STELLA|1SEPTEMBER 2019 29
AcreativesparkwasignitedandLizbegan
making bread for friends,whoencouraged
her to startselling it.After ayear juggling
baking and teaching, she quither job to take
it full-time, starting amicro-baker yand
breadschool,MaBaker,inF ulham,south
London.Today,she haswonseveral awards,
teachessellou tcourses and bakesupto1 00
loavesaday.While manyofher peers are
looking ahead toretirement, Liz feels like
she is just getting started.‘Ithas turnedout
tobethebiggestsurpriseofmylife, ’shesays.
‘I’veworke dharder than ever inthelast five
years, butI’ve neverbeenhappier.’She
hasn’t justfound careersuccess,butanew
husband too, something she putsdownto
hernew-found confidence.‘Being happy in
work can make suchadifferencetoa ll as-
pectsof yourlife.’
Findingher callinglater in life wasareve-
lation to Liz, but according to newresearch,
havingacreative breakthroughinyour
50s maybemorecommonthan previously
thought.AnOhioState Unive rsitystudy,
which examinedthe work of No belLaure-
ates, foundthat thereare twolife cyclesof
was like foraverylong time,’she says. ‘I
wantedtobeathomewithmychildren,butI
alsodidn’t feel likeI’dachieved my truepo-
tential.’Then, twoyears ag o, withher chil-
dren gradually fly ing thenest, she took a
garden-design coursewiththe intention of
redesigning herown, but enjoyed it so much
sheendedups etting upabusiness.‘I started
off beingalmost embarrassed askin gpeople
for money,’ she says.‘The hardest partwas
learningmyworth.’
Shehas sincedesignedana ward-winning
garden forRHSHampton Courtand pub-
lishe dabookabout city gardening,withan-
othe rinthe pipeline.‘Everything came
together in an unexpectedand amazing
way,’she says .‘I’ve managedtocarve out
something that is really minenow,and at 55
I’matthepeakof myprofessionalcareer.’
‘Few of us areexpecting to retire at 60 any
more,whereas 20years ag othere was an as-
sumptionthat, bythetimeyou hityour 50s,
youwerejust rolling towardsretirement,’
says ClaireHarbour,co-author ofDisrupt
Your Career:How To Navigate Unchartered
CareerTransitionsand Thrive.F orwomenindemanding newrole in your 50s presents its
ownset of challenges.Sue Carrolldecided to
startabusiness afterapreviouscareerasa
speechthera pist .‘With thekids growing up,
Ireali seditw as time tothink aboutwhat in-
spired me andwhereIcould makeadiffer-
ence,’sheexplains.
The idea forYoung LDN,aNotting Hill
beauty salon aimedatteens and young
adults, hit herwhen she was trying to find
somewheretot reat herson’sacne. ‘Ideci ded
thereneededto be aplace that was fun,
trendyandinvitingtotheyoungermarket,’
shesays.SheopenedthesaloninJanuary, re-
cruiting SadieFrost as an ambassador forthe
brand. But despite its success, it’s beenan
adjustment.‘Life is tougherthan before, ’she
adm its. ‘I’m jugglingalot of balls and always
feel Ishouldbes omewhereelse. I’vehad to
relinquishsome control of both familyand
work,which is challenging–I’m abit of
acontrol freak. AndIrarel ygotothe gym,
whichus edtobepartofmyd ailyroutine.’
But findingyour sparkneedn’tmean radi-
calchange.AlexHarwood,53,begancompos-
ing music at four and trainedatt he RoyalSonja Shah-Williams
Ayurvedic practitioner
SueCarroll
Beautysalon founder
‘I’vefound this creativeself
thatwasalwaysthere, butIwas
toobusytolookforbefore’
‘Irealised itwastime to think
aboutwhat inspired me and
whereIcould makeadifference’
particular,it’salsoanage when manyofus
starttor eflect onwhat we’veachiev ed.‘It’s a
time when seemingly insu rmountable obsta-
cleshavegone, andyou’re able to ask,“What
is important? What doIwanttodo?”Every-
bodydeservestolea veanim printthatthey’re
proudof.Allowyourselftodream.Intheend,
it’s abouthowwilli ngyouaretotakearisk.’
Sonja Shah-Williams, 55,previouslyhad a
successfulcareerinr ecruitment,runningher
ownconsultancyandworkingwithclientsin-
cluding Revlon, Burberryand Cart ier.But a
lack ofwork-life balance,plus afeeling that
she wasn’t utilising her creative talent, ledto
arethink .So,inherlate40s,shewentbackto
university to studyfor adegree in Ayurvedic
medicine,which was alwaysapassion. Then,
aged50,shesetuphe rownpractice,Anala.
‘While Ihelp peoplewiththeirhealth, eve-
rything surroundingmy practiceis creat ive,’
shesays.‘Iwriteblogs,takephotographs,run
supper clubs, andI’mabout to launchmy
ownbodyoils. I’vefoundthis creat ive self
that was alwaysthere, butIwas to obusy to
look for before. ’That’s not to sayit’sall been
easy.‘IthoughttheminuteIopenedmyprac-
tice,Iwouldbei nundatedwithenquiries,’she
said.‘That didn’t happen. It’s taken until now
tofeelreallyconfidentaboutwhatI’mdoing.’
Makingaradicalcareerchangeisn’tsimple
at an ystage in life, and transitioning to aCollegeofMusic andJuilliar dinNew York.
Yetbeforehercareercouldreallytakeoff,she
took abreak to have kids. ‘Itwas my choice.
But my firstchild was alsoborn with kidney
diseaseand ne eded atremendous amount of
care. ’Aside from music forschool pla ys, she
stoppedcomposing.Butasherchildrengrew
upandsheandherhusbanddivorced,shere-
alisedshewantedtot ryagain.
Afterafewyearsteachingmusictheoryata
boys’school,at44she wonaplaceatthe Na-
tionalFilmandTelevisionSchool,andstarted
pickingupwork.Butitwasn’tuntilshehit50
thatshe gotherrealbreak,whenafilm-school
colleaguerecommended herfor aproject.
‘Oneafternoonanu nknownnumberrangmy
mobile.ItwasDisney,askingmetoputmyself
forwardfor anature documentary. Igot the
project,andthatlandedmemyagent .’
She’s since composed musi cfor films in-
cluding lastyear’sTheGuernseyLiteraryand
PotatoPeel PieSociety,a nd is scoringapro-
ductionfortheNorthern Ballet.ForAlex,the
timing isno coincidence.‘In my 20s, Iwasn’t
confidentenough–Idon’t thinkIwouldhave
dealtwiththe di fficultiesverywell,’she says.
‘I definitelygot to theage of 50 and stopped
givingadamn what peoplethought .I’vegot
fireinmybellynow.IthinkIalwayshave,but
it’s onlynow I’veacknowledgedit.’Her ad-
vice?‘Taketherisk!Wh ocaresifyoufail?’creat ivity,withsomepeoplepeakingintheir
20s, but othersnot until their 50s.‘Many
peoplethinkthat creativity is ayoung
person ’s business andthat is certainlynot
exclusively thecase, ’saysProfessor Bruce
Weinberg,co-authorofthestudy.
It als ofound differences in ho wvarious
agegroupsexperiencecreativity.Thosein
their 20s tend to pushthebound aries, chal-
lengingconventional wisdom withradic al
new ideas. Butthoseint heir 50s drawon
theirex periencetofindsuccess.‘Peoplewho
do their best work late in lifehavebuilt up
abodyofk nowledge th at makesthem more
innovative,’ saysProfessorWeinberg.
FewofuswilleverbeNobel Laureates,
but it’s good newsfor thoseofuswho
thoughtwe’d miss ed our chanceto ta pinto
our creative potential. Andthat doesn’tnec-
essaril ymean writing anovel–creat ivity
goes much further than thearts. Th eOffice
for National Statistics figures showthat
morepeopleare seekingachangeinmidlife:
2.27 millionover- 50s arenow working for
themsel ves–up57percentinadecade.
Forwomenespecially,it’satimethat’s ripe
for reinvention.Magazine journalist turned
full-time mum-of-threeCarolynDunsterwas
53when she found her calling.‘My husband
hadthebigjobandIwasdoingthebulkof the
childcare, andthat’s basicallywhat my life Document: 1029CC-STMMA-1-010919-A029C-XX.pdf;Format:(205.00
x260.00 mm);Date: 27.Aug 2019 16:50:23; Telegraph
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