Ready for your stunning second act? Here's how to make a change, follow your dreams, and finally do what you always wanted, according to late bloomers. From accepting what you want to achieve to drawing on what you have learned, these experts share their secrets to a successful second career.
Be honest with yourself
The first step is to admit to yourself what you want to achieve. Fiona Leitch, 56, a novelist who started writing at 48, says: "Admit to yourself that is what you want to do."
Don't tell anybody
Nola Bliss, 77, a stand-up comedian who found success in her 70s, advises: "Keep your plan to yourself. Don't share it with anybody. Just get on and do it."
Follow your dreams
Lisbet Dreyer, a late bloomer who became a flower farmer and florist in her 60s, says: "Feel the fear and do it anyway."
Aim high
Steven Taylor, 73, who completed a PhD at 70, says: "Look for something you’re good at or are interested in, and think about what you can do with it."
Regret nothing
Shashi Aggarwal, 70, who started a successful business at 70, says: "I have no regrets. Even the things that maybe I shouldn’t have done, I don’t regret, because they’ve made me who I am now."
Draw on what you have learned
Leitch says: "The more experience, the better, if you want to become a writer."
Taylor adds: "I had a lot of experience that marked me out in a way, and that I could draw upon and refer to."
Don't panic
Leitch says: "At certain points, you may have responsibilities that mean you have to neglect your aspirations, but this doesn’t mean it will last for ever."
Don’t feel your age
Taylor says: "I don’t really do age. I don’t live massively differently than I did when I was 35."
Remember, you only live once
Dreyer says: "People should remind themselves that they only have one life."
Bliss adds: "Age is a state of mind. A second career will keep you alive, keep you young, keep you interesting."
