I have included this chapter to help keep the morale up for all the late bloomers out there. It is my belief that it is better to be a late bloomer than not to bloom at all. If everything comes too easy to you, you are apt to not appreciate these gifts. I call them gifts if you did not truly earn them. When you have to work hard to accomplish or get something…that is when you will appreciate it the most. The same holds true with relationships. That is why a lot of high school sweetheart relationships tend not to last. I have known some that last for the life of the couple but this is usually the exception and not the rule. They do not realize what they have and as a result, they squander these rare opportunities for true happiness.

Trust fund babies in many cases fail to realize how fortunate they truly are. I had the misfortune of coming across one of these babies on a Meetup hiking outing. What an entitled prick he was. He did nothing but criticize our country. I wanted to strangle him. It soon became evident that he had never worked a day in his life. He was also the most bitter person I have met in quite some time. He also took every opportunity to bad mouth the members in our hiking group. Since he was not havng to hike until later on in the day he talked at the campfire half the night. Since we were sleeping in tents we all could hear him talking. Finally by three o’clock one of the other hikers yelled from his tent, “Shut the hell up and go to sleep!” Of course, he did not comply but he did at least talk quieter. I am sure if he had to work for everything he had…he might have been more considerate of his fellow hikers.

I did not find my career until I hit my late thirties and I did not meet the woman of my dreams till I reached 50 years of age. So you can believe that I still appreciate both of them. I certainly worked hard enough to attain both of these goals. But you know what, I am OK with the route I took to get there. Who knows if I had met my wife at an earlier age whether or not I would’ve been mature enough to realize what an absolute jewel she was.

I have met a lot of people in my day, some have been better off than me and some have not been as fortunate as I have. You know what, I have never begrudged those that have accomplished more with their lives and are better off financially. For those that have been less fortunate, I wish them well and hope that their luck will change. I do not like to see people struggle. I like it when people are successful. I have had many opportunities that I have squandered. I have nobody to blame but myself for these failures. I am happy that others have been able to avoid these obstacles and road blocks. If everyone was the same and accomplished all the same things, this world would truly be a boring place to live in.

I hope you have found this book to be helpful in your journey on the road to success. I have enjoyed writing it. I have learned a lot in the process. Thank you for your patronage. For my loyal fans my next book will be about our planet and what we can do to save it.