Are You Too Old to Change the Course of Your Life?

If you want to launch a business, start a charity, change careers, or just do something totally different with your life, at what point is it just too late to be successful? How old is too old to do something new and change the course of your life to something more empowering? The short answer is never.

Vera Wang was first known as an accomplished figure skater. Later as a fashion editor for Vogue Magazine. In 1989, Wang, aged 40, wed longtime boyfriend Arthur Becker. Frustrated with the slim selection of existing bridal wear, she sketched her own design and commissioned a dressmaker to tailor the elaborate gown at a cost of $10,000. She quit her job and opened her first bridal boutique the following year. Known for balancing modern designs with traditional elegance, today Vera Wang is the most prominent designer of bridal wear in America.

Martha Stewart worked on Wall Street and owned a Connecticut catering firm, but her real success came after age 41 with the publication of her first book, Entertaining, and the launch of Martha Stewart Living seven years later.