Quando você decidiu que estava velho para conquistar seus sonhos? | Carol Gattaz | TEDxBeloHorizonte

Translator: David DeRuwe When did you decide it was too late to pursue your dreams? I decided, guys, that it was too late when I was 28. Sounds crazy, right?

But for a volleyball player, especially in 2008, 28 was already a considerable age, at least in my mind. I had just been cut for the second time from the Brazilian national Olympics team. The first time this happened, in 2004, I was upset, but not overly distraught because the team had players much more experienced than me, with more baggage.

So it made sense they were the chosen ones, and I wasn’t. I was still a young player who promised a lot, and I knew my time would come. That’s why I gave my best before the next Olympics.

I trained non-stop. I played with several different teams, and I competed in and won every type of championship: national, state, worldwide. I was a rising volleyball player at the time.

From 2005 to 2008, I was a rocket on the court. When the Olympic year arrived in 2008, I was one of those drafted, and I could see my dream was just a serve away. I played with the national team the entire season, every championship, and I was sure I would be at the Olympics.

I wasn't there. Brazil’s women’s volleyball team went without me and took the gold - the first Olympic gold in the history of women’s volleyball in Brazil. I was happy for the girls; they clearly deserved all the recognition.

And I was devastated by my dream I thought had just gone out of my reach. I was 28, and it was two sets to zero against me. The next Olympic Games were four years away.

I would be 32 years old, and in the eyes of the sports world at that time, I would be a woman at the end of her career. In my eyes too. I wished I could look into the eyes of Carol from 2008, who was devastated by that cut, and remember the sport’s maxim: the game only ends when the referee whistles.

This applies, guys, to what happens on the court, and to what happens off the court as well. Age isn’t a marker of ability. It’s very easy to defend this point when talking about a young prodigy: the nine-year-old genius chess grandmaster.

the pre-adolescent getting a PhD at an American university, or the two-year-old girl who speaks so well on the internet. But what about when we’re talking about people who’ve passed their age: the professional who wants to reenter the labor market after age 50, or the worker with more than 20 years experience wanting to start in a new area. How about the volleyball player deciding to compete in the Olympics at age 40?

I collected data from the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation, together with my physical trainer, Alexandre Marinho, and there’s a graph, guys, that shows the age of Brazilian volleyball athletes. Currently there are four players over 40 in the Super League. And I'm one of them.

In the last five Super League seasons, that number was never more than five. And if the research extends to the world’s leading volleyball teams, there were no players over 40 years old this past season. What’s more, it’s not just athletes who experience this.

Across the labor market, there’s corporate resistance to hiring older workers. It’s clear that what represents an older worker in the corporate world isn’t 40 years, like it is in sports. But the kind of prejudice that older people face for the role is very similar.

Some years ago, Harvard conducted research and asked large international companies whether age would constitute a competitive advantage or disadvantage in the market. Over 60% of companies answered that older ages would be a disadvantage. This also happens in Brazil.

According to IBGE data, among pre-elderly people aged 55 and older and elderly adults 80 and over, unemployment rose from 18. 5% in 2013 to 40% in 2018. And unemployment, guys, for the IBGE, is worth mentioning.

They’re just people who consider looking for a job, but can’t find one. There is a widespread prejudice in our society that older workers are less efficient and should therefore be replaced by new younger workers. In the market’s view, this is how it works: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

But it’s not like that, right? Research, on the other hand, shows us something different: There is no direct relationship between aging and loss of productivity. Quite the contrary.

Knowledge and expertise listed as two main job indicators only grow over time. That's not to say that workers of different ages don't have different weaknesses and strengths. But it does mean that age itself is not a tie-breaker factor.

One of the biggest examples of how impactful this is is that people over 40 are three times more likely to have a successful startup than people under that age. That same survey indicated the founders of the 0. 1% of the startups that grew the most in their first five years had an average age of 45.

What’s more, research indicates that a mix of ages is the most advanced. The youngest in the same work group can make companies much more productive. And it’s not just companies.

As an athlete, guys, I experience this in practice. Yes, a 40-year-old athlete is likely to have less energy than a 20-year-old athlete, but also will have more experience in how to channel that energy to generate more results. A 40-year-old athlete may not recover as quickly as a younger woman with less experience, but she’ll have knowledge.

She’ll have that knowledge of how to fall, how to get up, and how to conserve energy that was unnecessarily spent in training and games. And she can transmit that knowledge to her younger colleagues, thus creating a much more balanced and calibrated team. Yes, guys, age is a burden that we carry with us, and the burden gets heavier every year.

I feel this in my skin. But it is also a source of experience, learning, and motivation. And it’s not just limited to the courts.

I was 40 years old when I competed in my first Olympics. Before being selected, I had to push myself beyond all the limits I had imposed on myself. I discovered that I was still that player who had a lot to give to volleyball and who was having a great time, despite my age.

I mean, not in spite of my age, but because of it. I reached my peak, not only in experience but in performance, after “passing the age. ” Age made me stop being just a volleyball player and finally become an athlete.

An athlete worthy of a podium. And that makes a big difference. I say this now as if it were easy, but I was aware of my age all the way up to the games.

I thought the following: “I’m 40 years old. What if they cancel the games because of the pandemic? I’ll never get another chance.

” “I’m 40 years old. If I get Covid during national training, I’ll have to stop for 14 days. That’s an eternity for athletes.

” “I’m 40 years old. Will I be able to maintain a high level in every Olympic game? ” “I’m 40 years old.

If we fall in the quarterfinals as everyone expects, my dream ends here. ” Today I can say that I was 40 years old when I took the podium and received an Olympic medal. And you?

What is your podium? What prevents you from climbing on it? Is it some real reason, or are you blocking the way yourself?

As you leave this lecture, I want to propose a challenge for you - an athlete’s challenge. I want you to think of something you always wanted, but gave up because you thought you were too old. And I want you to write that achievement down as a goal for the end of next year.

Train, find teammates, compete; compete with others with the same goal. Be stubborn like a 40-year-old athlete. Challenge yourself.

I share my story with you for you to ask yourself: How old were you when you decided you were too old to pursue your dreams? My name is Carol Gattaz. I was 28 years old when I decided it was too late to pursue mine.

And I can say that with great pride and with great stubbornness I was one who didn’t follow my decision. I was 40 years old when I finally achieved my dream. Thank you.