Imagine! 40 is old. The California State Supreme
Court has said that when are you are 40, employers can discriminate
against employees using this age as the excuse.
I attempt to ignore all headlines in the newspapers. I try not to react to how I feel when I read them.
I try I really do, but I cannot stop today.
It’s not new, but now, extremely blatant. I’m angry, but so what. That’s my problem. Let it go and move on.
I
gave up that particular battle years ago. I became self-employed in
various disguises. I chose to be in a business that did not
discriminate because I was a woman.
In my last salaried position
I was paid half the salary of the former male manager. Did more and
received less. I then decided only to work in a way that I was paid for
my skills, not my age, weight, gender or marital status. This was my
motivation. Enough was enough. Finished up, walked away and never
looked back. On to better things.
I started as an independent
contractor, then went on to manage other independent professionals. The
next step was owning my own business. I reinvented my business several
times over, and in the process, myself.
During all this time, I
don’t recall reading a newspaper or paying attention to headlines.
Maybe I knew more than I thought at the time.
As my wise daughter
so brilliantly asks: "What does it have to do with me?" Rightly so.
Stop wasting time with things that have nothing to do with you or
things and people you cannot change.
The solution?
Ignore
what doesn’t serve you- in my case, news headlines- and use that time
to start your own business. Small, big, it doesn’t matter. Just do
something.
Hear the one about the Cat Massage Lady? She started a
business giving cats massages. Really. Then she went on to books,
tapes, CDs, videos and seminars. Now she’s training others to do the
same.
There is Art for Infants, Scrapbooks for Anything and not
one of the thousands of new businesses has anything to do with the
internet. They all have to do with necessity being the mother of
invention, desperation and a desire not to be discriminated when you
are 40. Oh, yeah, and making money, too.
Walk through your house,
room by room , including the attic and the garage. What do you do well?
What excites you? If it excites you, it excites someone else. How can
you make it work for others?
Whether you are 7, 47 or 70, you can
start your own business. I saw a young girl in front of a Designer’s
Showcase house that was selling cake slices and cookies. I asked how
she was doing and who made the sweets. She said she did, made $34.00
and was happy and proud.
So was I. No one told her she couldn’t. There may be no limits to her desires.
By
now you are saying, OK, that works for others, but not me. On the
contrary. No more excuses. If you already own a business or are an
independent professional, you can still do something else. Create
something new or invent a niche within your existing business.
If
you have a 9-5 job, set aside 10 per cent of your day, that’s 24
minutes, and take inventory. What are your hobbies? Look at what’s
missing and fill the void.
But first, STOP! Stop reading
headlines or doing anything that provides no benefit to your life or
does not align with your own personal values.
Learn that living
your own life will leave you with no time to read the headlines and
loads of time to be creative and really Celebrate Your Life, no matter
what your age.
