Shownotes
We're diving into the juicy topic of fear today, specifically that pesky fear that creeps in when we think about creating later in life. You know, it's not just about failing; it's that gnawing sensation of feeling like it's too late to matter or make an impact. We chat about how this fear can feel like a ton of bricks when you've got a career and responsibilities weighing you down, but guess what? Starting your creative journey now might just be your secret weapon. Seriously, being seen later in life is not about failure; it could actually be about finding your true alignment. So, grab your favorite beverage, kick back, and let's explore how we can shake off the "too late" narrative together!
Is it too late to start creating?
In Episode 7 of Create Anyway: You’re Allowed to Make Art, we explore one of the most common fears among adult creatives: the fear of being seen too late in life.
If you’ve ever felt like:
- You should have started earlier
- You missed your window
- Younger artists are already ahead
- It’s embarrassing to be a beginner in your 30s or 40s
You’re not alone.
This episode dives into the psychology of creative visibility later in life. We talk about comparison culture, the pressure of social media, the fear of public imperfection, and how having an established career can make artistic vulnerability feel riskier.
We also unpack:
- Why it’s never too late to start making art
- How regret can either paralyze or motivate you
- The difference between timing and comparison
- Why mature creators often produce deeper work
- How to overcome fear of judgment when starting later
Whether you’re starting a podcast, picking up painting again, writing your first book, or launching a creative project after years in another career — this episode is a reminder that your timing is not wrong.
Your voice has depth now.
Your perspective has weight now.
And visibility is not reserved for the young.
You’re not late.
You’re ready.
1. The “Too Late” Narrative
Many adults believe visibility belongs to the young.
If you didn’t start early, didn’t build a following, didn’t go all-in at 22 — you missed it.
But “too late” is usually comparison, not truth.
2. The Ego of Timing
Part of the fear isn’t failure — it’s embarrassment.
It’s the idea of being a beginner at 35… 40… 50.
We’re not afraid of being seen.
We’re afraid of being seen starting.
3. Visibility Feels Riskier Later
When you already have:
- A career
- A reputation
- A family
- Stability
Being visible creatively feels like destabilizing your identity.
4. The Weight of Regret
There’s often grief underneath the fear:
“I should have started sooner.”
“I wasted time.”
“I missed my chance.”
But regret can either paralyze you — or clarify what matters now.
5. Seen Late Is Still Seen
Art doesn’t expire.
Voice doesn’t expire.
Relevance doesn’t expire.
Being seen later in life often comes with depth, experience, and emotional honesty that younger creators don’t yet have.
It’s not late.
It’s honest timing.
Takeaways:
- Starting your creative journey later in life can feel daunting, but it's never too late to express yourself!
- Fear of being seen can be heavier when you're older, but your experiences offer unique perspectives that younger folks may not have.
- It's easy to feel insecure among younger creators, but remember that your wisdom and life experiences are valuable assets.
- The weight of regret for not starting sooner can be paralyzing, but you can start creating art today, regardless of age.
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Transcripts
There's a specific kind of fear that shows up when you start creating later in life.
Speaker A:It's not just a fear of failure.
Speaker A:It's a fear of being seen and feeling like you're too late.
Speaker A:Too late to start, too late to matter, too late to build something meaningful.
Speaker A:Maybe you look around and see people younger than you, already established, already confident, already visible.
Speaker A:Well, in this episode, we're talking about the fear of being seen later in life and why it feels heavier when you already have a career and responsibilities, and why starting now may actually be your strongest position.
Speaker A:Because being seen late isn't failure.
Speaker A:It might be alignment.
Speaker A:Foreign.
Speaker A:Hello, friend.
Speaker A:This is Timothy Chemo Brian, your head instigator for Create Art podcast, where I bring my over 30 years of experience in the arts and education world to help you tame your inner critic and create more than you consume.
Speaker A:So we're continuing on with this Create Anyways series, limited series, limited to 15 episodes.
Speaker A:And we're just about halfway through.
Speaker A:And this is one that hits kind of close to me.
Speaker A:It's about showing up late in life and the fear that happened that happens with that.
Speaker A:And it can be scary.
Speaker A:I'm 53 at the time of this recording, and I do a.
Speaker A:A poetry reading just about every Friday night.
Speaker A:Some nights I read, some nights I don't.
Speaker A:But I'm usually the oldest guy there, and there is insecurity on my end.
Speaker A:Not on the audience's end, but there's insecurity on my end that I'm like, man, an old guy hanging out with these young whippersnappers, and they're coming up with new ideas and different ways of doing performance poetry.
Speaker A:And it can be intimidating.
Speaker A:However, we're going to talk about that today and ways you can overcome that intimidation factor and the embarrassment of it.
Speaker A:Because you may be embarrassed to be seen with younger people, and it may make you think that you're being immature, but in reality, you're providing them a wonderful resource and you're getting something out of the experience.
Speaker A:So let's dive into that here in this episode.
Speaker A:All right, let's just tackle this from the top on the too late narrative.
Speaker A:It's a story we tell ourselves when we become a certain age that it's too late to get into art for whatever reason.
Speaker A:You have a family, you have a career, you have responsibilities.
Speaker A:Maybe attend something for your church or your synagogue place of worship, maybe you have social ties that you do certain things for your community, and you just.
Speaker A:You don't have the time.
Speaker A:And it's too late.
Speaker A:And why start up something when you're of a certain age?
Speaker A:A lot of adults believe that visibility belongs to young people.
Speaker A:I disagree with that.
Speaker A:I think we all deserve to be visible and have our voices heard, whether that be through painting or music or writing or what have you.
Speaker A:But here's the thing.
Speaker A:Sometimes you just can't start early.
Speaker A:Sometimes you have to start late in life.
Speaker A:And there's no problem with that.
Speaker A:That's a.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:You know, you didn't start this following when you were 22.
Speaker A:You didn't start this journey when you were 22.
Speaker A:You're starting it later in life.
Speaker A:Maybe you're in your 50s or your 40s, you know what, whatever it is.
Speaker A:But just because you didn't start it at 22 doesn't mean you missed it.
Speaker A:Now, I started my journey at the ripe old age of about 15, 14, but I kept it going.
Speaker A:But I'm, I'm an anomaly, all right.
Speaker A:And that's what makes me a happy snowflake.
Speaker A:But you, we're talking about you.
Speaker A:It's okay to start late.
Speaker A:We're not going to be comparing you to the younger people that are around you.
Speaker A:We're going to be comparing you to your work.
Speaker A:Is there growth in your work?
Speaker A:Are you finding growth in your work?
Speaker A:Yours, not anybody else's?
Speaker A:We're going to remove that worry from you.
Speaker A:Let's work on your growth and your journey.
Speaker A:Because, yeah, there's folks out there that are 22 that are starting this journey and they're going to make wonderful mistakes.
Speaker A:And so are you.
Speaker A:Except, you know, you're going to be making it at 40 or 50 or whatever your age is now.
Speaker A:It's okay.
Speaker A:Those mistakes, those experiences are still valid and you're going to bring a lot more to the table than most 22 year olds.
Speaker A:Think about that for a moment.
Speaker A:Let's jump right into our egos because they're the ones that are usually directing this, this fear of being seen later in life.
Speaker A:And this is the ego of timing.
Speaker A:And part of the fear isn't failure.
Speaker A:I mean, we fail at work sometimes.
Speaker A:Some of us fail every day, to be honest with you.
Speaker A:Some of us fail every day at work.
Speaker A:We do something stupid at work every day, but it's embarrassment.
Speaker A:You're going to be around younger, you may be around younger people and it's like, man, what am I doing with these kids?
Speaker A:These dang kids.
Speaker A:Get off my lawn.
Speaker A:Here's the thing.
Speaker A:Being A beginner at 35, 45, 55, doesn't matter.
Speaker A:It's okay.
Speaker A:You can be a beginner, all right?
Speaker A:Maybe you're just picking it back up again.
Speaker A:So maybe you're not necessarily a brand newbie guy or gal, but you're picking it up again, and that's important.
Speaker A:That's great.
Speaker A:Some of these kids that you see at 22 are going to burn out before they hit 30, but you're going to have wisdom, you're going to have life experiences.
Speaker A:You're going to understand that this is all just a journey, and you have something important to share with the community, with your audience, and it's valid.
Speaker A:Just because there's folks that are younger than you all around you doesn't diminish you in any way.
Speaker A:Don't be embarrassed by that, because a lot of times, like I said, those folks are going to burn out within a couple of years, and they're going to be starting their family and their careers, and they're going to put this on the shelf, and you can be there and let them know, hey, listen, you may put this on the shelf, but realize you can always take it off the shelf at any time.
Speaker A:So you're going to be a mentor to them.
Speaker A:And then when they're 50 and you're 80, you can be even more of a mentor to them.
Speaker A:You can say, hey, listen, I've.
Speaker A:I did this at 50 as well, and I made that switch.
Speaker A:Or I decided to go ahead and continue to practice my art, and that's just going to do both of you a world of good.
Speaker A:And then we'll have two voices in the wild instead of just yours.
Speaker A:So don't let that ego get in your way of your creativity.
Speaker A:All right, so now we're going to dive into this even further by talking about how visibility feels riskier later.
Speaker A:So you've developed your career, you've got your family life all situated, you've got your social life all situated, and you have this stability in your life, and now you want to maybe do some art, and that feels really risky, and it's actually riskier.
Speaker A:It feels riskier than what it actually is.
Speaker A:See, when you're expressing yourself and when you're putting your art out there, there is some vulnerability that comes with it, and there's this identity that you've built up, and now you want to add art to it, and that can disable the way people view you.
Speaker A:Why is he suddenly becoming an artist?
Speaker A:Or why is she becoming an artist?
Speaker A:Is this a midlife crisis?
Speaker A:That's what people on the outside may see, and they may even question you about that.
Speaker A:They may even say, well, wait a minute, you've got this great career, you're making all this money, and now you want to be an artist?
Speaker A:That's selfish.
Speaker A:To which I reply, it's not selfish.
Speaker A:It's a good thing to do.
Speaker A:It's a good thing to show your kids if you have kids.
Speaker A:And it's a good thing to show your friends is that, hey, I've got something to say.
Speaker A:I've got an opinion.
Speaker A:I want to express that in art, or I just want to comment on everything that's around me through art.
Speaker A:And so not only are you battling the internal stuff, but you're going to be battling the external stuff.
Speaker A:And let me tell you, sometimes that can be worse than the internal stuff.
Speaker A:But what you need to realize is that it's going to be okay.
Speaker A:You're going to be the same person you've always been, and you're going to be okay.
Speaker A:Yes, you're probably going to be a little conservative in what you're expressing, but you're still going to express what you feel, and that's the important thing.
Speaker A:All right, now, in this next section, we're going to be talking about the weight of regret.
Speaker A:So, you know, there's some of you that are out there that are going to have some regret if you don't get started with your art.
Speaker A:You're probably thinking, I should have started sooner.
Speaker A:I wasted my time.
Speaker A:I missed my chance.
Speaker A:No, your chances.
Speaker A:Now, you can do this now.
Speaker A:And this regret that you have, that.
Speaker A:That can paralyze you.
Speaker A:So these ideas that you're having, that, man, I should have started sooner.
Speaker A:All that stuff, that's an excuse.
Speaker A:And I know for me, for my job, they don't like excuses.
Speaker A:They want to know what happened and what can we do to prevent it from happening again.
Speaker A:So if excuses are worthless to us at this point, you didn't start sooner.
Speaker A:Something happened.
Speaker A:Maybe, you know, you started your family unexpectedly too soon.
Speaker A:That's okay.
Speaker A:That's okay.
Speaker A:You can start now.
Speaker A:You can always start now with creating your art and going on that journey.
Speaker A:So if you don't want to have that regret, then go ahead and start.
Speaker A:But that regret is going to stop you, and it can paralyze you.
Speaker A:And we don't want that.
Speaker A:That's not what we want here.
Speaker A:What we want is to do our art.
Speaker A:Doesn't matter how old you are.
Speaker A:We can.
Speaker A:I can come up with examples of folks like, Grandma Moses didn't start painting until she was in her 70s.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:And had her kids, her grandkids or great grandkids and all that.
Speaker A:And then she started painting.
Speaker A:And we know we're here today.
Speaker A:So, yeah, that whole regret thing paralyzing you, stopping you from starting, from even starting.
Speaker A:No, that's not going to fly here.
Speaker A:That's not going to.
Speaker A:That shouldn't fly with you.
Speaker A:So in the last section, I was a little bit hard on you, a little bit harsh.
Speaker A:I get it.
Speaker A:I understand.
Speaker A:Regret is a horrible thing.
Speaker A:But being seen late in life is still being seen again.
Speaker A:Look at Grandma Moses.
Speaker A:Didn't start painting till her 70s.
Speaker A:Here's the thing.
Speaker A:Art doesn't expire.
Speaker A:Your voice doesn't expire until you expire.
Speaker A:Relevance doesn't expire.
Speaker A:You can start anytime you want to start.
Speaker A:Why not start now?
Speaker A:Obviously you have something to say.
Speaker A:Obviously you have some creativity in you that's dying to get out.
Speaker A:Otherwise, why would you be listening to this podcast?
Speaker A: ng about since, I don't know,: Speaker A:It's not too late.
Speaker A:It's just your timing.
Speaker A:For some reason.
Speaker A:You couldn't start earlier and that's okay.
Speaker A:You can start now, you can start here today with your creativity.
Speaker A:And it doesn't matter if you're in your 40s, 50s, or 60s, 70s, doesn't matter, who cares?
Speaker A:Just start today and enjoy the journey.
Speaker A:All right, that's all I have for you today.
Speaker A:I want to thank you so much for listening in or watching on YouTube or listening in on your podcast app of choice.
Speaker A:And if you'd like to get in contact with me, you can email me.
Speaker A:Timothy createartpodcast.com you can always share this episode with a friend that may need to have a little bit of tough love tossed at them and let them know that just because of your age, just because all your responsibilities, that's not an excuse not to start your art.
Speaker A:That's even more reason to start your art.
Speaker A:So think about that for yourself.
Speaker A:Now, speaking about passing this on to a friend, I also run another podcast called Find a Podcast About.
Speaker A:You can find it at findapodcastabout xyz.
Speaker A:And that's where I help my listeners over there find the next binge worthy podcast and outsmart the algorithm.
Speaker A:You might just find your next favorite podcast.
Speaker A: And also in: Speaker A:You can find it at tkbpodcaststudio.com There you can see my portfolio of people that I'm working with their podcasts, and I want to help you out with your podcast.
Speaker A:So maybe a podcast is your form of art that you want to get involved with.
Speaker A:Well, I help my client.
Speaker A:Clients lead through the noise with quiet professionalism.
Speaker A:Check it out.
Speaker A:Love to help you on that.
Speaker A:All right, that's it.
Speaker A:That's all I got for you here today.
Speaker A:So I'm just going to leave you with what I usually leave you with.
Speaker A:Tame that inner critic.
Speaker A:Create more than you consume.
Speaker A:Get started on some art today and make it for somebody you love.
Speaker A:Yourself.
Speaker A:I'll talk to you next time.
