Michael R GuzikVerified account

To all the women out there that compared their bodies to J Lo at 50 or Shakira at 43, I say please don't. However, if you are the first female partner in that law firm, you succeed in that IT department, you've seen countless of your students go on to do great things, as a doctor

you are saving lives, you can balance your companies budget and the one you manage at home, you are momming so hard right now getting the kids, your husband and yourself out of the house on time - bravo to you.

Yes we need the J Lo's, Shakira's and Tom Brady's of the world to inspire us. To inspire our youth to show them that if you start working on something that you love at an early age with hard work and dedication, no matter what it is, anyone can achieve greatness at any age.

But they also can inspire those of us that are 42, 43, 50 or 44. Our parents were right. Hard work pays. Dedication matters. You can achieve what you dream but you must go to work. Please don't get mad. Don't get frustrated. No time for that.

So go to work. Be the best docent at the Field Museum of Chicago for over 25 years. Be the best IT professional at the city of Chicago for over 30 years. Be dedicated to the Local, State and National PTA for over 40 years. Serve your church for over 60 years.

Because your kids are watching. They saw you work hard every day. They saw what dedication looked like. They realize at 44 that hard work does pay off. If you have a dream get up & do something about it. Know that your family is there for you. Know that they will always love you.

But you have to get up and go to work. Mom so hard. Dad so hard. Balance that budget. Secure your company from cyber attacks. Win that case. Teach the youth. Whatever it is that you do, that you've done or that you want to do at 42, 43, 50 or 44 start by looking at your parents.

If you are around my age then your parents are probably from the same era where hard work and dedication meant you could put food on the table, a roof over your head and clothes on your back while making sure your kids got an education so they could do the same for their kids.