NY Times "It's Never Too Late"
A NEW SERIES OF INSPIRING STORIES THE NEW YORK TIMES PROVES, WHETHER IT’S A NEW CAUSE OR CAREER, “IT’S NEVER TOO LATE”.
I’m always on the lookout for stories that support the premise that it’s never too late to start anew whether that’s taking up a new cause or career!
That’s why, while scanning the New York Times recently, the following title caught my eye: “It’s Never Too Late to Pivot From N.F.L. Safety to Neurosurgeon.” It was followed by the subtitle, “When Myron Rolle was cut from the Pittsburgh Steelers, he fell into a funk until his mother reminded him of his two childhood dreams; play football, then become a neuro-surgeon.”
According Elena Bergeron’s story, Myron was a talented defensive back at Florida State when he was selected to be a Rhodes Scholar. He went on to study medical anthropology as part of his program at Oxford, but instead of pursuing a medical career, he set his sights on his first dream of playing in the N.F.L.
After spending part of his time in England training for the draft, his hard work paid off and his career goal met when he was selected to play for the Tennessee Titans!
During his time with the Titans, Myron spend time practicing with the team but unfortunately he never officially played in a game. After just three seasons, and a failed attempt for a permanent seat on the roster of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Myron’s professional football career fell apart.
As Myron struggled to let go of his N.F.L. dream, he fell into a funk. His mother, Beverly, eventually shook him out of it by showing him a grade school notebook where, as a young boy, he had written both his career goals; one for becoming an N.F.L. player, and the other for becoming a neurosurgeon. “She looked me straight in the eyes and pointed at the first one, she said, ‘This one’s done.’ And she looked at the second one and said, ‘Now, we need to do this.’ Those words of encouragement, her belief in me, her thoughtfulness, her disposition during that moment was, just what I needed to move forward to the next chapter in my life,” Myron said of his mother.
And that’s just what he did! Today formerN.F.L player Myron, is in his sixth year of neuro-surgery residency at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Chances are you are not planning on becoming a neuro-surgeon! However, there are still lessons to be learned from Myron’s story and his remarkable ability to pivot when career Plan A didn’t work out.
Myron’s story is only one in a relatively new series by The New York Times called “It’s Never Too Late.” The series highlights stories of people who decide to pursue their dreams on their own terms. There’s Tom Moore, a 79 year old Tony and Emmy award winning director who took up trapeze flying in his 50’s and Mark Braley who began playing water polo at 76 and routinely plays on a team with players more than half his age.
The series also includes the story of Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, 50, who has been an art teacher for 20 years but also writes.. Last month, Jocelyn published her first book, My Monticello, to critical acclaim. In fact, her book has been so successful that Netflix reached out and already has plans to turn it into a film! A few more stories from the “It’s Never Too Late” series include those of:
a young opera singer who left city life to become a farmer in her native Kentucky
restaurant owners who uprooted their busy lives in Michigan to open an inn in the Catskill Mountains
a retired teacher who became a climate change activist-attending over 500 events all over the country (even getting herself arrested at a protest in pursuit of her cause!)
a former University of Berkeley Vice Chancellor, who recorded his first musical album at 85
There are plenty of reasons our dreams get put on hold, deferred, or buried under the constraints of our everyday life like supporting a family or getting stuck in the wrong career lane.
Whatever your reason. Take a cue and a little inspiration from others who prove, “It’s Never Too Late!”
You can read more details about Myron Rolle’s inspiring story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/sports/football/myron-rolle-career-pivot-football-neurosurgeon.html
And other profiles in the It’s Never Too Late series here:
