I was 39 when I finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life.
Let that sink in. Thirty-nine years on this planet before I truly understood my purpose and started building something that felt authentically mine.
Society tells us we should have it all figured out by 25. Have the career trajectory mapped by 30. Be settled and successful by 35.
What complete and utter nonsense.
I coach people through life transitions every day, and I've noticed something fascinating. The ones who beat themselves up most viciously aren't those who've made mistakes or faced setbacks. They're the ones who believe they've somehow "missed their window" because of some arbitrary timeline that exists nowhere except in our collective imagination.
Here's what's real: There is no timeline.
I work with clients in their 50s who are launching businesses that bring them more joy and financial freedom than anything they did in their first three decades of working. I know people who found their creative voice at 60, their life partner at 45, their athletic potential at 50.
And yes, I also see brilliant young entrepreneurs crushing it in their 20s. People finding their perfect career path straight out of university. Early bloomers who seem to have it all figured out while the rest of us were still wandering around confused.
Both paths are valid. Both paths are beautiful.
But here's what nobody tells you about starting late: it comes with advantages that early success never provides.
When you begin a new venture later in life, you bring everything you've learned with you. Every mistake, every hard lesson, every relationship, every job you hated, every skill you picked up along the way. You bring perspective that a 22-year-old simply cannot possess, no matter how brilliant they are.
I see this in my Unshakeable People Club members all the time. The ones who hesitate to join because they feel "behind" are often the ones who make the most profound transformations. They haven't been building on a shaky foundation of who they thought they should be. They're building on the solid ground of who they've become through experience.
When I look back at my own journey, I realize that every "wasted" year wasn't wasted at all. Every detour and delay was gathering data, collecting wisdom, and preparing me for what would eventually become my life's work.
I couldn't have built Kaspari Life Academy at 25. I didn't have the emotional intelligence, the resilience, or frankly, the depth needed to guide others through their transformations. I needed those extra years of living.
Your timing is perfect precisely because it's yours.
We're so busy comparing our chapter 3 to someone else's chapter 20 that we miss the beauty of our own unique story unfolding. We forget that the most compelling heroes don't follow predictable paths. They stumble, get lost, begin again.
I've watched people transform their energy, creativity, and sense of freedom at every age. The timeline doesn't matter nearly as much as the decision to begin.
The world tries to sell us this myth that we have a narrow window of opportunity, and if we miss it, we might as well give up. This scarcity thinking keeps people stuck in jobs they hate, relationships that drain them, and lives that feel too small.
I reject that entirely.
Your life isn't a race with a fixed finish line. It's more like an exploration where the territory keeps changing and expanding as you develop. Some discoveries can only be made after you've traveled certain paths.
In my programs, I've watched people in their 40s, 50s, and beyond cultivate creativity and energy they never knew they possessed. I've seen them build inner freedom that eluded them in their younger years despite all their striving.
The truth is, you're exactly where you need to be.
If you're standing at the beginning of something new and feeling the weight of "too late" on your shoulders, I want you to do something for me. Take that thought and examine it carefully. Whose voice is that really? Is it yours, or is it the echo of cultural expectations that never made sense in the first place?
Then set it down gently and walk away from it.
Because here's what I know for certain after working with hundreds of people at all stages of life: The best time to start isn't twenty years ago. It isn't even yesterday.
It's today.
And if you happen to be starting today after decades of doing something else, congratulations. You might just have the ultimate competitive advantage.
With Love,
Katie Kaspari 🦋
Unshakeable People Club
Comments