13 Inspiring Stories of Successful Seniors

The article’s topic may sound a little strange because you might link tremendous accomplishments consciously or unconsciously to younger people. However, thousands of seniors worldwide have proved achievements are not restricted to any age. Many people over the age of 65 have achieved a level of success that youngsters half their age haven’t accomplished yet. In this article, we are proud to introduce elderlies with outstanding accomplishments.

Minoro Saito

Many of the elderly like to spend their time travelling and visiting places they couldn’t during their younger years.

Minoro Saito is definitely one to talk about and learn from. He is a Japanese tourist that sailed around the world at the age of 77 in 2011. That was his eighth journey worldwide, and he even managed to beat his previous record. 

John Glenn

John Glenn is recorded as the oldest astronaut who went to space at the age of 77. He spent 11 days of his life in space and then returned to the Earth. Hence, he was the first and the oldest astronaut to orbit around the Earth.

Yuichiro Miura

The youth might even be afraid to accept the challenge of reaching the summit of Mount Everest, but Yuichiro Miura reached the peak when he was 80 years old. Furthermore, he started his first trip to Mount Everest at the age of 70, and every five years, he decided to climb the highest point of Mount Everest to show that old age cannot limit the possibilities. Besides, he has plans to climb Everest again in 2022 at the age of 90.

Weifan Yuan

There are also groups of elderly who like helping others free themselves from the sense of isolation and loneliness during their later years. Presently, Weifan Yuan is a 98-year-old senior who lives in China and migrates from Canada to form a wellness club named Richmond to help the elderly have a better lifestyle. This club gathers the elderly in a social setting to make friends and do various activities together. 

Ethel Davey

Ethel Davey is another senior with significant accomplishments who turned 100 a few months ago, and she is living in Britain and aims to help other seniors meet and make friends. These community-making activities engage the elderly and help them better understand their senility and are the right way of maintaining a sense of selfhood in a society that has forgotten the older people. 

Johanna Quaas

Some old athletes take part in various sports despite their age. Johanna Quaas is from Germany, and she is the most senior gymnast in the world at the age of 86. She has started at the age of 56. Johanna has a healthy body, and she has never been admitted to the hospital for any health-related concerns. She is looking forward to competing in world championship matches at the age of 90. 

Fauja Singh

Fauja Singh, a British Sikh supercentenarian, is 109 years old now, and at the age of 104, he participated in Mumbai Marathon in January 2016. He ran for 5 hours and 40 minutes at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

Hanna Fraser

Hanna Fraser is also another senior with impressive accomplishments. She has achieved her black belt in taekwondo at 72. Her enthusiasm in taekwondo got her whole family to participate in this sport, and she and her 10-year-old granddaughter got their black belt on the same day. 

Nola Ochs

We all have dreams that we are trying to reach, but sometimes these dreams are not fulfilled during our youth, and only in our later years do we get the opportunity to make them come true. In the old times, most people didn’t have the opportunity to become literate and study, which has led to an increase in the number of illiterate people. But among all these illiterate people, some people wanted to study, and the circumstances prevented them from achieving their goals. 

Undeniably, Nola Ochs is the oldest woman who graduated from college at 95 in 2007. She has studied at Fort Hays University and received her BA degree in General Studies. Nola didn’t give up and continued for the master’s degree and received her degree at 98 in 2010. besides, she wants to encourage other people to continue learning and always tells her grandchildren that studying is not hard and encourages them to do their best.

Rosemary Smith

Rosemary Smith also has exceptional accomplishments who took part in Formula 1 races at 79. She has received various prizes for her driving talent. She recalls that it was challenging and frightening to start this sport at first, but she finally decided to enter the field, and now she has established a driving school, and she is trying to train good drivers. 

Harland David Sanders

Unfortunately, most people consider old age a time for retirement and give up on their dreams and goals. But some people kept on their work and started a business to create job opportunities for others. The media covers startups in such a way that all the founders seem to be young or teenagers. But this is not always the case. Many entrepreneurs have discovered their big ideas and started their own businesses over the years, even in old age. Here are some of the successful entrepreneurs who started their startups at an old age and proved success is possible at any age:

Harland David Sanders is one of those seniors who entered the world of business at 62. Saunders lost his father as a child and got fired from several jobs. However, he was determined and never gave up. In the end, his persistence and perseverance made him successful. When Saunders worked at a service station, he gained local popularity for his delicious chicken recipe. Afterwards, the service station caught fire. But Saunders rebuilt it again and turned it into a restaurant with 140 seats. He was 62 years old in 1952 when he first received the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. Today, KFC has more than 18,800 stores in 118 countries.

Leo Goodwin

Leo Goodwin entered the world of business and entrepreneurship at the age of 50. Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) is a well-known company that operates in car insurance. Leo Goodwin founded GEICO. Indeed, when he worked as an accountant, he realized that the insurance industry needed a major overhaul. Leo asked himself why companies do not deal directly with their customers and save all the money brokers take for themselves? In 1936, at the age of 50, he founded GEICO in Washington. He and his wife took over the management of the company. The company had 12 employees and 3,700 insurers at the end of the year. However, it engages more than 27,000 people and has more than 14 million insurers today.

 

Wally Blume

Walley Blume founded his own ice cream company, Denali Flavors, in 1995 at fifty-five. Denali produces more than 40 flavours of ice cream and continues to thrive at 70. 

Final words

It’s not clear at what age and where the big ideas for starting a business will come to you. Starting a business is not an easy task. Furthermore, entrepreneurship may require youthful courage, but older entrepreneurs seem to navigate this tortuous path better. Here is when experience and maturity come in handy. Do not underestimate yourself. No matter how old you are, success is possible if you work for it.

These stunning examples show that old age is not a period of limitations but a period in which people can fulfill their ULTIMATE dreams.