Earlier this week I read an uplifting article in Toronto Life about a former TD executive who quit her job in favour of becoming a florist. The article moved me, because the woman was able to do what so many of us dream of: following our passions. It also reminded me of an important lessons: it’s never too late to make a change in your life.

The article reminded me a bit of the movie Soul – which, if you haven’t seen it, you should drop everything and go do that now. The movie was so powerful for me that I wrote a post about it, which you can read here.

Anyway.

In the movie, the protagonists encounter deformed creatures in the land of lost souls. It turns out that these were people – people who had lost their passion and sense of self. After healing one of them, it turned out that it was a hedge fund manager, whose compulsion to “make a trade” had become an obsession, to the point that it took over his life. Upon finding himself, the guy has an epiphany in real life, clears off his desk and quits right there on the spot.

This story was basically that in real life, and it’s incredible.

Now as you might imagine, it’s easier to make a big move like this if you’ve already got the resources to do it. If you don’t though, that’s ok; there are still ways for you to make positive changes in your life.

If you’re thinking about a major career change, you might need to go back to school to do it. You may need to do it part-time outside of working hours. You may need to take on a side hustle to build up the funds to pay for it. The bottom line, though, is that if you want it badly enough, you can find a way to make it happen.

And as that TD executive would tell you, it’s never too late to follow your passion. We get one shot at this thing we call living, and it’s way, way too valuable to spend it doing something that diminishes you and saps your joy. Remember: the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time? Right now.