painting

Photo: Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

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When You're 41 Years and 9 Months Old
I recently met a woman who has been working on her ukulele opus for 20 years. Not that she's written a note. In fact, she only just learned how to play the instrument. But she's had it in mind that she would create this piece of music for decades...only to falter now, because it somehow feels too late to begin.

Why You Should Trust Yourself Now: Research from the Erasmus School of Economics in the Netherlands shows we reach our creative peak at 41 years and 9 months, or when we reach 62 percent of our lifespan (based on studying the top works of 221 major artists).