If at first (and second, and third) you don’t succeed, don’t worry, says Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard.
(This article appeared in the July 2019 issue of Southwest: The Magazine.)
Why is being a “late bloomer” a good thing?
“There’s a lot of pressure put on kids, teenagers, and young adults to succeed early on. And nowadays, a lot of people feel like they’re being left behind in an economy that’s hurtling into the future at accelerating rates.
But there’s value in allowing our brains to develop and mature and in meeting people from different backgrounds [before deciding on a set path]. I’m a big proponent
of vocational training, gap years, and junior colleges. Get on a path of discovery.”
You believe it’s important to switch careers if you don’t feel like you’re growing. How do you know when it’s time to quit?
“You keep doubling down on your work and hit a plateau. You go
to bed exhausted, but you can’t sleep. Listen to your inner voice. You shouldn’t quit just because you’re confronted with a challenge, but when it’s impossible for you to succeed. Save your grit and resilience for the things that have true meaning to you.”
Tell us about the concept of “re-potting.”
“There’s a pot of soil out there that’s the best for us. And it may not be the pot of soil we’re in. In fact, if we’re late bloomers, the pot that we’re in is probably not the best place for us to grow. Re-potting could be finding a different boss within the same company, or it could be moving to a different company. It could be a different set of friends. It might even be as dramatic as moving to a new city. Sometimes you need to quit to find a new path that rewards what you were put on Earth to do.”
(Late Bloomers is Rich Karlgaard's latest book.)
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