Be Honest with Yourself
The first stage of the process is accepting what you want to achieve. Fiona Leitch, 56, from Great Yarmouth, dreamed of becoming a screenwriter until she reworked a script into her first novel, Dead in Venice, at age 48. It got picked up by Audible in 2017 and she has just published her 10th Cornish cosy mystery novel with HarperCollins. To realise your ambitions, she says, you first have to 'admit to yourself that is what you want to do'.
Don't Tell Anybody
Nola Bliss, 77, who lives in York, Western Australia, found success in her 70s as a standup comedian, performing to 500-strong crowds, and in 2025 won her state Next Gen comedy competition. 'I call myself professional because I have been paid, but it wouldn't be enough to keep a flea alive,' says Bliss. What is crucial is keeping your plan to yourself. 'Don't tell anybody what you're going to do, because they'll try and tell you that you can't. Don't share it with anybody. Just get on and do it.'
Follow Your Dreams
'Feel the fear and do it anyway,' says Bliss. 'What's the worst that can happen? You find you don't like it and you stop? But at least you won't die thinking: I wish I'd done that.' Lisbeth Dreyer from Aurland, Norway, became a flower farmer and florist in her 60s. One benefit of age, she says, is that 'you know that it all goes into the river of life and life keeps going'. Steven Taylor, 73, recently completed a PhD, a goal from his 20s. 'I'm a great believer in the principles of neuroplasticity – continuing to develop your cognitive capacity when you're older,' he says.
Aim High
If it isn't obvious what your second act could be, look for something you're good at or interested in. Bliss, who first tried comedy in her 50s after a writing class, advises: 'If you want to take up knitting, knit something large – not a pair of booties.' Leitch agrees: 'You've got to find something you're passionate about. If you enjoy pottering around the garden, you might want to do a course on garden design or horticulture.'
Regret Nothing
'I have no regrets,' says Shashi Aggarwal, who lives in Walsall and established the highly successful Spice Kitchen business in her seventh decade. 'I was itching to do something myself. I don't think if I had started earlier I would have achieved any more. People say I am mad to be working at 75, but I enjoy every bit of what I do.' Bliss adds: 'Even the things that maybe I shouldn't have done, I don't regret, because they've made me who I am now.'
Draw on What You Have Learned
The more experience, the better, if you want to become a writer, says Leitch, 'because it's like you've done research without even doing research. You know a bit more about the world and how people work.' When Taylor went back to university in his mid-60s, he was the oldest person there, but 'the only real difference I felt was that I had a lot of experience that marked me out in a way, and that I could draw upon and refer to.' He also felt 'intellectually very curious, because I'd been starved of that stuff for 40 years'.
Don't Panic
At certain points, you may have responsibilities that mean you have to neglect your aspirations, but this doesn't mean it will last forever, says Leitch. 'When I had my son in 2003, I stopped writing completely. You just don't get time to sit down and think when you've got small children. It wasn't until he was about 10 that I really got back into writing regularly,' and this led to her dreams becoming reality.
And Don't Hold Back
'I had started to think writing was just going to be something I always did as a hobby,' says Leitch, but having a positive mindset helped her to persevere. 'If you are good at something, admit to yourself you are good at it, and you need to carry on going. But on top of that, there was an element of luck in getting it in front of the right people at the right time. You have just got to keep working at it and to look out for opportunities and take them, even if they seem really unlikely.'
Keep It Simple
'Sometimes a simple idea can be a very successful business,' says Aggarwal. Her son suggested she sell the spice mixes she made at home, inspired by her Indian heritage. 'I said: Who would want to buy my spices? There is so much in the supermarket, why would somebody want that?' Aggarwal got her first order on eBay on Boxing Day; her products are now stocked at 600 shops around the UK. 'You could try your idea, start small, then gradually it might grow bigger. If you don't try, you'll never know,' she says.
Don't Feel Your Age
'I don't really do age,' says Taylor. 'I don't live massively differently than I did when I was 35,' which is a good job, as the PhD involved researching underground clubs and 'dancing until 4.30am fuelled by nothing more than a couple of espresso martinis'. He has also written a book called Ageing Radically. 'Kicking back, making jam and going on cruises is becoming less realistic to people. If you can get to a point where you've got some stability, then the second half of life is not necessarily about making more money or having a bigger house.'
Remember, You Only Live Once
'People should remind themselves that they only have one life,' says Dreyer, 'and if there is something you want to do, you should try it. I think people feel bad inside if they don't try what they want to do. If it doesn't work, at least you tried. It is easier to live with it if you try.' 'Age is a state of mind,' as Bliss puts it. A second career will 'keep you alive, keep you young, keep you interesting'.
