedigrees from elite colleges.

No young person should have to know by 18 what they want to do with their life. Play and fun is warranted. Not doing community service solely to get into the right university.

In here I reviewed the book Late Bloomers about how those of us who didn’t take this “conveyor belt” ride to early achievement have traits that enable us to succeed in our older years.

Recently I read Project 333. The author of that book wrote that she spent 20 years in a marketing job. Racked up credit card debt buying clothes she never wore with tags still attached.

Courtney Carver stayed in that career because she thought the job was what she had to do to prove her worth in society and get ahead. Along the way she was diagnosed with MS–multiple sclerosis.

Too often we’re afraid to do what we really want. We succumb to chasing fame or fortune so grind away in a “money pit” job.

Or the ideal work would come with a lower salary. That’s why in my career guide Working Assets I talk about getting a second source of income while you clock in during the day at a job you like.

In the next blog entry I’ll talk about a beautiful job for dreamers who want to do what they dream of.

Late Bloomers

Like the dark horses and late bloomers in these two books, I didn’t see my life take off until later. This happened when I turned thirty-five and started my librarian job.

 It’s precisely because most of us have experienced setbacks and taken detours that we have the freedom to decide for ourselves what our right path in life should be.

I didn’t publish my first book until I was forty-nine. Life is not a race to the finish line—we all know where that leads. The point is that you can make a comeback at any age.

I recommend you read the book Late Bloomers. I can attest to the validity of the tactics listed in this guide. This is because I’d been using these strategies long before I read about them in the book.

One thing I’d been doing before that was listed in the book was to write about myself using the third person. Using the word she.

As well I use my given name Chris Bruni in the Bruni in the City column I write for an independent mental health journal.

Late bloomers share these six traits: curiosity, compassion, resilience, insight, wisdom, and equanimity.

Reading this book should empower those of us who didn’t crash through the starting gate early in the horse race of life.

All hail the late bloomers.