My economics professor mentioned to me something that has stuck with me since graduation, ’if you don’t accomplish something great by the time you’re 30, you’re never going to accomplish anything great.’
He obviously hadn’t heard of the painter Cézanne.
I had taken that statement as motivation until I came across this article in the New Yorker about late bloomers.
Malcolm Gladwell, famous for Blink and Tipping Point and one day maybe Outliers(his latest book, check it out!), discusses the myth that youth is the only time that one does his most creative work. He uses the example of a lawyer turned author, who kept writing for almost 20 years(with little to no reward) before cashing in on his breakthrough novel to critical acclaim. Basically the thesis is that youth isn’t the qualifier in the creativity game, though we think of famous painters such as Picasso who fits our usual idea about genius perfectly. So all is not lost I suppose for those of us that haven’t found our niche yet. Keep on keeping on
Malcolm Gladwell spoke at the International Student Energy Summit
http://www.studentenergy.org