I feel for you. Not because I think you've wasted all your opportunities, but actually because you're focusing on this failing rather than succeeding. And the whole age thing, just forget about it. We all live in the 'now', some of us just reach milestones at different points in our life.
I'm 33 (and still feel extremely young in what I do). I just read The Launch Pad and was a little disappointed that to 'succeed', you need to be mortgage free, no kids, be prepared to relocate and have a co-founder you share your entire life with; generally traits of an unattached 20 year old with close friends. I would fail all those, but would that put me off trying a startup - hell no! Do I believe I could be part of the 0.1% of those that succeed? Of course. But will I feel like a failure if I'm not. Absolutely not!
I focus on the following. Do I have more experience, wisdom and understanding than I did 2 years ago? Am I enjoying the projects that I work on? Do I have vision for where I want to get to? I also know that there will always be people who are better and smarter than me. If that bothers me, learn from them, but don't envy them. They are no more 'special' than anyone else.
If I could go back 10 years, what would I do with that abundance of time I once had? Honestly, it wouldn't matter as I know I was not 'ready' to succeed at that age. At that age I hand't found the passion for what I do and hadn't seen enough of the world's problems first hand.
The problem I have is that I find it hard to focus on a single project and I'm overcommitted in my work (I work for a startup and two organically grown businesses). I have an endless stack of side projects that need my focus. But I only stop working on one because I find more passion for another. I'm okay with this - to a point. This is my challenge which I am working on by breaking down the goals into much smaller, more manageable deliverables. Celebrate the small wins as the big win is just a collection of smaller ones.
My advice to you. Forget about age. It doesn't matter if the other person is 18 or 68. I'd say to write down on post it notes the top 10 things you want to achieve in the next 30 days. Pick the top one to start with, then throw out the other 9 post it notes - they are just a distraction.
I'm 33 (and still feel extremely young in what I do). I just read The Launch Pad and was a little disappointed that to 'succeed', you need to be mortgage free, no kids, be prepared to relocate and have a co-founder you share your entire life with; generally traits of an unattached 20 year old with close friends. I would fail all those, but would that put me off trying a startup - hell no! Do I believe I could be part of the 0.1% of those that succeed? Of course. But will I feel like a failure if I'm not. Absolutely not!
I focus on the following. Do I have more experience, wisdom and understanding than I did 2 years ago? Am I enjoying the projects that I work on? Do I have vision for where I want to get to? I also know that there will always be people who are better and smarter than me. If that bothers me, learn from them, but don't envy them. They are no more 'special' than anyone else.
If I could go back 10 years, what would I do with that abundance of time I once had? Honestly, it wouldn't matter as I know I was not 'ready' to succeed at that age. At that age I hand't found the passion for what I do and hadn't seen enough of the world's problems first hand.
The problem I have is that I find it hard to focus on a single project and I'm overcommitted in my work (I work for a startup and two organically grown businesses). I have an endless stack of side projects that need my focus. But I only stop working on one because I find more passion for another. I'm okay with this - to a point. This is my challenge which I am working on by breaking down the goals into much smaller, more manageable deliverables. Celebrate the small wins as the big win is just a collection of smaller ones.
My advice to you. Forget about age. It doesn't matter if the other person is 18 or 68. I'd say to write down on post it notes the top 10 things you want to achieve in the next 30 days. Pick the top one to start with, then throw out the other 9 post it notes - they are just a distraction.