A groundbreaking exploration of how finding one’s way later in life can be an advantage to long-term achievement and happiness.“What Yogi Berra observed about a baseball game—it ain’t over till it’s over—is true about life, and [Late Bloomers] is the ultimate proof of this. . . . It’s a keeper.”—ForbesWe live in a society where kids and parents are obsessed with early achievement, from getting … obsessed with early achievement, from getting perfect scores on SATs to getting into Ivy League colleges to landing an amazing job at Google or Facebook—or even better, creating a start-up with the potential to be the next Google, Facebook or Uber. We see coders and entrepreneurs become millionaires or billionaires before age thirty, and feel we are failing if we are not one of them.
Late bloomers, on the other hand, are under-valued—in popular culture, by educators and employers, and even unwittingly by parents. Yet the fact is, a lot of us—most of us—do not explode out of the gates in life. We have to discover our passions and talents and gifts. That was true for author Rich Karlgaard, who had a mediocre academic career at Stanford (which he got into by a fluke) and, after graduating, worked as a dishwasher and night watchman before finding the inner motivation and drive that ultimately led him to start up a high-tech magazine in Silicon Valley, and eventually to become the publisher of Forbes magazine.
There is a scientific explanation for why so many of us bloom later in life. The executive function of our brains doesn’t mature until age twenty-five, and later for some. In fact, our brain’s capabilities peak at different ages. We actually experience multiple periods of blooming in our lives. Moreover, late bloomers enjoy hidden strengths because they take their time to discover their way in life—strengths coveted by many employers and partners—including curiosity, insight, compassion, resilience, and wisdom.
Based on years of research, personal experience, interviews with neuroscientists, psychologists, and countless people at different stages of their careers, Late Bloomers reveals how and when we achieve our full potential.
Praise for Late Bloomers
“The underlying message that we should ‘consider a kinder clock for human development’ is a compelling one.”—Financial Times
“Late Bloomers spoke to me deeply as a parent of two millennials and as a coach to many new college grads (the children of my friends and associates). It’s a bracing tonic for the anxiety they are swimming through, with a facts-based approach to help us all calm down.”—Robin Wolaner, founder of Parenting magazine
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I’m tempted to say this book was long overdue, but the truth is that it couldn’t come at a better time. Rich Karlgaard makes a commanding case against the wunderkind ideal, in favor of recognizing that late bloomers often prove to be the most radiant. If you’ve ever known someone who was overlooked or underestimated — or been that someone — you’ll immediately appreciate the importance of this message. Reading it is an utter delight.
Despite Aesop’s warnings, our society still admires the hare more than the tortoise. We deify those who burst out of life’s starting blocks and disdain those who take time to find their pace. But that’s a colossal mistake, says Rich Karlgaard in his powerful new book. Drawing on a deep reservoir of science, Karlgaard shows that many of us — perhaps most of us — peak well after our wunderkind years as we acquire the wisdom, resilience, and equanimity necessary for genuine achievement. Deftly written and deeply researched, Late Bloomers will change the conversation about success in America.
This book changed my perspective not only about where I’m going in my career at 54, but my expectations for my own teenagers. I even gave a copy to my nephew. What an eye-opener about our perceived “failures” before we find the right career.
While popular culture loves the remarkable success stories of youthful “wunderkinds,” Karlgaard makes a compelling case for the potential of those who apply their accumulated powers of resilience, insight, and wisdom to achieve greatness later in life. Karlgaard transforms the term ‘late bloomer’ from mere faint praise to a badge of honor, freeing you to find a personal path to success at your own pace. He makes one proud to be a late bloomer.
Late Bloomers is absolutely on target. Our capacity to succeed does not expire — it is never “too late” to discover our potential. In the military, young officers often seek advice from the battle-scarred sergeants whom they technically outrank. Leveraging the wisdom of experience is often the difference between victory and defeat.
We need a national conversation about the insane levels of performance pressure and anxiety our young people carry. We need inspiration about the power of patience in lives that can flourish at their own pace. Rich Karlgaard’s Late Bloomers is brilliant, wonderfully readable and urgently needed. I hope it is read and digested by millions.
Sometimes there is a book on your shelf that is waiting to be read. The book waits patiently until you have gotten other books out of the way before you are ready to read it. Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard is one of those books.
I bought this book shortly after it came out in April 2019. I had planned to read it as soon as I got it. But I did not. Other books demanded to be read. However, Late Bloomers waited its turn and the time to read it came a couple days ago. Glad I waited to read Late Bloomers.
Karlgaard makes a powerful argument that society has ignored that late bloomers and human development happens at its own pace than what modern society prescribes.
“Many of us want to believe there’s a road map to how our lives should unfold. The reality, however, is that there’s no single right pathway for human development—-physically, cognitively, morally, or professionally.”
That paragraph lays out the crux of Karlgaard’s argument in the book and is one that I agree with wholeheartedly. I’m a late bloomer. I did not get not my diploma after high school. I had to go to summer school to my GED to graduate from high school. Also, I did not learn how to drive until I was thirty years old (I’m 48). I tried to learn to how to drive at sixteen and I almost ran my friend’s car into a house after driving his car off the road. Reading this book made me realized that all the experiences I was supposed to have in my late teens to early twenties did not happen until much later. I will admit that I thought something was wrong with me psychologically or socially. However, Karlgaard has shown me that human development is not one size fits all. People develop at various stages of life and being a late bloomer has advantages that are not celebrated by society.
“Nearly all reasonably healthy people can bloom in different ways at different ages. To create a prosperous society of fulfilled individuals, it makes sense, therefore, to have a kinder clock of human development. Every person needs to have the chance—multiple chances, really–to follow their unique timeline of evolving brains, talents, and passions.”
Amen! Karlgaard brings home the point once again with that paragraph. Human development is not an exact science. There is art involved and as society we need to allow for those that do not develop on the treadmill of high school-college-job to grow into who they are meant to become. The path of fulfillment takes many paths, and late bloomers need the space to grow as people.
Late Bloomers is one of the most important books of 2020 for me. Finally, I found a book that resonated with me on several levels and will be a mainstay on my bookshelf.
Karlgaard captures the truth about human development. We are all wonderfully gifted, and with patience and the right circumstances, we can all bloom in amazing ways.
In Late Bloomers, Rich Karlgaard analyzes one of the most powerful myths in America: that test scores and early achievements are the best indicators of success in life. He makes a compelling case that the relentless search for prodigies is bad for kids and blinds us to the extraordinary talents of those who develop normally. A must read for parents and executives.
Late Bloomers reads like a message of hope. It encourages us all to deconstruct who we were before the world imposed upon us what they thought we should be.
Late Bloomers is a gem. A remarkable quality of humankind is our “contagion” to the emotions, thoughts and behaviors of those around us. At times this quality can be destructive, as with the absurd over-valuing of early achievement in our culture. Karlgaard tackles this head on. He calls “the Emperor has no clothes” on this preoccupation, while making an articulate and elegant argument that developmentally-informed parenting and education should value patience, experience, and wisdom.