There are no age limits

I was nine when I wrote my first book.

That experience led me to do other things that weren’t considered age-appropriate.

Like co-leading an arm of the Red Cross at fifteen - sadly, still the youngest on record in the history of that office - then starting a social venture and a leadership school at sixteen and nineteen. For a while, I was the youngest in almost every important room I was in.¹

But I’m not that special. Many people have done things others said people their age don’t do.²

If you take a moment to think about this, names and faces will come to mind. Try it. Got any?

Many have been told they are either too young or too old for specific quests. Many tell and believe this story about themselves.

Too young to learn to swim. Too old to run a business. Too young to have a bank account. Too old to dance on the playground. Too young to join a university. Too old to learn a new system.

Age appropriateness is the average measure we use so we leave no one behind. It’s not the yardstick to decide when to do things.

It only matters when we consider ourselves too young or too old to care. Once we truly care and we can do the work the quest requires in ways that harm no one, age no longer matters.

Remember this next time someone says something can’t be done because of age. And the next time you are tempted to say it.

1. Yes, I had parents and older friends who didn’t talk to me like I was a child with little understanding. People who allowed my woander. I’m eternally grateful for them.

2. Was it wildly successful? Well, that wasn’t the goal. The goal was to care enough to do that thing.