Late bloomer: Do you need to be famous early? No, truly successful people are “wise quitters”

In his first college entrance examination, he only scored 1 point in mathematics.

In the second college entrance examination, he scored 19 points in the math test, which was 140 points away from the admission line.

Three days before the third college entrance examination, Teacher Yu, who had always been disappointed with Ma Yun's math scores, said to Ma Yun: "Ma Yun, your math is a mess. If you can pass the exam, my Yu "Write the word backwards."

As a result, Ma Yun scored 89 points in that math test.

Whether it was motivation or disappointment, even his father had no hope for him to enter college, but Ma Yun was admitted to a normal college with his tenacity and unwillingness to admit defeat.

For Jack Ma, the three college entrance examinations in his life have long become the most precious spiritual wealth in his life journey. Today, Jack Ma is a representative figure of a late bloomer. His business acumen and success have ranked among the "Forbes" celebrity rankings, and he can be called a legend in the Chinese business community.

For late bloomers, Forbes magazine publisher Rich Karlgaard defined it this way in his book "Late Bloomers":

And Jack Ma's " It was the dream of everyone in that era. Without going to college, there was no way out, so he fought and failed repeatedly to achieve his first goal in life according to his own plan.

In ancient my country, there was a saying of "standing at thirty". This was Confucius's self-evaluation of the state of life he had reached at the age of 30 in "The Analects of Confucius: Wei Zheng".

In 1995, when he was 31 years old, Jack Ma scraped together 20,000 yuan to start his first business.

At the age of 35, he officially resigned from public office, returned to Hangzhou with his 18 Arhats, and scraped together 500,000 yuan to start a new round of entrepreneurship - developing the Alibaba website.

On October 23, 2015, 51-year-old Jack Ma and his family continued to be the richest man in China’s IT industry with assets of 135 billion yuan. Their wealth increased 540 times in 13 years. Jack Ma ranks 22nd on Forbes' list of the world's most powerful people.

1. Not everyone can be successful at a young age.

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, who became a billionaire at the age of 23, is really surprising. Envy, in contrast, Jack Ma is indeed a late bloomer. After his own failure experience, he has accumulated a lot of experience, worked steadily, constantly opened up new territories, involved new fields, and used his intelligence to stand among the world. Chinese people Jack Ma has become a business star that people admire.

At the age of 22, Zuckerberg once claimed that young people are "smarter" and also suggested that young people must succeed faster. But it is difficult for young people to do this. You must know that there are thousands of young people in their 20s who are still struggling with their age. They are confused about why they are poor students in school, but their grades are so different at the same age. Anxiety has paralyzed a whole generation of young people. status.

It’s not that they are not smart, nor that they are too stupid, but that there are too many things that affect their performance, such as accidents, illnesses, depression and addictions. These common setbacks will delay their ability to truly develop their talents and realize their ambitions, leaving them marginalized by society.

In fact, they also have ambitions and lofty ideals in their hearts, but they are unable to find a place to display their talents. Some people may have a vague feeling that their careers have not really gotten on the right track.

If people want to achieve a career, it is related to opportunities. Opportunities are timing, geography, and people. If one of these three conditions is not met, opportunities will not favor you.

When society crazily praises young achievers, those who fail to achieve this are even regarded as losers. You can imagine how much prejudice affects most people who have accomplished nothing.

2. The average age of late bloomers

In order to study people who are marginalized by society, and also to study the psychological trends of those late bloomers, Richie, publisher of Forbes magazine Karlgaard had been writing this book for decades. To fill the gap, he researched the life trajectories of late bloomers in history and today, and interviewed hundreds of people who achieved their achievements late in life.

Studying how they defined their trajectories of success, how they viewed setbacks along the way, and how they overcame the social environment and self-confidence challenges that plague late bloomers finally became a reality in 2014.

Once the book "Late Bloomer" was released, it became a blockbuster work for the publisher of "Forbes" magazine! It has been widely praised by all walks of life, and it has also allowed people who were deeply confused to find their way and see the light of day, breaking past perceptions and no longer sinking.

Modern society’s obsession with young and promising people was born in the 1980s, with the rise of the personal computer, and the emergence of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and others who became famous in their 20s and subverted tradition. Alongside young talents who are getting rich quickly.

This cultural atmosphere obsessed with young success requires young people to achieve more early and achieve success quickly. For today's 20-somethings, the message of this expectation is clear: succeed early, or you'll never get another chance.

Because society is mired in a craze for young geniuses with extraordinary talents and extraordinary IQs, it is easy for late bloomers to become gradually blocked by the public in the process. It even damages our values ??and sense of security. For some, it may also tighten or even eliminate traditional paths to success. It robs many of us of a sense of control over our lives and destinies.

A 2008 study showed that the average age of Nobel laureates when working on their winning projects was 39, the average age of entrepreneurs was 47, and the average age of U.S. patent applicants was 47. , this phenomenon also confirms this trend-the peak period of creativity is when you are close to 50 years old.

Erikson, a 20th-century developmental psychologist, also supports the idea that people in their 40s are the peak age for entrepreneurship. He believes that the age of 40 to 64 is a special period. During this period, people have creativity and experience advantages, and at the same time they generally have a desire to improve their lives.

Therefore, those who advocate "getting famous as early as possible" are often severely slapped in the face by reality.

3. Zhang Ailing, who needs to be famous early

In 1943, the 23-year-old Zhang Ailing became a blockbuster after she published "The First Incense of Agarwood Crumbs" in "Purple" edited by Zhou Shojuan. She wrote this in her letter to her brother: "You have to be famous early. If you come too late, you won't be happy."

If this is what she meant by becoming famous too early, then her fame disappeared too quickly. From 1943 to 1944, she also published the novels "Jasmine Piece", "Love in a Fallen City", "The Story of the Golden Lock", "Red Roses and White Roses", "Lust, Caution", and essays "After all, she is a Shanghainese", "Foreigners Watch Beijing Opera and Others" Wait for it to become popular.

Eileen Chang settled in the United States in 1955. Although she wrote many English novels, only one was published. As a talented novelist and screenwriter, it is sad that her creative career was so short. She became famous at the age of 23, but did not achieve financial freedom. At that time, her life was difficult. She died in Los Angeles, USA, in September 1995 at the age of 75.

Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, mentioned in the book "Lifelong Growth" that young achievers may easily form a fixed mindset about the way they achieved their early achievements. . They will stop learning and progressing because of their inflated confidence.

Therefore, late bloomers are often better at coping with adversity and setbacks than young achievers.

4. Advantages of Late Bloomers: Curiosity

Forbes magazine publisher Rich Karlgaard breaks down the myths that hold us back. He believes that no matter how old you are, as long as you want to create great achievements in any field, it is never too late to work hard. Even if he walks his own path in his later years, he is still a late bloomer.

We can actually create achievements at any age and at any stage of life, as long as we master the six advantages in the book: curiosity, compassion, resilience, calmness, insight, and wisdom. Anyone can become a late bloomer.

I particularly like the word "curiosity", it is the number one advantage of late bloomers. Gerhard said: Curiosity is an "overlooked and important quality of business innovation."

Global marketing consultant Don Pipes said: Innovation in any field is inseparable from curiosity. Curiosity is essentially an independent consciousness.

I feel this deeply because my 83-year-old mother became a late bloomer because of her curiosity.

The 55-year-old mother retired honorably from her job as a teacher. At the age of 53, she saw a particularly eye-catching calligraphy and painting on the wall of her classmate. Out of curiosity, she asked who painted it? The classmate said that he could write and draw, but he couldn't frame it.

This sentence aroused my mother's curiosity. Through chatting, I learned that the framing industry in Luoyang is very prosperous, but there are not many good framers. This sentence caught my mother's attention. She bought the book and studied it at home, and quickly figured out how to frame it.

My mother was a very fast-moving person. She started to frame old calendars at home, and gave them to her classmates for guidance. Unexpectedly, her classmates kept saying yes, and from then on, my mother began her framing career. . Find joy in retirement.

So curiosity is really important, because curiosity is the passion for a certain field, as well as the desire and self-drive to accomplish great things.

I very much agree with the author's interpretation of the word "give up" in "Late Bloomer". Because framing was very hard and standing for long periods of time was too much for the elderly mother. In those years, the framing students she taught opened shops in various counties and districts in Luoyang City, and the business was very good. She thought about giving up but couldn't bear it.

And curiosity once again sublimated my mother's thoughts. Whenever my mother saw a picture that had been successfully framed by her own hands, she would hang it on the wall and admire it. She was happy and Somewhat lost. Because calligraphy and painting will be taken away by the owner, and his hard work will no longer be seen in the future. So one night my mother had a sudden thought: How wonderful it would be if I painted this painting!

This idea shocked my mother, but after thinking about it calmly, she had the urge to learn painting. I had to change my limitation of not being able to stand for long periods of time to frame calligraphy and paintings.

Seth Godin said: Truly successful people are "wise quitters" who will change direction in time when they find that the current path is not working and cannot lead to the ultimate goal. can "give you a sense of entitlement."

My activist mother actually bought pen, ink, paper and inkstones, and began to copy the meticulous paintings of peonies and flowers and birds. She started with the composition and then colored. If she didn’t understand, she bought books and learned painting techniques from them. My mother was a smart person. , wise people began to become associated with calligraphy and painting.

Rich Karlgaard said: Giving up is a kind of power.

My mother is a very persistent person and is particularly resilient. The sudden change of career aroused her interest. Although it was difficult for her to start, she never tired of it and tried boldly. Therefore, in my mother's dictionary, there are never three words "I can't do it." What she taught us is only "try more" and persist until we succeed.

At the age of 63, my mother began to teach herself the meticulous peony flower and bird painting;

At the age of 69, she successfully held a personal exhibition and sold a single meticulous peony painting for 8,000 yuan.

From 2016 to 2018, he was invited to do special reports by the "Central Digital Calligraphy and Painting Channel" three times. Her paintings have been donated or collected by friends from all over the world, and have been found in Southeast Asia, France and other parts of the world.

So giving up can really make a person regain a new life. Jack Ma also gave up the Chinese Yellow Pages before starting Alibaba. It can be seen that giving up can really make people recognize their own limitations and potential.

I was deeply shocked when I read the book "Late Bloomer". If you have colleagues, friends and relatives who are in a period of confusion around you, you can recommend them to read this book "Late Bloomer", it will Tell you how to avoid risks, avoid detours, be a wise quitter when it’s time to give up, and believe in yourself that I can do it. As the author said: The world is uncertain, you and I are both dark horses!

May you and I both become a late bloomer!