My daughter gave me the book "How to Live Like The Little Prince" for Father's Day. The book is written as a guide to "rediscovering imagination, adventure, and awe."
She told me how she remembers me reading it to her when she was little and how we discussed the adventures of the Little Prince. As I delved into this book, it reminded me of a psychology book I read years ago that stated that fantasy and reality are blended together in the early years of a child's mind.
The example given was if you tell a child to act/be a dinosaur, they will be a dinosaur for the rest of the day, fully immersed in their prehistoric world. If you tell an adult to do the same, they will lose interest quickly. The reality of their life wins against the reality of being a dinosaur.
Of course, I am not advocating for adults to live in the fantasy world of being a dinosaur or to pretend to be the Little Prince. I think adults can relearn a powerful lesson from children. The lesson is that we can be whomever we decide to develop ourselves into. First, imagine the life and career you want, and then begin the steps to turn that fantasy into a reality. I honestly believe it's never too late to do anything in the life you set your mind to. It's never too late to be the person you've always wanted to be. Bigger than them, the boy who refuses to give up in Peter Pan is the plight of Captain Hook being chased by the ticking clock of time and death in the form of a crocodile that swallowed a clock. Don't chase the frustration of lost youth as you run from the fear of the ticking clock. I often say I'm always older, but never old.
Medically speaking, it is said that every cell in your body is replaced every three years. That means, every three years, there is a new you. So who do you want to be? What do you want to do? In three years, what version will you be?
