I'm 46, just finished reading Atlas Shrugged on Friday night. It was my first exposure to Ayn Rand and Objectivism. To most people around me, I probably appear to be fairly successful but I put my own happiness on the back burner (or felt guilt if I didn't) for most of my life. I have not used my talents to their full potential. My job doesn't stretch me. I have been settling in so many ways and been unhappy for it. It didn't take much reading before I started to tell myself, "No more!".

I don't consider my age any barrier to what I can now achieve with my life. I always wanted to work for myself, to invent/create/discover something of purpose and always knew I had the brains and drive somewhere in me to do it. I have a constant desire to gain knowledge and technology thrills me every day.

So, single, no dependants and with a considerable amount of life experience in my back pocket I am in a stronger position than ever to be all that I can be. There are no excuses, no one to hold me back.

Thank you for posting this video. Very timely indeed for me and I have bookmarked it.

I'm firing on all cylinders. I need to come up with a seriously good idea now! :-)

I have some strong opinions on this topic: When I was young, I watched my parents 'legislate' themselves into old age, "I can't do that anymore. I am too old."

The 'that' to which they were referring was something like 'playing tennis' or 'camping'. They were in their 50's at the time - and could definitely have done these things. But they knew that they were supposed to be in a pigeonhole of 'age' and so they conformed to the expected standards...and became old before they needed to be.

I was late-born, and watched this as I grew up: I resolved not to do this as I got older. Now, I am 62, and I watch the people around me at work. I hear them talk about their parents who are old and can't take care of themselves any more. These people are OLD!...and some of them are younger than I am in years (the rest are about 5 years older).

I regularly do two martial arts and I am learning how to joust. I camp by myself in the wilderness (OK, OK...I have 300lbs of German Shepherd dogs as excellent company and general deterrent). I would like to go on an archaeological dig in the Eastern Mediterranean (trying to figure out how to do that in combination with work). I have no plans on retiring.

Stop telling yourself that you are Old. Why? Because it works when you do, and you don't really want that, do you?

Jan

No. Need to do so. Will finish series I am currently re-rereading, then I have several movies as assignments to watch for film ideas.

Jan

Jan

Interesting video. I got half way through it. I'm late 40s. I've always been an engineer, and plan to phase out of engineering over the next several years or so as, in my opinion, America's need for engineers continues to falter. But, about 7 years ago I went back to school to study another profession. Within a year, a firm where I had been a client hired me. I continued with the schooling. I'm not actually allowed to say exactly what I'm doing. But, I work that 4pm to midnight block doing it, and I'm really enjoying it. My 20-something clients are my favorite because they want to learn (and basic financial stuff, no matter what you're told, isn't taught in school unless you REALLY seek it out). I do have a problem with the general public in my age group that flies in the face of what the guy in the video is saying. In general, they are intellectually lazy...not all of us, but a majority.

Reading Atlas Shrugged was a huge inspiration to me. One of my favorite quotes: “The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.” I like to add, "Stay the F out of my way."

I was inspired by the various writings of Ayn Rand. It helped me realize that I could achieve my goals no matter what my obstacles. But I was a piker compared to my son. As an example, he established two thriving businesses with an investment of $200. The first was an exposition business, putting on local comic book conventions, and record collector conventions which morphed into a mail order firm. Eight years later, he created a publishing firm that published comic books, graphic novels and magazines with an initial investment of a mere $200. Of course, the factors that made the difference were hard work and determination. The story of his business life can be summed up as No Barriers which is the title of the graphic bio of his life, due out late next year.

I whole heartedly agree with the premise of your piece and no I don't think our best days are behind us.
ironically, that always seems to be the prevailing mood of the country in EVERY decade, WWI! WWII, the Depression, the recession, Korea, Cold War, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, housing market. and with each age, everyone feared for the "up and coming generation" - flappers, tiny boppers, flower children, the me gen, gen x, gen next etc. pessimism, has always been a black thread that runs through the fabric of American Society.
Yet we have managed not only survive but to thrive. As our friend Stossel continually points out, we have more personal wealth, more freedom ( of the kind this author references) and more leisure time.
And if you ask most economists, they are not half as pessimistic about the economy as is the average citizen. So their is a lot of RATIONAL support for optimism.
HOWEVER, the idea of eternal prosperity is not a guarantee. Strong political and economic systems have, and are failing ( see Greece and the EU). The miracle of American capitalism is not the prosperity it has delivered over the last century, but rather the fact that it has done so under the incredible drag, and hobbling of a growing statist, even socialistic government - starting with FDR up to the un-apologetic socialist that is running for the Democratic nomination, not to mention Bernie Sanders ( wink ).
But there is a limit to the power of our economic engine, as Rand started pointing out half a century ago. Being from Iowa, I can't help but think of it like a tractor pull. For those that aren't familiar, tractor owners compete to see how far they can pull a sled, the weight of which steadily increases by every foot traveled until it is so heavy the tractor stalls. and it always does. the sled ALWAYS eventually wins.
My fear is that our tractor IS losing ground to the statist sled - by the burden the government is heaping on the it WHILE it is ALSO pulling on the choke, pedaling the brake and syphoning out its fuel.
They don't seem to notice the warning lights on the dash, or even the other tractors up ahead that are already in the ditch. Rather than yank the wheel back to the crown of the road, they seem insistent on following other statist states straight into the ditch.
Given this fact, we don't have the luxury of wringging our hands, our fretting about the future in the same grand tradition of previous generations... The future is now... We need to act positively and aggressively to yank the wheel away from the suicide socialists. I know we are small in number, but that is all the more for each of us to do everything we can to get our hands on the wheel and pull with all our might. Even if we change the course of the nation's tractor and its engine only one degree, we buy ourselves years if not decades of economic survival.
And the more hands people see pulling in the RIGHT direction, the more people will be willing to join in, and maybe, just maybe, keep us on the road, while we reduce the load on our liberty, our pocket books and the pursuit of happiness... Ala Ayn.

BrettRocketSci,
I think it is wonderful that you have taken to reading Ayn Rand in depth but I do not believe you fully comprehend what she has been saying. For all of your life there has been development of many conveniences and other wonderful products, however the country has been heading down the road of what appears to be socialism when in fact it is facism and altruism. Because this is the direction of the country the level of development is in decline.

Great message, but OMG HOW INARTICULATE ! "Like" I could hardly hear his message with every other word being "like". Ugh. I find it so sad that the William F. Buckleys and Christopher Hitchens of the world have gone the way of the Dodo bird.

I'm 40. We all remember the old quote that the press is only free to those who own one. I'm 40. Who would have thought in my life time that saying would become obsolete?

the music is delicious -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B8Rh...

and Yes, let's GO!!! -- j
.

I'm 56 and decided to return to graduate school after retiring from the Army. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

He's right, You're right. We have the wisdom, the skills that are not taught in today's world and the ethics to boot. I'm not about to wind down for any one.
I have done things since my 40's [much more than a few years ago] I never imagined I could do, have or enjoy. Yea, I took a hit in 09, but I'm back and even wrote a book while I was regaining upon my losses. That blows my mind.

You must be kidding. Taxation, regulation, and cronyism are all worse than they've ever been in (at least US) history.

Thanks Brett for a stimulating and inspirational link. Blessed with good health, I'm running rings around my 40-something peers though more than twenty years older. If this gig goes south I will enthusiastically hang my shingle out. :)

I like the guy's sentiment. And agree with it. But within the 6 minutes of cheerleading, it was pretty short on details. However, the one detail that he kept emphasizing - instagram - is worth looking into.

One of the comments on the site mentioned that wait a minute, it is not all rainbows and butterflies out there. I can attest to that.

Got laid off at 58/1/2 after 30+ years of working in the gold mining industry for the majors. Myself and a couple of others got together and said, perfect, now let's put all of these skills and all of this experience to work for us for once. A year and half later, we have an excellent project and are about to raise capital to do some drilling and test some of the best exploratory targets I have seen in my career. What a different road it has been. Absolutely fulfilling.

And then the Department of the Interior and the US Forest Service drops the sage grouse bombshell in May - now finalized two weeks ago with a ROD and a cfr published land segregation - and are taking our project with a mineral withdrawal.

Now, I'm 60 and have to turn around and start all over. Thanks, government.

This is an awesome video!!

I have quite a few years beyond 40, so rather than complain, I believe the best thing I can do is try to help those coming along not repeat the mistakes earlier generations have made. What's becoming more difficult for the younger folk is allocating time to ponder, with everything happening so much faster, but if anything is more needed, it's giving yourself time to think about consequences of what you're about to do.

My father always told me to make the big mistakes early, when it's cheaper and easier to fix them, and that still applies. It's tempting to try to imagine or simulate a concept and then charge into production, but prototypes done early can still show you what you didn't think about.

3D printing is a lot bigger deal than many have yet recognized, and it makes the creation of prototypes much easier. I'm amazed when I see a prosthetic hand that's been printed, usable at a cost one hundredth that of prior technology.

Crowdfunding is a wonderful tool, avoiding the turmoil of begging for money from people who are just in the game for profit. While there's been some effort to try to open up the conventional investment opportunities to less affluent, there's still the opportunity to rip off the innocent. Crowdfunding taps into motivations that are more emotional and intellectual, from an audience that better appreciates what you offer, and isn't looking for a payoff.

Information security technology is lagging, and keeping your intellectual property safe can be difficult. I will pass along advice from my many years with top secret, compartmented systems, and that is that an "air gap" remains the best form of information security. Develop your ideas on a system without Internet connections, and selectively transfer news or other information via another computer, using flash drive or CD/DVD for information you wish to be communicated to outsiders. Any incoming data has to be thoroughly checked out before delivering it to the closed system. Cloud storage is tempting, but should be used only for information you don't care so much if it's leaked. Personal information should be treated the same way as classified.

That's what I have to offer to the upcoming generations. Unless we do something stupid to destroy our civilization, an exciting future lies ahead.

"Those of us over 40 have the benefit of both hindsight and foresight, along with our personal experiences and the skills we have accumulated. As long as we are willing to continue learning new tools and methods, why aren't more of us excited about the opportunities available to us today?" This is so true, but often times we are bound by the "golden handcuffs" of getting by "doing what we're been pretty good at doing", rather than finding a new paradigm for taking our experience and expertise to new markets, in new delivery and sales modes. Thanks for the link, Brett, it is encouraging for all of us. I am working on this myself, and hope to be an example of re-engineering my skills to a new and mobile workplace/sales platform.

Brett: Interesting video- now that's someone bursting at the seams with energy- he delivers a solid message. Thanks.