It’s Never Too Late - To Become Who You Were Destined to Be

Lois McElravy asked:




Remember when you were in elementary school, and your teacher asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Most of the girls answered, “School teacher, nurse, mom, ballerina, princess.”

Typically, boys replied, “Baseball player, fisherman, fireman, policeman, garbage man.”

When it was my turn to share, I proudly announced, “Ventriloquist.” My classmates exploded with laughter. My cheeks turned flaming red with embarrassment and I fought back the tears that were welling up inside of me.

And then my teacher asked, “What else might you want to be?”

Did you grow up to become who you wanted to be? We all hit a certain age when we are either feeling fulfilled and happy with our occupation, and lifestyle, or not. Even if we are successful in the eyes of the world, if we are not pursuing our passion in some capacity, we come to a place where we feel like something is missing in our life. If what we are doing doesn’t stimulate us, we become bored or start to get restless.

Do you love your work? Is there something you long to do that you aren’t doing? It might not involve changing your profession. Perhaps you have been itching to take up a hobby, learn a new skill, or start your own small business. George Eliot says, “It’s never too late to be who you might have been.” Ask yourself these “Never too Late Questions.”

What do I love to do that I am not doing?

Who do I want to be when I grow up?

Why is this important to me?

What is holding me back from doing what I love or becoming who I want to be? Is my obstacle a lack of time, knowledge, skill, money, support, or belief? (Hint - sometimes, we are our obstacle.)
How can I overcome the obstacle that separates me from my passion? Do I need to carve out time, acquire knowledge, learn a new skill, locate resources, or build my belief? Who do I know, who can help me?

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that your time has passed. It’s only when we believe it is too late, that makes it so. Don’t hold back because you fear that someone could make fun of you. Elizabeth Jeffreys says, “Your vision is not big enough unless people are falling over laughing.” Oh, how I wish I had known this when I was in the second grade.

It has been 40 years since I have told anyone that I first wanted to be a ventriloquist when I grew up. Why? Based on the response of my classmates and my teacher that day in elementary school, I surmised that my wanting to be a ventriloquist must be a stupid idea. Well, guess what? Today, you could say that I have become somewhat of a ventriloquist. I may not have a character/puppet sitting on my knee when I entertain a crowd. Instead I open my motivational speaking program with a character performance.

There is nothing more fulfilling than to become who you were destined to be, to do what you love, and love what you do.

Caffeinated Content