Life Begins at 40: You are Young Enough to Make Change!
By Tony Zorc

For Boomers, GenXers, Millennials, and even GenZers our ever increasing complex world means growing up takes longer for all generations now. For many of us, the first 22 years of our lives are essentially pre-decided for us. They are the school years and higher education which come in the form of college, vocational training, or an apprenticeship. With our noses to the grindstone, building our financial independence beginning in our 20s we spend our free time searching for a life partner and/or starting a family of our own. We find hobbies and interests that fit our budget and work schedule, take a few breaks for vacation and the next thing we know, we are turning 40 years old!

It is Never Too Late to Make a Change

It is easy to think as you pass the 40-year-old mark into your 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond that it may be too late to make a change. As an iconoclast I like to challenge this notion all of the time and I have written about it in my new book, Iconoclasm: A Survival Guide in the Post Pandemic Economy, that I wrote and published with Forbes Books. An iconoclast is someone who is the fusion of three things:

  1. They challenge the existing way of doing things
  2. Design a better plan
  3. Execute the plan

The notion of being too old to start something new is one of my favorite paradigms to challenge.

Created a Rap Song at 48

The paradigm that you need to be young to learn how to sing or play music is one that is widespread with our youth obsessed culture. The truth is that you are never too old to learn how to play an instrument or sing, barring some physical limitations such as arthritis.

Learning music is just like learning any other skill in life. The best age to learn how to play music is the one that allows you the free time to do it. My three teenage daughters and wife were horrified when I told them that I wanted to perform a rap at age 48. I had never written a song, sang a song, or played an instrument.

I was listening to a podcast on how to be a more effective communicator when the direction of the content recommended trying to write some poems as an exercise to be a better communicator. I went ahead and wrote some poems and it dawned on me that poetry was truly the basis of rap music. It wasn’t something too difficult for me to learn, even at age 48!

I am an accountant by trade. My company, Accounting Seed,started in 2008 and is the first accounting software platform, so I decided to use my creativity and perform a rap to help promote myself and my customers. I paid for rap lessons, which I completed online via Zoom and I was on my way with the help of a local music producer Nate Middleton from Above Ground Studios in Baltimore to help me find a beat to the rap.

I decided to give it a try and create my first rap video called, Accounting: Scale, Scale, Scale! You can check it out on YouTube here.

Challenge Paradigms on Age

So, what does Tony Zorc creating a rap video about accounting software at age 48 have to do with you? My hope is that you will take my journey as inspiration to try that one thing (maybe more!) that you’ve been avoiding because of age, circumstances, or any other societal “norm” that is holding you back. You can challenge paradigms on age, and to do so, try using the Iconoclast Formula. The Iconoclast Formula can be used to overcome personal struggles like divorce, addiction, failure, and more. Learn more at tonyzorc.com.

Tony Zorc is an Iconoclast, Founder and CEO of Accounting Seed, technology entrepreneur, ForbesBooks author, and CPA for 20+ years. He embodies iconoclasm, the idea of challenging the prescribed way of doing things and coming up with a better, more innovative solution. Accounting Seed – the world’s first accounting platform – is disrupting the cloud accounting industry and has over one thousand customers and fourteen thousand users, and has sustained double digit growth for over ten consecutive years. A father, leader, person of faith, and avid CrossFitter, Tony brings a rare mix of personal and professional experience to the table and seeks to inspire other leaders to create innovation in places where innovation is scarce. Tony has a degree in accounting from Hope College.

You can connect with Tony Zorc via TonyZorc.com, or on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

His new book, Iconoclasm: A Survival Guide in the Post-Pandemic Economy, is available on Amazon, and through all major booksellers.




Comments

Be the first to commment on this article.

Post a Comment