Earlier this year, I wrote a MIBE Message about “starting before you’re ready.”  I heard from many of you that this resonated and I hope it inspired some of you to take those first steps toward something you’ve been holding off on.  This week, I want to explore what happens when you feel like you’ve waited too long to start or feel like you missed your chance.  

I was inspired to write about this after a tour of the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.   Our tour guide was enthusiastically sharing details about the campus, the history of Nike, and stories behind the athletes who many of the buildings are named after.  As we came upon the Joan Benoit Samuelson building, he recounted the 1984 Olympics in which Samuelson won the gold medal in the women’s marathon.  It was the first time for the event in Olympic history, as previously it was thought women were not capable of competing in distances of that length.  He said, “While Joan will be remembered forever, I like to highlight the 6th place finisher, Priscilla Welch.”  

Priscilla Welch began her career in the military serving in the British Navy for 12 years.  At 35 years old, she was an officer, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and described herself as an overweight, pub-going, party girl. It was then that she decided to make a change.  With the help of her husband Dave, she quit smoking and started running.  On a whim, she entered a marathon with him and after completing it, vowed to take an hour off her time.  A few years later she would set the British marathon record in that sixth-place finish in Los Angeles at the 1984 Olympics, competing against a field that was mostly more than a decade younger than her.  Priscilla went on to win the New York City Marathon in 1987, set an age group world record (over 40) that would stand for 20 years and continued competing into her 50’s.  And in 2008 she was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame.

While we can ruminate on how we missed an opportunity to pursue something in our life, Priscilla’s story is a great reminder that it’s never too late to start something new.  We may not reach the same levels of success that she did, but if we give it a try at least we have a chance.  I love the Chinese proverb that says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second-best time is now.”   Whether making a career change, picking up a new hobby, or adopting better habits, it’s easy to make excuses on why it’s too late or explain how it would have been better to do it years ago.  It’s much more difficult to take the risk to venture into unknown territory, to have the courage to become a beginner, and to start something new.