Ain’t Never Too Late!

It was a moment I’ll never forget. I was on a book tour, giving a yet another speech, when an older woman, leaning on a cane, came up to me afterward.

She was 84 years old and had been married to a very wealthy physician who handled all the finances. But 10 years ago, he died, leaving her no money but a lot of debt. Turns out all his investments were all on margin, using borrowed money.

Before the shock even wore off, she found a financial advisor, started taking classes, and learned about investing.

 “I’m a very wealthy woman today,” she told me proudly, announcing she’d just returned from a round-the-world cruise.

In one of those crazy coincidences, I bumped into her 7 years later. She had just turned 91. When I asked how she was doing, she responded with a devilish grin: “I’ve done better in the market than any man would’ve done for me.”

The moral to this story. It is never, ever, ever too late to start!

It’s never too late, author Glennon Doyle, once observed. “to begin again and build something truer. Rock bottom is the end of what wasn’t true enough.”

What have you been putting off because you’re “too”…you know, old, young, dumb, scared? Tell me about it in the comments below.

Comments & Feedback

  • Emma

    Love this story! Love to you from Vancouver, WA 💗, Barbara! When I was a pre-medical student enrolled in a neuroscience program switching tracks in my junior year, I really freaked out. A cardiothoracic specialist and medical school instructor who had offered to be my mentor told me she had fled Lebanon, worked in finance to get herself established in the United States, and hadn’t gotten into medical school until well into her thirties, starting her career as a physician rather advanced in life. She told me it’s never too late.

    I’ve been thinking about this lately and you post this! Also, from an audiobook on astrology, I learned that people with Capricorn in their ascendent positions tend to hit their stride and peak success when they reach 40. I’m turning 37 this year, taking a sabbatical to recover from the effects of a rare neuromuscular disorder that causes muscle spasms and has pulled a vertebrae in my neck out of place, compressed two vertebrae taking two inches off my height, and dislocated my shoulder, on top of having had a traumatic brain injury in 2014.

    In a lot of ways this period in my life has thrown my mind into darkness but also illumined my life — I have an amazing doctor and also have been using my old pre-med student research skills to do some digging on my own, bringing my findings to him when we meet weekly, and together we’ve found the latest advances in neuroscience and found that there is a possibility to cure what was once found incurable. I have felt a bit crushed that I am not out there achieving big career goals and money but this time and the answers I’ve uncovered are inestimable in value. I’ve also had time to read the entirety of A Course in Miracles, get started on the workbook, read two of your books, study the spiritual works of many spiritual masters and some of the most brilliant people who have ever lived, and fallen in love with the most compassionate, patient, wonderful, and delightfully interesting person.

    I was gobsmacked when I finished a Joe Dispenza Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself meditation, which ends with asking God for a sign that you’ve been heard, that God is real, and you have co-created with God. I don’t know what prompted me, but I opened up the YouTube app on my phone and immediately saw a video cover that read, “Stop worrying. I isolated you because I want you to rest and rebuild the temple.”

    Which means, this is not the end for me. Not by a long shot!

  • Emma

    Oh, and to answer your question: “What have you been putting off because you’re “too”…you know, old, young, dumb, scared?”

    Starting my life over, having the rest of my life be the absolute best of my life that just keeps on getting better and better. Marrying, having a family with my beloved Daniel. Helping him with his career, dreams and desires, starting up, building, and establishing his consulting business. Living well, traveling, loving deeply, living life to the hilt together. Having a successful writing and teaching practice. Creating all kinds of art. Taking a yearly 3 month sabbatical December-February. Certificate in Transpersonal Coaching Psychology from the Alef Trust, masters / phd in transpersonal psychology and development. Investing, saving, retiring early and/or living semi-retired to take care of my family and wellbeing.

  • Lisa

    I’m “too busy”. I’ve been putting off sending someone a gift I bought for them for ages. Two weeks ago they experienced a tragedy. Now would be a good time to send it with a nice note.
    I don’t want to be that busy. I’m prioritizing to make it happen this Saturday!

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Meet Barbara Huson

When a devastating financial crisis rocked her world, Barbara Huson knew she had to get smart about money… and she did. Now, she wants to empower every women to take charge of their money and take charge of their lives! She’s doing just that with her best-selling books, life changing retreats and private financial coaching.

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