People look at the calendar and they see a countdown clock. They hit 40 and they panic. They hit 50 and they get depressed.
They hit 60 and they think it's over. They think the show is done. They think it's time to pack up the circus tent, sit in the armchair, and wait for the reaper to knock on the door.
I am 92 years old. If you are 60 years old right now watching this, I have lived an entire second lifetime since I was your age. 32 years.
Think about that. That is the same amount of time between a newborn baby and a 30-year-old man. It is an entire life.
And you're going to sit there and tell me it's too late. You're going to tell me you're too old to start a business, too old to write the book, too old to find love. That is And you know it.
You aren't old. You're just scared. and you're lazy.
So, we need to have a talk because if you waste the last third of your life staring at the wall, that is a sin. Here is the truth about starting over. First thing, we got to deal with the lie you tell yourself.
I call it the wrong bus lie. You spent 20 years, maybe 30 years, in a career you hated. Maybe you were an accountant.
Maybe you sold insurance and you hate it. It eats your soul. But you stay.
Why? Because you say, "Frank, I put 30 years into this. I can't just walk away now.
I'll throw it all away. " So what if you get on the wrong bus and you ride it for 500 miles in the wrong direction? Does it make sense to stay on the bus just because you paid for the ticket?
No, you get off. And yeah, you got to walk back. And yeah, you're miles from where you wanted to be, but at least you are finally walking towards something real.
I knew a man, Jerry. Jerry was a lawyer. Hated it.
Miserable son of a gun. Drnk too much. At 55, he quit.
Started making furniture. His wife thought he was crazy. His friends laughed at him.
Jerry, you're throwing away a pension. Jerry didn't care. He spent the next 30 years until he was 85, smelling like sawdust and smiling.
He lived more in those 30 years than he did in the first 50. Don't honor a mistake just because you spent a long time making it. Cut the line.
Let it go. Number two, and this is the real reason you won't start over. It ain't about money.
It ain't about energy. It's your damn ego. You are proud.
You like being the expert. You like being the guy who knows the answers. If you start something new today, if you learn to code or you start a YouTube channel or you pick up a guitar, you are a beginner.
You are a nobody. You might have to take orders from a kid who is 25 years old. And that that burns your gut, doesn't it?
You're scared to look stupid. You're scared to be the old dog learning new tricks. Let me tell you something about dignity.
There is no dignity in pretending to be happy. There is no dignity in being the expert of a life you hate. Kill your pride.
Be the fool. Be the beginner. Ask the stupid questions.
The most dangerous man in the world is an old man who is willing to learn like a child because he has the humility of a student but the wisdom of a master. Don't let your ego write your obituary. Number three, retirement is a modern invention and it is a death trap.
In nature, an animal doesn't retire. An animal works until it dies. I have seen so many friends, good men, strong men, they hit 65, they got the gold watch, they went to Florida, they sat in the recliner, they turned on the news, and within five years, they were gone.
They didn't die of a heart attack. They didn't die of cancer. They died of rot.
When you stop using a machine, it rusts. When you stop using a brain, it rots. You need a mission.
You need a dragon to fight. I don't care if it's building a garden, writing a memoir, or starting a consulting firm. You need stress.
Good stress. You need a reason to get out of bed that is bigger than breakfast. If you think you are going to rest for the next 30 years, I promise you that rest will turn into a funeral real quick.
Choose to burn. Do not choose to rot. And finally, stop telling me you don't have the energy.
Oh, Frank, I'm tired. I don't have the energy I had at 20. Good.
You were an idiot at 20. We were all idiots. We had energy.
Sure. We ran around like chickens with our heads cut off. We made noise.
We broke things. But you now you have something better than energy. You have efficiency.
A young man runs fast because he doesn't know where he is going. An old man walks slow because he knows the shortcut. You know people.
You know how the world works. You know how to spot a liar. You know how to manage your temper.
You are dangerous now. If you apply that wisdom to a new goal, you will lap the young kids. Stop looking at your age as a handicap.
It is your leverage. Use it. Look, I'm 92.
The sun is setting on my day. I know that. But you, the sun is barely past noon.
You have a choice today. You can keep looking at the calendar, counting down the days until it's over. Or you can look at the clock and realize, hell, I've got 30 years left.
That's enough time to be a completely different person. But you got to start today. Not tomorrow.
Not next week. Today. Now, like I always tell you, I ain't a guru.
I ain't a life coach. I'm just an old man who's tired of seeing good people waste their time. You got to make your own moves.
I can't live your life for you. But for God's sake, don't die before you're dead. Hear that?
Time's moving. Get to work.
