Starting over in life can be challenging, especially at age 50. This is mostly because people perceive you to be way past your young age at this time.
Nevertheless, because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
If you’ve just experienced the past 50 years of your life go down the drain as a business owner or entrepreneur, here’s a guide for starting over at 50.
Stay with us to find out all you need to know.
Starting Over At 50
Life is filled with so many hurdles.
People experience different situations worldwide that could cause them to start over at different stages in their lives.
These situations could range from divorce, loss of a loved one, loss of a job, unfulfillment in career and life, generally among other things.
Even more so, the world of business is an uncertain one.
We often try our best to mitigate risks in business and to overcome challenges that come our way.
However, most times, regardless of how hard we try, the inevitable always happens.
Business owners run in the loss and are forced to shut down the business.
Entrepreneurs make investments that turn out badly.
To make things worse, all these happen at the age when one should be thinking of retiring and enjoying the long years of hard work put into the business; at age 50
While this can be a very unfortunate occurrence, it is something that many people experience.
When this happens, such people are left clueless about what to do and feel hopeless about the situation.
Now, you’ve also found yourself in the same situation; hence, you feel lost and confused about everything.
Also, starting over is the last thing on your list of options.
Even if you think about it, you can hear that tiny voice in your head telling you; you’ve failed before what makes you think you won’t fail again.
Hence, it becomes difficult to build the confidence to start over, especially at age 50 and above.
If it’s any consolation, stories abound of people who faced business challenges, lost everything, and had to start over again at old age; 50 and above.
Even more impressive is that despite their age and having lost everything, they could bounce back from their failures and achieve so much success.
Let’s examine some examples of entrepreneurs who started over at 50 to help you build more courage.
Case Studies of People Starting Over At 50
Unlike society teaches us to think that you can only achieve success at your young age, here are some life experiences of people that prove that age is no barrier to success.
Abraham Lincoln
You’ve undoubtedly heard of this guy and his outstanding achievements as the United States of America president.
Well, news flash, he became the president of the United States of America at age 52.
However, getting to the top position and being the 16th president of the states wasn’t a smooth ride for him.
Before attaining that position, Lincoln had his fair share of failure and setbacks.
He lost his job at age 23, three years later, he lost his lover and had so many failed attempts at politics.
This record of failures should have made him give up on politics and his aspirations entirely, but that didn’t stop him.
He continued until he achieved success in 1861 and became the united states’ president after every failure.
Colonel Sanders
This is another unique story that proves that starting over at 50 and achieving success is possible.
Often heard of the famous KFC? This guy owns it.
KFC, Kentucky Fried Chicken, is an American fast-food restaurant chain with a franchise in over 149 countries globally.
Also, it is tagged the world’s second-largest restaurant chain/franchise.
Amazing right? Well, he didn’t have it easy either.
Sanders had a very rough childhood background and had to do different odd jobs to survive.
Before this time, he had tried his hands at so many things such as farming, fireman, selling insurance, streetcars, conductors, etc.
At 40, he started managing the Kentucky service station, giving birth to the Kentucky famous fried chicken recipe.
After discovering how people loved this recipe, he turned it into a business and franchised it in 1952, at age 62.
Since then, he has achieved so much success, and of course, he has encountered so many setbacks in the business.
However, the business continues to grow and gain global recognition.
Ronald Regan
His was a career switch from an actor to a politician.
After 27 years in the movie industry, changing career paths wouldn’t seem a very wise decision to take.
From the start, it seemed highly unlikely that he would succeed at this new career.
This is because Regan couldn’t keep his job as a TV host for a television drama series for the General Electric Theater and a spokesman for the same company.
However, with this series of events that made him look like a failure, Regan wasn’t discouraged from his goals.
He became the Governor of California at 54 in 1966 and the 40ty president of the United States of America in 1980.
Consequently, making him the first actor to become a president in the United States of America history.
Nelson Mandela
Another case study of starting over at 50 is this phenomenal leader who had to overcome many failures in life and achieve success regardless.
Growing up in a country with the Apartheid system placing a lot of limitations on all the things one could be as a black boy living in South Africa, Nelson Mandela proved that success is achievable if only you are determined.
Till today, he’s one of the celebrated heroes of the past.
After suffering many years in imprisonment and incarceration centers for his fight against the apartheid system, he was released in 1990.
Shortly after that, he started life again, venturing into politics, and later became the president of South Africa in 1994.
Despite his age, he turned out to be one of the best presidents the country ever had.
Ernestine Shepherd
Another inspirational story that proves that starting over at 50 and achieving success is not impossible comes from the world’s oldest body-builders.
She started her fitness career at age 56.
To most people around her, this must-have seemed like an unrealistic career path to take considering her age.
Also, a lot of people must have discouraged her from pursuing this dream.
However, she wasn’t discouraged, thanks to her sister, who encouraged her and believed in her dream.
Today, she’s one of the globally recognized oldest fitness trainers at age 80, taking classes for older men and women.
Ray Kroc
Just like Colonel Sanders, Kroc started his own food chain business in his 50s as well.
He started as a salesman selling other people’s products.
First, he spent 17years selling paper cups.
After that, he went on selling five-spindle fast-food milkshake makers for years.
He came across Dick and Mac McDonald, who were selling burgers at one of his sales trips.
Kroc convinced them to franchise the business, which brought about the McDonald’s restaurant.
At the McDonald’s restaurant business in partnership with the Mcdonald brothers at age 52.
This single decision brought him so much success, and today, Mcdonald’s has over 38,000 restaurants in over 100 countries of the world.
All the case studies didn’t let their age limit them from dreaming big and being all they wanted to be.
Hence, rather than feeling sorry for yourself, let these success stories inspire you and give you the confidence you need to pick up the pieces of your life and start rebuilding your life again.
“Don’t be Afraid To Start Over, It’s A Chance To Build Something Better This Time”-Anonymous.
Tips For Rebuilding Your Life And Starting Over at 50
Starting over can be scary.
However, if you’re able to start over and achieve success, the feeling of fulfillment you get is priceless.
Furthermore, it would boost your self-confidence and self-worth.
Here are some helpful tips for starting over at 50 regardless of how many times you may have failed in business and life generally.
1. Understand That Age Is Just A Number
The first tip for you starting over at 50 is to understand that age is just a number.
This is very important in helping you get the right mindset as you start the journey to rebuilding your life again.
Mindset is everything.
If you have the wrong mindset towards your goals, then those goals become impossible to achieve.
If you believe that it’s too late for you to maximize your potentials and achieve success because you’re 50 and above, then that’s how it’s going to be for you.
Furthermore, it would become difficult for you to recognize new opportunities to rebuild and make the most out of your life with this kind of thinking.
Hence, never believe what society makes you think that there’s a certain age at which you can achieve success.
Of course, being youthful comes with a lot of advantages.
Nevertheless, everyone, regardless of age, has equal chances at achieving success.
Hence, do not allow your age to limit you or stop you from achieving your dream.
2. Understand That It’s Okay To Be Afraid But Don’t Let That Fear Cripple You
Starting over can indeed be quite scary.
It’s normal to feel afraid; after all, there’s a lot of uncertainty that comes with this decision.
For instance, you’ve decided to leave your well-paying job to start a new business.
Leaving your job where you receive a steady paycheck to start a business that you’re unsure will succeed will definitely make you anxious.
However, you shouldn’t allow this fear to cripple you and stop you from going ahead with your decision.
Fear can keep you stuck and stop you from achieving your set goals.
However, fear is a powerful emotion that, if channeled positively, can yield outstanding results.
Rather than being afraid of starting over at 50, be afraid of not achieving anything meaningful with your life.
By channeling your fears this way, you’ll recognize that your decision to start over is a rare chance you’ve got at rebuilding your life that you should definitely make the most of it.
3. Give Yourself Time To Heal
Another helpful tip for starting over at 50 on this blog post is to give yourself time to heal from the pain, heartbreak, grieve, regrets, and all sorts of negative emotions.
Negative situations happen that may change the turn of events in your life.
It could be bad debt in business, bankruptcy, divorce, or loss of a loved one.
These situations can make you experience a lot of emotional pain, and most times, people expect you to get over it and move on with your life.
Indeed, you’ll have to get over the pain and move forward in life.
However, depending on the situation’s devasting effect, this might require a little bit of time.
Hence, when you experience such situations, give yourself time to heal from the pain.
If you need some time alone to yourself, then, by all means, get it.
If you need to change your scenery, go somewhere quiet, and be left alone with your thoughts, do it.
This would help you gather the mental and emotional stamina you need to face the new world that awaits you.
4. Discover What You Truly Want
Having experienced 50 years of your life pass by; you feel unfulfilled;
Hence, you feel the need to start over.
This feeling of dissatisfaction and unfulfillment could be deeply rooted in a lack of self-discovery.
Self-discovery is all about understanding yourself and what matters most to you.
You could be a successful business owner and yet still feel unhappy in life.
This could probably be because what you truly want is to travel around the world and help the less privileged people.
As such, regardless of what you do or what you achieve, you always feel a void in your heart.
Hence, you’ve decided to sell your business and start over in pursuit of your happiness and self-fulfillment.
Well, for you to achieve this, you need to discover what it is you truly want.
What are you passionate about?
Discovering what you want in life makes it easy to pursue those things that would truly matter to you and achieve your goals.
Hence, when starting over, ensure that you understand what you truly want to achieve by making such a decision.
5. Move On From Your Mistakes But Don’t Forget The Lessons
You may have made a lot of mistakes over the past few years of your life.
Now, you’ve realized how these mistakes have generally impacted your life.
Rather than wallow in self-pity and regrets, it would be best if you moved on from such mistakes.
Regardless of what your experience might have been or the mistakes you’ve made, there are valuable lessons you can learn from them.
Hence, as you plan to start over at 50 and above, remember the lessons from these past experiences.
What were the wrong choices you made that turned out badly for you?
How can you do things differently that would prevent the negative situation from repeating itself?
You may not be able to change what has happened in the past.
However, you can definitely change make the future better by using the lessons learned to make things better.
Keep this in mind as you prepare to start rebuilding your life over again at 50.
6. Identify The Things You Need To Do To Get A Fresh Start – Tips for Starting Over at 50
Like learning from your mistakes, part of the learning process involves recognizing the things you need to do differently.
What bad decisions did you make in your business that led to business failure?
What do you need to do to make better decisions?
Do you need to learn business decision-making skills, or do you need to seek professional advice before making any business decision?
As you plan on starting over, what are those things you need to do to achieve your goals?
Identify what these things are and implement them as part of your plans for a fresh start.
After identifying the things you need to do, set your goals and put your plans into action.
Deciding you want to get a fresh start without taking action in the right direction would only lead to more frustrations and failure.
7. Be Determined; Stay Brave And Courageous
As we’ve seen in the case studies we examined earlier on, starting over in life wouldn’t be a smooth ride.
Moreover, you’ll be faced many rejections and discouragements.
This is because society thinks that success is only achievable within a specific age range, and 50 years seem to be a little bit late.
Hence, understand that you’ll have to deal with a lot of toxicity from people who doubt your abilities to achieve your goals.
However, you should be discouraged.
Be brave and courageous and all the more determined to achieve your goals regardless of the hurdles you encounter.
Also, cut off such negative people from your life and surround yourself with positive people who can inspire you on your journey to redesigning your life.
8. Get Help Where Necessary
As you make plans to start over from scratch, rebuilding and redesigning your life, you’ll need help from people around you.
It could be financial, physical, emotional, or professional help.
This is why it’s best to surround yourself with positive people.
Positive people will give you the moral support you need to keep pushing even when you feel like giving up.
Hence, don’t be afraid to ask for help on your journey to redesigning your life.
More so, if you feel the need to see a therapist for your mental well-being, by all means, do it.
Final Thoughts On Starting Over At 50
Starting over at 50 can be one of the scariest decisions you’ve ever made.
It is a decision that’s necessary for you to maximize your full potential and live a fulfilled life.
It won’t be an easy journey; however, in the end, when you achieve success and self-satisfaction, you’ll realize it was worth it.
Here’s to your success and never giving up on life!
Feel free to share your experience on how starting over from scratch has been for you in the comment section below to help other people like yourself in a similar situation.
We would love to hear from you.
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