Mozart was composing symphonies at age 6. Beethoven was 8. Augustus was leading the Roman forces and King of the Roman empire at 18. Joan of Arc was leading the French army into battle at 17. Alexander the Great was ruling Macedon at 16, became king at 20 and had conquered most of the known world by his death at age 32. Most recently, the likes of Justin Beiber, who became a YouTube sensation at age 14 and Mark Zuckerberg who launched Facebook from his college dorm at age 19 have found success, purpose, and fortune early in life. None of these people had to wait to find their purpose after 40.

History, though, has a long line of individuals who have faced struggles and hardship before finding success and purpose in life. Given my journey, this resonates with me. I am turning 40 today, and still chasing my dreams without having had that “breakthrough” moment yet. So I thought it would be inspiring to share a list of people who have found their purpose after 40.

But before we get started here’s a little trivia question for you? Answer at the end…

Trivia Question:

What do Harrison Ford and Jesus have in common?

40 WHO FOUND PURPOSE AFTER 40

1. Sam Walton

Sam Walton had a somewhat successful career in retail management in his 20’s and 30’s but did not accomplish the hallmark of his life until he found his first Wal-Mart store at age 44, in 1962.

2. Abraham Lincoln

At age 39 Abraham Lincoln, after being a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and not being awarded the lucrative Commission of the General Land Office that he wanted, he returned to Springfield, IL, only as a fledgling, self-taught lawyer. It was not until age 52 that he became President of the United States and led the abolishment of slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation at age 53.

3. Ray Kroc

Kroc after years of various jobs met the McDonald’s brothers at age 52 and convinced them that they could take small operation and turn it into a national chain.

4. Samuel L. Jackson

Jackson was a starving Hollywood actor playing bit roles until he got his big break and getting his award winning role in Spike Lee’s film “Jungle Fever” in 1991.

5. Casey Stengel

Although Stengel did earn a world series as a player in 1922, he never played in the series, due to being a nominal player. However, he would go on to win 7 World Series Championships as a manager with the New York Yankees in a 9-year span between, including a record five consecutive years between 1949-53.

6. Lucille Ball

The first season of I Love Lucy aired in 1951 when Ball was 40 years old.

7. Winston Churchill

After early success as a military general and roles in the British Parliament, Churchill was exiled for his controversial views and poor political reputation during his fifties. Most believed his political career was over before he became Prime Minister in 1940 at the age of 66. He went on to lead Britain and the free world and eventually, defeat Hitler and Nazi Germany.

8. John Wooden

Coach Wooden did not win his first NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship until he was 53. He went on to win a record 10 NCAA Championships and had an unprecedented 88 consecutive game winning streak in the 1971-74 seasons.

9. Nora Ephron

Nora Ephron was 48 years old when her iconic film that she wrote When Harry Met Sally premiered.

10. Henry Ford

Henry Ford was 45 when he introduced the legendary Model T car in 1908.

11. Mother Teresa

In 1950 Sister Teresa was 40 when she received Vatican permission to start the Missionaries of Charity congregation in Calcutta, India.  The charity would become her life’s work among Calcutta’s poorest of the poor and result in the person that we all know as Mother Teresa.

12. Phil Jackson

Jackson won 2 NBA Championships as a player, but never started an NBA Finals game. After his pedestrian NBA career ended, he became a coach in the CBA and Puerto Rican leagues before getting an assistant coaching job with the Chicago Bulls in 1987. He was then named the head coach in 1989 and won the 1st of his record 11 NBA Championships in 1991 at the age of 46.

13. Mark Twain

Mark Twain was 41 when he published The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

14. Harland Sanders

Harland (Colonel) Sanders did not franchise Kentucky Fried Chicken until he was 62.

15. Julia Child

Child was age 50 before writing her first cookbook and entering the entertainment industry as a celebrity chef in 1961.

16. J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings series was not published until 1954 when J.R.R. Tolkien was 62.

17. Rodney Dangerfield

Rodney Dangerfield was 46 when he was discovered on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

18. Momofuku Ando

Ando was 48 years old when he invented instant ramen noodles.

19. Betty White

White did not become a household name until she got her big break on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” in 1973 at age 51.

20. Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls WIlder did not publish her first “Little House” book until age 65 in 1932.

21. Grandma Moses

Anna Mary Robertson Moses (Grandma Moses) did not begin her painting career until she was 78. Now her famous works sell for over 1 Million dollars.

22. Vera Wang

Vera Wang was a figure skater and journalist before designing her own wedding dress and entering the fashion industry at age 40.

23. Vince Lombardi

Coach Lombardi, who the Super Bowl trophy is named for, did not win his first NFL Championship with the Green Bay Packers until age 47 in 1961. He was given the head coaching job only two years earlier; it was the first time Lombardi was a head coach at either the collegiate or professional level. Lombardi went on to win five NFL Championships in 7 years.

24. Andrea Bocelli

Bocelli, one of the best selling singers of all-time, did not attain worldwide success until his third album, Sogno, was released at age 41.

25. C.S. Lewis

Although C.S. Lewis had been an author for many years, he did not start to write The Chronicles of Narnia series, which is considered a classic of children’s literature, until he was 51 in 1949.

 

Trivia Answer:

Both Harrison Ford and Jesus were carpenters living in obscurity at age 30.

 

“Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in…” – Winston Churchill

Whatever your dream is – don’t stop chasing it. If you have stopped dreaming, start again. You were made for a purpose. Go for it! It doesn’t matter how old you are (or how young), what has happened in life, where you have been or how many times you have failed – Never Give In! Go and leave your mark.