Article first published as It's Better Late Than Never on Technorati.
He pointed out to his entourage followed by a big shout after a big semifinal win.
She lay down on the court followed by looking at her husband and coach after her first grand slam victory.
He won the second match with his team 15 points down and got high fives by his teammates after getting the NBA final series tied 1-1.
Roger Federer, Li Na, and Dirk Nowitzki- the three current hot players on the circuit right now. You look at them and wonder in awe. How can they make everything look so tangible?
All three have one thing in common- Resolve to bounce back against extreme odds and critics. As Human beings grow old and grey, our risk taking ability and belief in ourselves also takes a down slide. And top that with our earlier failures, we start to loose belief in ourselves..
One question keeps popping out of my mind? Can I make it? People who have achieved the same goal that i long for/crave for(people who are living my dream) were so young or maybe they were just lucky that they got the opportunity right at their doorsteps . I wish to be one of them or to be young again (yeah I know we all are the same). Will I be able to do this?
These thoughts continued to haunt me at every stage of my life when I used to compare myself with people who had done better than me, or who were younger than me and were aspiring for the same goal. Be It MBA exams or job interview, it never left me until one day I realized is it too late for me to start up a new thing in my life?
You look at Li NA- a player who quit tennis to study journalism and came back and was virtually unknown till the age of 28. Roger Federer-who people had thought was downright underdog in front of Djokovic- 4 years younger than him/fresh legs. Dirk Nowitzki who had lost the opportunity in 2006 to win the NBA finals and now at the age of 32 is trying to compete with a team of stars 4-6 years younger than him. Going by the natural thoughts, one would think that they should have given it up and said that No we cannot do this? How lucky was Martina Hingis to have won her first title so young, how can i beat Djokovic when he is so young and is the best player currently, how can i even think of competing with a star studded team with the best players when i am 32, old enough to retire maybe?
But they didn’t and they never will. What makes these players so unique is their will to fight back and give their best no matter how tough the circumstances are. It doesn't matter whether they are too old enough by the books, or they have stiff competition from younger people, for them It’s never too late.
The sheer grit and determination is what sets these players apart. And I have strongly believed that god has given every human being two hands, two legs, two eyes, and one brain for a reason. So if these people can come up with such sheer resolve, is it hard enough for me to become strong willed in my pursuit of goal. So what if people think that i m not capable to do it, it is me who has to decide whether i can do it or not? Whether i can give my 100 percent and not lose hope.
There are so many examples to substantiate that ITS BETTER LATE THAN NEVER. Be it Andre Agassi or Winston Churchill (age of 62) or Abraham Lincoln, we all have it in ourselves to come back and achieve our goals. If one man can do it, so can you. Imagine all these people, if they would have given up and not tried what they would have missed? Do you really want to quit and not have that one thing in your life which you so dearly want? Because you think that you are too old enough, or right time has gone or there are more talented young people than you?
Just believe in yourself and never ever give up. Because if you do, it won’t be that god has made these people any different, it will be just that we are lazy enough to put in hard work in our fields. Always remember It’s better late than never.