Older and feeling behind

[Tommy92l]

So what? You're trying to become an actor?

Stop finding ways to feel bad. MJ found his way around the age of 26.

Correct, I've told other people this but I started doing Youtube and I have 30,000 followers in 1 1/2 years and it's steadily growing.

When I tell people I want that to be my way out, in terms of exposure and funding acting, they all say "You'll be a flash in the pan". But anyway, yes. That's my goal. I have started and I love creating new things that give me that entrepreunerial high, however, starting at 19 wouldn't have hurt me, either.

 

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[RHL]

When Julius Caesar was 20, just after the first time he was elected to office, he encountered a statue of Alexander the Great, and was reportedly thrown into a fit of despair because Alexander the Great had already conquered half the known world by that age.

So Caesar gave up, went home, and did nothing important the rest of his life. Today nobody except classics scholars has ever heard of him.

 

[Villain]

I'm not super successful or anything but I can relate to what you are saying.

I am a semi-pro musician and struggled with the same doubt for years when I was about your age. Why couldn't I have started as a toddler or in primary school? Why didn't I take music at high school? Why didn't I study music at university? Will I ever make it when I'm up against people that did all these things?

I had confidence issues and wondered if I was just wasting my time. I became quite depressed and was very close to quitting at one point.

The truth is there are no guarantees in the arts, but for some reason I stuck with it through thick and thin. This was well before I discovered TMF , and I was a firm believer of the “do what you love” myth.

10 years since I first picked up a pair of sticks, I now make a small but steady income from playing. I am scheduled to play 30 paying gigs this year. Nothing to write home about, but it’s okay for a student and beats working at McDonald’s.

More important than the cash is the satisfaction from having persevered despite the odds being against you, despite the ridicule from "friends" and even other musicians who are jealous of your success.

There is immense satisfaction to be had, even if you don't end up making a living out of it.

So if I could turn back the clock, I would do it all over again. But I would have different expectations financially and would start a business at the same time.

 

[Tony Nguyen]

"a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step" - Confucius
The best thing you can do is to become a better you the day after in life you should never compare yourself to people because if you do you will never be better then everyone else. You should always try to beat who you were yesterday. After all that is done you will look back and wonder why you ever thought that way.

 

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[Rsimmons016]

I'm 22 but even still, when I look at some actors, musicians, celebrities, entrepreneurs... they all seem to have already accomplished something huge by the age of 20, or early 20's.

I know we're not supposed to compare, but do you guys ever sort of get that gut sinking feeling when you see how far others have come at such a young age?

Tommy921,

As everyone else has pointed out, at the ripe age of 22 you have plenty of time left in this life. I am about to hit 31 and only recently started my own thing (trying to retire before 40). You have a lot of time to get where you want to be, start today and stop worrying about yesterday.

 

[Ninjakid]

I'm 22 but even still, when I look at some actors, musicians, celebrities, entrepreneurs... they all seem to have already accomplished something huge by the age of 20, or early 20's.

I know we're not supposed to compare, but do you guys ever sort of get that gut sinking feeling when you see how far others have come at such a young age?

I know what you mean bro. I felt that way too for a while (I'm almost 21 now) and I would read about teenagers who became millionaires and I would always feel like, "wow, I'm so behind these guys! They're so much better than me."

But right now looking back at it, I was a much different person at 15 than I was today. My life was very turbulent, and I didn't really have any direction at that time. I struggled with depression a lot, and I was creating a lot of negativity in my life.

There's a lot more to life than starting a business, becoming an entrepreneur and being a millionaire. We all have to deal with things, and we spend life growing, and learning more to better ourselves.

The fact is, I wasn't who I am now at that age. I had to go through shit, battle myself and others, and all these experiences helped shape me into who I am now.

I'm still growing, still learning, and still evolving as a person. And now, I feel my ambitions are the next step for to take in this brilliant, and colourful journey called life. And I know, because of what I know now, my goals will be so much more meaningful.

Anyways, I did a lot of talking about me here, but the point I'm trying to make is that everything in your life has happened in the perfect sequence to lead you to where you are now. This is the most perfect time, and you are the best you that you could be right now to take the next step. You will improve, and will learn, and you will help others to do the same on your journey, but at this time here and right now, all you need to do is take the next step in the direction you want to take, and you will make something beautiful happen.

Don't compare yourself to others, and don't think you are less than others. Your journey is about YOU and YOUR story, and what YOU can do with what you know now. And you might look back on everything one day and say "I couldn't be more proud of what I've done."

And also, you're only 22, just about anyone would think you're really young XD
And if you read biographies of people you admire, you'll find that many actually started later than you.

 

[Mattie]

Yay! Some people succeed the first part of their lives and fail the second part. Others fail at the first part and succeed the second part. Some succeed their whole lives. Others fail their whole lives. What part are you behind?

 

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[oldscool]

Just sayin'...

started or succeeded?

 

[MayaMagpie]

Started.
In most cases, success probably followed soon after. And they often had a history of failures or semi-successes before that. Just shows that stuff can happen at any point in your life, if you keep pushing. Hope so anyway, cause I'm not getting any younger...

 

[davedev]

Correct, I've told other people this but I started doing Youtube and I have 30,000 followers in 1 1/2 years and it's steadily growing.
When I tell people I want that to be my way out, in terms of exposure and funding acting, they all say "You'll be a flash in the pan". But anyway, yes. That's my goal. I have started and I love creating new things that give me that entrepreunerial high, however, starting at 19 wouldn't have hurt me, either.

Ok that changes things. Perhaps join Quora and read up on some late bloomers? Make friends with those who started a bit late?

 

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[Tommy92l]

Ok that changes things. Perhaps join Quora and read up on some late bloomers? Make friends with those who started a bit late?

Well does that change things for better or worse?

 

[Chazmania]

Lol! Yea really, if you haven't made it by 22 life must surely be a waste!!

Dude just messing with you - but you gotta expect a little abuse for a comment like that! You know there are people on this forum much older than you (..uh like me) and at 22 you have enough time to get your head on straight and still do very well for yourself at a young age. I'd kill to have found info like this forum and MJ's book at 22. Count yourself as very fortunate.

 

[Kyle Tully]

Not everyone starts acting early...

http://www.imdb.com/list/ls056459095/

But more important than all this navel gazing is what are you doing to grow your acting business?



Sent from my iPhone using magic.

 

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[davedev]

Well does that change things for better or worse?

That's for you to decide. I was under the assumption you wanted to start a ecommerce store, do some consulting or saas perhaps.

I know nothing about the trials and tribulations of the acting profession, just to find some people who got started 'late' and still crushed it.

Good luck.

 

[Rinzler]

You're very fortunate to have everyone here supporting you and giving you a push!
I'm also 22 and I found this website a few months ago. Sure, I have my moments where I feel as if I should have started sooner, but at least you're starting! Some people can have all the information or teaching in the world, and let it all go to waste.

Another version of what seems to be popular on this thread is, "Don't compare your Chapter 1 to someone else's Chapter 20"
I myself run a YouTube as well as a Twitch.tv channel for what I do and felt great that I was finally getting some exposure. So you're on the right path with YouTube! People love content and with YouTube it's not Quality > Quantity. You need Quality and Quantity together at all times and remain consistent and even experiement every now and then with what you produce. Some people may not be following you for you, they might just be following the content. Or it could be the other way around. Keep at it and apply for a YouTube Partnership! And network with the right people if you can.

 

[SYK]

Build a time machine and solve two problems at once.

1. Use it to go back and start acting when your were 10.
2. Set it up as a fastlane business, charging other 22 year olds for the opportunity to go back and save their wasted lives. Then watch the passive income role in!

 

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[Wuz]

Our minds in generally will find a way to come up with a excuses to not start. Dont try to stop it. See it for what it is. Excuses.


if you re 22 years old, you have more experience in life. You can use that as an advantage to not make mistakes that you would probably make if you was younger and ramp up your process.

You have more probabilities of having more resources at your diposal than a younger person.

Look for the opportunity.

 

[Thiago Machado]

I feel the same way. I'm 21 moved around a bit, and I sometimes it hits me. I start to see some of my friends graduating from college... celebrities that are already multimillionaires at my age.

I can easily identify myself with every word you say.

But its like everyone else here said: There''s nothing we can do about it. All we can do is start now.

* P.S. Believe it or not we are still pretty young! lol

 

[Thiago Machado]

Build a time machine and solve two problems at once.

1. Use it to go back and start acting when your were 10.
2. Set it up as a fastlane business, charging other 22 year olds for the opportunity to go back and save their wasted lives. Then watch the passive income role in!

Hahahahaha brilliant!

 

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[T14]

Do some research on the "availability heuristic" and then try to see how it relates to what you, personally, focus on.

Everyone here generally shares similar views in that we tend to focus mainly on subjects like entrepreneurship, marketing, business, wealth creation, working hard and smart, etc. It's easy to get caught up in in the Business INSIDERS articles and Entrepreneur magazines and compare ourselves to what we see and read.

My mom loves reading the arrest pages in our local newspaper. The obituaries too. She views the world as a sad, scary, dangerous place. I wonder why, huh?

Use what you see and hear to your advantage. Rather than getting down on yourself for not being "great" like these televised tycoons, use it as inspiration to come up with a plan. Then take action.

 

[Hope]

"A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires" - Marcus Aurelius.

Never compare yourself to others, compare yourself only with whom you aspire to become.

 

[Franky Neizer]

@Tommy92l Only 22 and you think you are too old, I was expecting between 55- 77. I think you are too young to be on here if you think are are too old to succeed at 22. Those celebrities you're comparing yourself with how long do their 'premature' success last, but imagine being a bit matured and building your success, you tend to rise on a solid foundation and it will take a lot more than bad planning to bring you down.

I'm 24 and about to start my first company; I've owned a couple of retail businesses though...

 

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[HappyFighter]

Alright. I feel the need to post this. It's from my blog written a year ago.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two Downsides of Comparing Yourself to Others

Are there times in your life when you compared yourself to another person — as a result you were happy because you are better than that person — you’re either wealthier, taller, prettier, etc.

Then there are the times when we felt dissatisfied with ourselves — simply because another person was wealthier, taller, prettier than us.

That’s simply how life is. They said we should be satisfied by what we have, you may or not agree, that’s fine. I want to point out how being superior and inferior to others can become a downside:

1. When we are inferior to others.
   We can feel dissatisfaction with ourselves. Sometimes we can even feel jealous towards another person. They say feeling jealous is bad, but it just happens. Remember though that it’s not what we initially feel that matters, what we do about how we felt is what’s more important.
   What can we do? We get better — even if we don’t surpass that other person (or maybe we would), we could have then transmuted a negative (jealously, low self-esteem, etc.) into
   a positive (improvement of oneself).
   
   For example, if you’re overweight (like I used to be) and saw a well-built man while walking down the street. Have you felt uncomfortable? Admit it — I used to. What should we then? We improve ourselves by eating healthy and exercising. It might be simplistic to you, but I’ll argue that’s the best way to react to that stimulus.
   
   Who knows, maybe next time you’ll be the one that other people admire (or unfortunately for some, be jealous of).
   
   
2. When we are superior to others.
   You may wonder why I even try to point this out as a downside. How can something that makes you happy become a downside?
   Again it depends. It can only be a downside when we feel complacent in our current state that we stop growing. For example, if you are wealthier than your other neighbors, you may look yourself as the king or queen of your neighborhood, and because of that, stop finding and implementing ways to become even more wealthier.
   
   What should we do in that situation? We set our own standards. They say we are the average of the top five people we hang-out with. If that is the case, I’m not going to suggest you dump your friends (unless they are bad ones). What you should do is look for inspiration elsewhere (you’re fortunate we have the internet).
   
   For instance if you’re an aspiring writer and you’re showered with praises from your relatives and friends, try comparing your works with the ones written by best-selling authors and you’ll be humbled (which brings at back to point #1).

You’ll notice that points #1 and #2 are related. Remember: Even though we may deem ourselves superior to others in a particular area, there is always someone better than us, whether that person lived in the past or is yet to be born in the future.

So relax…. Do your best… And most of all…

Enjoy Life!

 

[Mattie]

Exactly, You're 22 years old. Not like you're 80 and haven't been successful. It happens for people at different times in their lives.

 

[jake1720]

I think about that sometimes.

Then I think about all of the epic parties we through at my fraternity and while I was in engineering school (A top school ). Shit that made animal house look like child's play.

Then I remember how many insane experiences I have had until now (22 in 2 days). My life could have been a movie up to this point. Stuff like seeing some of the best electronic dance DJs in south padre island for 3 days straight.

Then I think about the debilitating health problems that I solved myself by taking a semester off for 6 months and reading medical books for ages. It was pretty hopeless thinking I may never get better. Then another 1 1/2 years taking action to fix everything.


Then I don't feel bad anymore.



Let me tell you. Being healthy makes me respect every day so much more.

I tried entrepreneurial ventures, but it turns out you can't be successful unless you're fairly healthy. Learned quite a bit though. Now I'm healthy and going at it hard. If I fixed my health problems I can make it here.




It's the journey brah. I have friends who are rich. Not any happier than anyone else. Zuckerberg's wife is not even good looking at all. To each his own. Go get it.

 

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