Table of Contents
- Why Do Early Failures Often Lead to Massive Success Later in Life?
- Recommendation
- Take-Aways
- Summary
- Society celebrates early bloomers, yet many world-changers only achieve greatness later in life.
- Late bloomers are intrinsically motivated, have diverse interests, are eager to learn, and are often self-taught.
- Late bloomers eventually commit to something that brings success, but they continue to push against the status quo.
- About the Author
Why Do Early Failures Often Lead to Massive Success Later in Life?
Stop worrying about early success and discover the power of the “late bloomer.” Based on David Brooks’ analysis, learn why intrinsic motivation, diverse interests, and early failures are actually the secret ingredients for enduring greatness later in life.
Feeling behind in life? Read the full summary now to discover why your best years are actually ahead of you—and how to harness your “late bloomer” advantage today.
Recommendation
Modern society tends to glamorize the successes of those under age 30. Yet history shows that, in domains ranging from business to science to art, it’s often the late bloomer who achieves more enduring success. The average age of a person who makes a Nobel Prize–winning discovery, for example, is 44. In this insightful article, cultural commentator David Brooks explores notable examples of people who failed early but who, ultimately, made their mark on the world. He explains why late bloomers take longer to achieve their success, highlighting qualities that lead them to achieve great things.
Take-Aways
- Society celebrates early bloomers, yet many world-changers only achieve greatness later in life.
- Late bloomers are intrinsically motivated, have diverse interests, are eager to learn, and are often self-taught.
- Late bloomers eventually commit to something that brings success, but they continue to push against the status quo.
Summary
Society celebrates early bloomers, yet many world-changers only achieve greatness later in life.
Modern society tends to glamorize early achievement — think Mark Zuckerberg, Taylor Swift, and Elon Musk — and downplay the significance of older people. In 2010, more people filed age discrimination claims to California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing than sexual harassment or racial discrimination claims.
“Today, we live in a society structured to promote early bloomers.”
Despite the dominance of early bloomers in today’s zeitgeist, late bloomers often enjoy more ensuring success: Data analysis shows that the average age of a Nobel Prize–winning discovery is 44; the average US patent applicant is 47 years old; and 50-year-old tech founders are twice as likely to succeed as tech founders aged 30. Notable figures like artist Paul Cézanne, film director Alfred Hitchcock, and scientist Charles Darwin, don’t merely bloom later in life, but in ways that are entirely different from their early-blooming compatriots.
Late bloomers are intrinsically motivated, have diverse interests, are eager to learn, and are often self-taught.
Late bloomers build their skills by experimenting. They are intrinsically motivated — driven by what they find interesting — rather than by extrinsic rewards like good grades and high salaries. Late bloomers are drawn to the process of learning more than the incentives the world can offer. Thus, they resist the push to specialize early and pursue many diverse interests. Julia Child dabbled in hat-making, spent years employed in intelligence work, and considered novel-writing before she took her first French cooking class at age 37.
“Late bloomers learn more slowly but also more deeply precisely because they’re exploring on their own.”
Late bloomers are explorers at heart. They actively seek out and teach themselves what they don’t yet know. Charles Darwin spent decades writing to some 231 different scientists in a range of fields, including economics, geology, and biology. Their discussions informed his groundbreaking On the Origin of Species. Leonardo da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin, likewise, were constantly tasking themselves with new research projects that, ultimately, led to groundbreaking discoveries. The benefits of this approach compound over time — the more they know, the faster they learn.
Late bloomers eventually commit to something that brings success, but they continue to push against the status quo.
Late bloomers often fail early on — at various pursuits — before they finally discover a perfect fit for their talents and dispositions. When they find that pursuit, however, they commit fully. Colonel Sanders failed as a railway engineer, insurance salesman, fireman, and lawyer before starting Kentucky Fried Chicken at age 62. At 73, he sold it for $2 million. Similarly, Ray Kroc had a wandering career selling ribbons, playing piano, and working at the stock exchange before purchasing an efficient fast-food restaurant and scaling it up into McDonald’s.
“Slow at the start, late bloomers are still sprinting during that final lap — they do not slow down as age brings its decay. They are seeking. They are striving. They are in it with all their heart.”
Perhaps because established institutions shun late bloomers for so long, some become rather pessimistic or angry in their later years. Many great artists, like Rembrandt and Michelangelo, channel those feelings into their work and produce astonishing masterpieces. But not all late bloomers adopt a dark view of the world. They simply develop a more multifaceted perspective. Late bloomers understand, more than most, how to navigate the tensions between ideas. They never stop pushing themselves to do more, learn more, and give more until the end of their lives.
About the Author
David Brooks is a political and cultural commentator who writes for The Atlantic and The New York Times. His most recent book is How to Know a Person.