Featured Image Credit: Paul Souders/Getty Images/Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for WIRED25
Topics: Amazon, Business, Money, Jeff Bezos, Reddit
Ellie Kemp
Topics: Amazon, Business, Money, Jeff Bezos, Reddit
People are only just realizing how old Jeff Bezos was when he founded his trillion-dollar-worth company Amazon.
And it should provide some relief to those of us who are questioning our directions in life.
From the high cost of college tuition to the expense of retraining in a new field later down the line, there's so much pressure when it comes to choosing the 'right' career path.
But sometimes, taking a risk can pay off big time - especially for now-billionaire Jeff Bezos.
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Today, Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world, shipping more than 12 million products to some 131 countries.
But the company came from rather humble beginnings, founded three decades ago in Bezos' garage in Bellevue, Washington.
Giving up a stable career at a hedge fund in New York, Bezos borrowed almost $250,000 from his parents to start up the business.
Back in July 1995, you could only buy one thing from Amazon: books. But the concept soon took off - so much so that by the end of the first month of business, Amazon had shipped books to all 50 states in the US and 45 countries.
Amazon went public in 1997, and now has 6,857 institutional owners and shareholders holding a total of 7,431,019,929 shares, according to global investor platform Fintel.
Bezos was an ambitious 30-year-old when he took the plunge - something not many people are aware of.
While we've not all got rich parents to loan start-up money from, it's the principle of risk-taking that we can apply to our own lives here.
For many people, it's reminded them it's actually never too late to make a play for your dream life.
Taking to Reddit to discuss Bezos, one person posted in the R/Motivation subreddit: "Jeff Bezos was THIRTY when he started Amazon.
"While I'm not really a fan of him, I think it's a good lesson for anyone thinking they are 'too old' to change careers or start a business. I will be 30 this year and went full-time self-employed last fall, and had a lot of second-guessing myself due to my age."
Others discussed their own beliefs when it comes to careers and timelines.
One person questioned: "Does anyone seriously think that 30 is 'old'? Too old to start? To achieve? Anyone who thinks this needs to profoundly adjust their perspective and expectations of life."
A second agreed: "Yeah, 30 is incredibly YOUNG!"
But another Redditor vented: "I'm 25 and I panic so much [about] losing time...."
One social media user went on to share his own inspiring story, explaining: "When I was 29 I was deeply in debt following a series of failed startups, more than a hundred thousand dollars underwater on my mortgage, stuck in a pos house that was falling apart around me, and desperately grabbing any contract/freelance work I could to stay alive.
"Here I am, 12 years, one divorce, and two hospitalizations later, and I have transitioned into a career that I love and a lifestyle very close to the one I fantasized about as a younger man. My journey started as a homeless 17 year old with a grand total of $20 to my name.
"Anecdotes are not evidence, but I exist, and that counts for something."