Why It’s Never Too Late to Dream a New Dream

And the quiet lies that stop you from starting again

View of Kuata Bay - Fiji

What aren’t you doing right now that you know, deep down, you want to be doing?

Not in a hustle culture way. Not in the “crush your goals” nonsense we see all over social media.

I mean in the quiet, meaningful way. The book you’ve been thinking about writing. The business idea you’ve scribbled on the back of napkins. The plan to pack your bags and finally spend a few months somewhere new, just because you can.

If there’s something pulling at you, some version of a life you haven’t quite stepped into yet, then this is for you.

Because chances are, it’s not a lack of money, time, or knowledge that’s holding you back.

It’s the stories you’ve been telling yourself about why now’s not the right time. And if you’re anything like I was, you’ve been telling yourself those stories for a while.

Coming Back to Life After a Detour

Years ago, I was everywhere online. Building a following, selling digital products, launching courses, running webinars from hotel rooms across the world. I was in my groove — visible, energised, profitable.

Then my husband and I built a seven-figure Amazon business and ran coaching alongside it. After our most successful financial year ever, I was done.

Completely wrung out.

Somewhere along the way, I’d lost the spark for what I was doing. I didn’t love the niche (we were selling kitchen products). I didn’t feel connected to the work. And instead of pivoting or tweaking or finding a new direction, I just… stopped.

My confidence took a hit. I quietly disappeared from public view and stayed behind the scenes for a while.

But the truth is, I’ve always loved the online business model, the creativity, the flexibility, the way it allows you to build something meaningful around your own lifestyle. So I knew I wasn’t done. I just needed to find a way to make it feel like mine again.

When I finally felt ready to re-engage and start something new — something rooted in travel, purpose, and freedom — the landscape had shifted. There were new platforms. New strategies. New rules. Everything was louder, faster, more crowded.

And for the first time, I didn’t know where I fit.

I felt like a dinosaur in skinny jeans. Overwhelmed, self-conscious, and unsure if I still had a place in the conversation.

It’s a Jungle Out There

So I hid behind a blog for a while (until Google pulled the plug), then flirted with LinkedIn, posted a few reels, started a newsletter, launched a group… and had some friends tell me they’d never realised how indecisive I was. But really, I was just trying to find my footing in a digital jungle that had grown wild while I was away.

It’s taken a while, some wandering, experimenting, and second-guessing, but step by step, I’ve started to find my feet again. And with each move forward, even the clumsy ones, I’ve felt a bit more grounded, more capable, and more confident.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned through it all, it’s this: clarity doesn’t come before you start. It comes because you start.

So if you’re standing where I was, on the edge of something, wondering if you’re too late, too tired, or too far behind to begin again, let me say this clearly.

You’re not.

But you do need to look at the stories you’re telling yourself as they’re likely the only things standing in your way.

The Stories That Keep You Standing Still

We don’t always recognise them as stories. They sound like the truth. Wisdom, even. But they’re not. They’re just fear, wrapped in logic.

Here are a few I know well — and maybe you do too.

I Don’t Know If I Can Do This.

Of course you don’t. None of us do when we start something new. But if you’re over 50 you’ve done all the hard things. Probably a hundred times over.

You’ve worked jobs you didn’t love. Raised families. Managed finances, relationships, health challenges. You’ve navigated heartbreak and joy and everything in between. You’re not new to challenges. You’re just new to this challenge.

What you might lack in technical know-how, you more than make up for in wisdom, perspective, and sheer bloody-minded resilience. Starting something new doesn’t mean starting from zero. You’re bringing decades of experience with you.

Side note: When I started my blog in late 2019, SEO was like a foreign language to me. I went to a conference in Chiang Mai and they may as well have been speaking Mongolian for all I understood. It was my tenacity, not my know how, that got me to 100k views a month.

I’ll Start When I’ve Got More Time (or Money)

This one’s sneaky because it sounds practical. But it’s often just a delay tactic in disguise.

There’s rarely ever more time. Or a perfect moment. Or enough money sitting quietly in an account, waiting for your dream to begin.

Life doesn’t pause to give you a clean runway. You carve out time by turning off “Clarkson’s Farm” in the evening and working on your idea instead.

You free up money by skipping a few impulse purchases and choosing momentum over comfort.

And often, it doesn’t take as much as you think. You don’t need a six-month runway. You need a weekend, a conversation, a first draft. Something that gets you moving.

Action is what creates clarity, and more often than not, progress pays for itself.

I Need to Get Everything In Place First.

I’m a menopausal Virgo, so believe me, I’m no stranger to wasting time trying to line up imaginary ducks.

Not just in business — in everything. Travel plans, clearing the calendar, colour-coding the spreadsheet. I’ve convinced myself on more than one occasion that once everything was perfectly in place, I’d be ready.

But life rarely plays along. The ducks don’t line up. They wander off, get distracted, and do their own thing.

Progress doesn’t come from perfect prep. It comes from starting anyway — even when things feel a bit messy, uncertain and you don’t have all the information.

Waiting for everything to be “just right” is often just a very convincing way of standing still.

I’m Too Old.

That's bollocks and you know it.

Move on.

Those Who Matter Don’t Mind

One of my mum’s favourite quotes was from Dr. Seuss: “Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”

She used to say it to me whenever I was worried about what people might think.

Because that fear we have, that people will laugh, roll their eyes, or whisper behind our backs, is powerful.

It stops more dreams than failure ever will.

But most of the time, it’s not even true. People aren’t paying nearly as much attention to us as we imagine.

And the few who are? Probably aren’t doing anything risky themselves.

Anyone worth listening to isn’t sitting around criticising people who are trying to do something brave. They’re either too busy living their own lives, or they’re cheering you on, because they get it.

As Brene Brown says;

“If you are not in the arena getting your ass kicked on occasion, I am not interested in or open to your feedback.”

I Don’t Have the Energy I Used To

Nope. Me neither. But the good news is you don’t need it.

You’re not trying to build a silicon valley unicorn here. You don’t need to hustle 24/7, or work your fingers to the bone to meet the needs of greedy investors.

You don’t need millions of bucks! You just need a rhythm that suits your life now.

You’ve learned how to work smarter. You know how to protect your time, honour your energy, and create sustainable routines. You don’t need to run on adrenaline.

Small steps. Consistent effort. Focused time. That’s more than enough.

What If I Fail?

Well… what if you do?

You get up. Dust yourself off and try again. (Another of my Mum's old gems).

Failure isn’t your enemy. Fear is. And most of the time, failure is far less painful than the years we spend avoiding it.

At this stage of life, the real risk isn’t that you’ll fall flat. It’s that you’ll let your best ideas gather dust because you were too scared to try.

What’s the Alternative?

Start telling yourself better stories.

Stories that honour what you’ve done. That recognise what you’re capable of and that allow space for imperfection, reinvention, and joy.

You don’t need permission and you don’t need to wait. You just need to choose a new story and take a step, no matter how small, in that direction.

The longer you wait for your confidence to show up, the harder it gets. But the moment you start moving, it begins to build. And with it, so does your belief in what’s possible.

Just Begin

If you’re circling something, a dream, a shift, a new idea, don’t let it float forever.

You don’t have to leap. But you do have to begin. One action. One message. One imperfect move that signals to yourself: I’m doing this.

Because it’s never too late to dream a new dream.

And it’s certainly never too late to start walking toward it.