Imagine! 40 is old. The California State Supreme Court has said that when are you are 40, employers can discriminate against employees using this age as the excuse.

I attempt to ignore all headlines in the newspapers. I try not to react to how I feel when I read them.

I try I really do, but I cannot stop today.

It's not new, but now, extremely blatant. I'm angry, but so what. That's my problem. Let it go and move on.

I gave up that particular battle years ago. I became self-employed in various disguises. I chose to be in a business that did not discriminate because I was a woman.

In my last salaried position I was paid half the salary of the former male manager. Did more and received less. I then decided only to work in a way that I was paid for my skills, not my age, weight, gender or marital status. This was my motivation. Enough was enough. Finished up, walked away and never looked back. On to better things.

I started as an independent contractor, then went on to manage other independent professionals. The next step was owning my own business. I reinvented my business several times over, and in the process, myself.

During all this time, I don't recall reading a newspaper or paying attention to headlines. Maybe I knew more than I thought at the time.

As my wise daughter so brilliantly asks: "What does it have to do with me?" Rightly so. Stop wasting time with things that have nothing to do with you or things and people you cannot change.

The solution?

Ignore what doesn't serve you—in my case, news headlines—and use that time to start your own business. Small, big, it doesn't matter. Just do something.

Hear the one about the Cat Massage Lady? She started a business giving cats massages. Really. Then she went on to books, tapes, CDs, videos and seminars. Now she's training others to do the same.

There is Art for Infants, Scrapbooks for Anything and not one of the thousands of new businesses has anything to do with the internet. They all have to do with necessity being the mother of invention, desperation and a desire not to be discriminated when you are 40. Oh, yeah, and making money, too.

Walk through your house, room by room, including the attic and the garage. What do you do well? What excites you? If it excites you, it excites someone else. How can you make it work for others?

Whether you are 7, 47 or 70, you can start your own business. I saw a young girl in front of a Designer's Showcase house that was selling cake slices and cookies. I asked how she was doing and who made the sweets. She said she did, made $34.00 and was happy and proud.
So was I. No one told her she couldn't. There may be no limits to her desires.

By now you are saying, OK, that works for others, but not me. On the contrary. No more excuses. If you already own a business or are an independent professional, you can still do something else. Create something new or invent a niche within your existing business.

If you have a 9-5 job, set aside 10 per cent of your day, that's 24 minutes, and take inventory. What are your hobbies? Look at what's missing and fill the void.

But first, STOP! Stop reading headlines or doing anything that provides no benefit to your life or does not align with your own personal values.

Learn that living your own life will leave you with no time to read the headlines and loads of time to be creative and really Celebrate Your Life, no matter what your age.

© 2002 Joanne Victoria, All rights reserved worldwide.

You are free to reprint or repost this article, in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution. Please include the following information:

web: http://joannevictoria.com
e-mail: joanne@joannevictoria.com
telephone: (360) 377-2995

Once published, please send a hard copy to New Directions,
2916 NW Bucklin Hill Road #327 — Silverdale, WA 98383, or e-mail the URL link to joanne@joannevictoria.com. Thank you!

Back to "Articles" page