If
Colonel Sanders can do it, you can do it.
Maybe you’re not
ready to retire, but your current career just isn’t doing it for you anymore.
Interests change, skills change, goals change. But never fear — you don’t need
to stay in a job you’re no longer passionate about. Need proof? Look no further
than these 11 illustrious people who pursued a new passion post-50.
1. Colonel Sanders
Harland Sanders’
finger-licking good chicken may be world-renowned now, but it took him several
decades to find that sweet spot. Sanders held a number of
jobs before 50, including farmer, fireman, insurance salesman and
streetcar conductor.
At 40, he began
running a Kentucky service station, where he also offered fried chicken to
hungry patrons. By 1935, Sanders’ recipe had become so regionally famous that
Governor Ruby Laffoon honored him with an official Kentucky colonel title. The
Colonel franchised in 1952, at the age of 62. He was in his 70s when he sold
his interest in KFC for $2 million — and that’s not chicken scratch.
2. Laura Ingalls
Wilder
The Little House
on the Prairie author started her career as a teacher when she was just 16,
but later admitted that she never particularly cared for it. She and her
husband Almanzo became proficient at farming, and she began writing articles
for local farm journals on the side. She also worked at the Farm Loan
Association, helping local farmers get loans.
Like so many others,
the Wilders took a hit during the Great Depression — and that’s when she tried
her hand at writing novels. First published in 1932 when
Ingalls was 65, the Little House books have delighted
children and adults alike for nearly 90 years.
3. Duncan Hines
There’s a good chance
his cake mix is in your pantry right now, but Duncan Hines — who was indeed a
real person — didn’t discover his culinary career until he was 55.
A seasoned traveler
thanks to his career as a salesman, Hines assembled
a widely circulated list of quality restaurants across the U.S. His reviews
eventually led to a book, Adventures in Good Eating, and in turn, a line
of baked goods bearing his name. Hines was never much of a cook himself
— but he sure knew how to spot ‘em.
4. Ray Kroc
The McDonald’s
magnate was, like several other entries on our list, a salesman by trade. It
was during
one of his cross-country jaunts selling five-spindle milkshake mixers to
drugstores and restaurants that Kroc, then 50, met Dick and Mac McDonald.
Wowed by their
self-service burger joint, he quickly convinced them to franchise. Kroc
transformed himself from a guy hawking milkshake mixers to a bonafide burger
baron: By 1965, at the age of 63, McDonald’s had opened 400 restaurants in 44
states.
5. Leo Goodwin
The founder of GEICO
(not pictured) didn’t hit the ground running in the insurance world until he
was 50. In 1936, the former accountant established the
company as a pioneer in low-cost insurance, first targeted at
government employees (GEICO originally stood for Government Employees Insurance
COmpany).
6. Julia Child
Everyone’s favorite
French chef led a fascinating life long before she became famous: Her career began at the Office
of Strategic Services, a government agency that would later become the CIA.
There, she helped develop a shark repellant, and later served as Chief of the
OSS Registry, complete with top security clearances.
After marrying Paul
Child, Julia took a cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu — and was deemed
“unqualified” to move into the haute cuisine course. She eventually conquered
it, obviously, publishing Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One, in
1961. She was 49. The resultant TV show, The French Chef, debuted two
years later, introducing Julia’s effervescent personality to the world.
7. Taikichiro Mori
This Japanese real
estate mogul had retired
as the head of the School of Commerce at Yokohama City University in Tokyo
before he made his billions. Yes, billions. Mori’s investments in
downtown Tokyo real estate shot him to the top of the list
of the world’s richest people in the early ’90s.
8. Grandma Moses
Anna Mary Moses,
better known as folk artist Grandma Moses, began painting at the age of 77 as a
hobby “to keep busy and
out of mischief.” She originally charged $3 to $5 for her original
pieces, but prices skyrocketed to $10,000
by the time she died at the age of 101 in 1962. In 2006, her painting Sugaring
Off sold for $1.36 million at
a Christie’s auction.
9. Bram Stoker
The celebrated author
had five decades under his belt before Dracula was published in 1897.
Although Stoker had a few writing credits to his name, including some short
stories and a thrilling non-fiction work entitled The Duties of Clerks of
Petty Sessions in Ireland, his main line of work was managing the Lyceum Theater,
one of the most successful venues in London.
10. Ronald Reagan
Perhaps one of the
most famous career switches in recent history, actor Ronald Reagan was 54 when
he announced he was running for governor of California in 1965. His political
career worked out well for him, of course — he became the 40th president of the
United States in 1981.
11. Arnold
Schwarzengger
The Terminator followed
in the Gipper’s footsteps 22 years later, leaving a successful career in
Hollywood to become the governor of California in 2003 at the age of 56.
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