When I was planning on taking this year off to travel the world, a few things indicated to me that I needed to do it sooner or later if I was to accomplish anything in my life. Albert Einstein had achieved his greatest discoveries at the age of 24, I remembered reading an article stating that if people that were more successful in their lives had achieved this success early on, that neurologically ones brain decreased it’s overall capacity as one left their twenties, and then there was the astrological “return of Saturn” that happens around when someone turns 28 which is supposed to be when they can make great changes in their lives.  Now I can’t attest that these were reliable sources that I obtained this information from, regardless I felt since I had yet to accomplish anything at 27, I was most definitely headed for a life of mediocrity if I didn’t make a big change soon.

Just before I left for Spain, I decided to do alittle more digging into the person that inspired this stop: Paulo Coehlo. I knew that he had hiked the Camino and that while walking it he had a spiritual awakening, which would lead him to his career in writing writing the worldwide bestselling book The Alchemist just two years after walking the Camino. What I didn’t know was that he had hiked the Camino at age 39! It wasn’t until he was 41 that he even published a book, then becoming a best selling author. Turns out my idea that anyone over 30 that hadn’t found their dream was destined for mediocrity was very, very incorrect. It was something I needed to believe at the time to make me push forward and actually follow through with this trip. In reality age is just a number, anyone at any time in their life can make a big change, chasing their dreams, searching for passion and meaning in their life. Recently I saw a video on Facebook outlining the lives of some well known celebrities like Oprah and Morgan Freeman, and how they failed numerous times before achieving success in their fields later in life.

Now, as I say that age is just a number and anyone at any time in their life can decide to go off in search of their passion and dreams, there will always be those who argue the opposite. This happens a lot of times when I describe my trip to people, they say “Oh I wish I was young and I could do something like that, but I can’t because of this, this, this,  and this…” or “do it now, as you won’t be able to later.” In the words of Henry Ford, “If you think you can or you can’t, either way you are correct.” Going off in search of passion and dreams is not easy for anyone at any age, it just may require a different set of sacrifices for a 27 vs 40 year old, and it won’t necessarily involve a year off like mine. I do think with age is does become harder mentally to seek this change, as by then the brain is comfortable in more routines and structures. I’ve heard people use the excuse that they can’t change now as they’ve spent the last 15 or so years working the same job, it would be a waste of that time they have invested. What’s more of a waste, is wasting any more time on it if it is not something you love to do. Then comes the excuse of kids… I’m of the opinion that a kid will grow up a more successful and functioning adult being raised by parents who are happy and fulfilled, rather than if they are sent to private schools, expensive sports training and classes while the parents sacrifice their happiness and wellbeing to pay for these things. I was lucky to be raised by parents that loved what they did for work. As kids we never got the latest and greatest of anything; younger me probably saw this as a huge travesty, but as an adult I’m glad my parents raised us this way. For every excuse someone gives me that they think “stops” them from being able to pursue their passion, I’m certain I can find someone with the same limitation who made it work. I remember reading something a long time ago that stuck with me, saying that if you were given the opportunity to switch lives with anyone in the world, no matter how rich, successful, or happy you may think them to be, if you actually knew about all the challenges people faced in their life, you would never choose to switch lives, and would choose to keep your own life with its difficulties and challenges. The moral of the story, everyone has to face their own challenges, and you can either play victim thinking how you can’t accomplish anything as everyone else somehow has it easier than your situation, or you can take control and realise that you have the power to face your challenges and achieve anything. But one has to have courage to do so, it is easier for people to play the victum and give up on their dreams before even starting, as it means they will never face the risk of failure and heartbreak. Deciding to go on a quest to change ones life is a scary business, what is even scarier is the potential of putting all the effort and sacrifice into that quest and having nothing change. One has to be willing to take that risk, or spend their lives talking about what could have been…

As I hiked the Camino, it further installed this knowledge that anyone at any age at any time can seek to change their lives. I was mildly surprised to find that the majority of the walkers were middle aged or older (and frankly, they were able to well out-walk me by miles!). Wikipedia describes a pilgrimage such as the Camino as “a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance,” and whether it was their prime intention or not, those that had sacrificed a month of their time and home comforts to hike hundreds of miles on the Camino were on a pilgrimage to change some aspect of their lives. On my way I met a few people who were hiking the Camino for a second or third time. When I asked why, some told me that walking the the Camino before had significantly changed their lives, and while others were less sure how it impacted them, they found themselves drawn back to hike it yet again.

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