It is never too late.

Recently, I came across an interesting interview with an icon of the proverbial "fashion" world.  She was never actually a fashion creator but for most of her life she successfully ran a family business – a fabric manufacturing and interior decoration company. I'm talking about Iris Apfel, who celebrated her 102nd birthday a few months ago. The interview-article is downright captivating in places, full of life wisdom that Iris willingly shares, boldly speaking on topics such as choosing a career path, following (or not following, in her case) social trends and fashion, meeting social expectations regarding the decision to start a family, having children etc. I think most readers are familiar with Iris' image even if you're not interested in fashion, but what surprised me was that I actually heard about her only a decade ago. How come? What lead her to feature on the covers of popular magazines?

Why hadn't I heard about Iris before, and why now were magazines and a rapacious social media racing to follow this extraordinary woman? As the heroine of the interview herself reports, Iris became a public figure basically over a decade after she retired. After selling the thriving family business it seemed that nothing interesting could happen in her life and no new adventure  was waiting for her anymore. But ironically, she now began to truly pursue her professional career. She turned her attention to fashion in a way she hadn't dared to do previously. Not because of a lack of courage (she is a person with innate independence), but because she opened herself to new possibilities without fear.

Basically, you can say that when you get older you stop caring about what others say. I think that the main idea that stayed with me after reading this article is perhaps her pragmatic approach to life - that it is never too late - for a new project, for virtually any change in life.  Who said that after a certain age it is too late for ambitious and demanding challenges? For example, to study medicine? I know of a student who started his adventure with medicine after the age of 40. Was he concerned about the common assumption that it takes at least 20 years to develop a career in medicine? NO! he was ready for this challenge and was just interested in medicine, its achievements and how much value he  could add to his and others’ lives - to help sick people. Today he is a successful, happy and busy family doctor.

Coming back to Iris’ story. In 2005, Iris was accidentally involved in the vintage fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.  It was the beginning of her real creative career, in which she is fulfilled, creative and still in love with life! People like her inspire me to develop myself and further explore the topic of coaching and personal development. The sky is the limit and that’s it! Your development and finding your destiny and uniqueness require deep internal insight. And it's not a particularly complicated process. It doesn't matter what your "thing" is. If it’s YOURS and it excites you, it is enough to achieve fulfilment and happiness in life. If you are still searching for your purpose, that’s fine, this is your path and it’s never too late for a discovery. Look for your passions and develop them. Following Iris's advice, "You have to be interested. If you are not interested, you cannot be interesting. Period."