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At twenty you know you're not going to be a rock star... by twenty-five you know you're not going to be a dentist or a professional... by thirty, a darkness starts moving in - you wonder if you're ever going to be fulfilled, let alone wealthy or successful... by thirty-five, you know, basically, what you're going to be doing the rest of your life; you become resigned to your fate.

Douglas Coupland#49

SuccessRealityAcceptanceAdulthoodAmbition

About this quote

What does it mean?
A timeline of life where early dreams fade and acceptance of routine replaces ambition.
In plain terms
As you get older you accept that you will not be famous or rich.
What can you take from it?
Ambition usually gives way to acceptance in adulthood.

Where it applies

  • midlife
  • career planning
  • identity crises

Putting it to work

  • setting realistic goals
  • finding joy in routine
  • redefining success

Questions to consider

  • Where do you stand on this timeline?
  • Can you change your path at any age?

Another view

It assumes a single trajectory for success which may not fit all life paths.

More from Douglas Coupland

  1. We had all awakened X number of years past our youth feeling sleazy and harsh. Choices still existed, but they were no longer infinite. Fun had become a scrim,…

    Permalink to quote #48
  2. Nobody believes the identites we've made for ourselves. I feel like everybody in the world is fake now - as though people had true cores once, but hucked them …

    Permalink to quote #50
  3. At what point in our lives do we stop blurring? When do we become crisp individuals? What must we do in order to end these fuzzy identities - to clarify just w…

    Permalink to quote #47

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