New Beginnings. New Endings.

“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”

~ Carl Bard

Recently, I was reading some information about Henry Ford and the Model T. Though I can’t tell you how the combustible engine works, and am all thumbs when it comes to the mechanics of fixing cars, I like them. I like cars of all makes and models, but the older ones in particular. Much of the success of the automobile industry can be traced back to Ford’s Model T. It was affordable ($825 in 1908), simple to drive (the steering wheel was on the left, which everyone else eventually copied), and relatively easy and cheap to fix (the engine and transmission were enclosed, keeping them safe from mud and dirt which was the common makeup of roads in those days). What’s more, Henry Ford’s vision of the assembly line revolutionized manufacturing for the American middle class, the largest buying power of the era.

What I hadn’t realized is that old Hank was 45 when the Model T was introduced. I guess I always thought that he hit it big from the very beginning of his professional youth, like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates who started Apple and Microsoft respectively in their early 20s. This got me to thinking that maybe anyone – even me – can do something extraordinary, even if we – even I – didn’t hit it big the first time.

Norman Weinberger, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine, said the following in an interview for NPR: “A lot of people believe the brain isn’t very plastic after puberty. In fact, the brain maintains its ability to change. Is it as easy to learn something when you’re 65 as five? No. But can it be done? Yes.”

I think the principle of starting from now and making a brand new ending resonates well with me. And I think it applies to the teenager in me as well as the older-ager. In fact, I think the principle of reclamation is perhaps the greatest of all personal missions. Webster defines reclamation as the act or process of recovering. I like the idea that there’s still time to recover, reclaim, and even to redefine our lives, regardless of what, where, and who we’ve been in the past. It makes me feel a whole lot better about myself – and others, to be perfectly honest – and gives me a sense of hope that my book isn’t completely authored yet.

So thank you, Mr. Ford. Not only for the Model T, but for giving me a bit of hope that I can claim and reclaim me, and a whole lot of things I want to accomplish throughout life. Today is a new day. Here’s to new adventures, new hobbies, new careers, new relationships, new beginnings… and new endings.