You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new

Hear, O traveler of time, the uplifting words of Les Brown, the voice of encouragement in the modern age: “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” In these words lies a song of hope for the weary, the aged, the disappointed, and the forgotten. It declares that life’s river does not cease to flow until the final breath, and that as long as a heart beats, it may still chart a new course across the sea of destiny.

To be told you are never too old is to be freed from the chains of doubt and despair that whisper: “It is too late.” Society often measures life in stages—youth for learning, middle years for striving, old age for retreat. But Les Brown calls us to break this illusion. The soul does not age as the body does; the flame of vision can burn as brightly at seventy as at seventeen. Age does not disqualify one from greatness—it tempers it, adding wisdom, patience, and resilience to the fire of ambition.

To set another goal is to declare that your story is not finished. Each goal is a new chapter, a new horizon that beckons you forward. Goals need not always be grand; they may be humble, yet still filled with meaning. The act of setting them keeps the spirit alive, for stagnation is death to the soul. To live without goals is to drift, but to set them, even late in life, is to seize the rudder of your journey once more.

To dream a new dream is to awaken the imagination, that eternal wellspring of the human heart. Dreams are not bound by time; they can be born in youth, or in the gray of age. Think of Colonel Harland Sanders, who founded Kentucky Fried Chicken not in the days of his youth, but after sixty-five years had passed. What the world thought was his twilight became the dawn of his greatest success. His story proclaims that new dreams are for all who dare to embrace them, no matter the hour of life.

So too with the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series in her sixties. She might have thought her time for new beginnings had passed, yet she chose to dream again. Her works have since touched generations, shaping the imaginations of countless children. She proved, as Les Brown declared, that it is never too late to dream anew.

The meaning is clear: human life is not measured only by years lived, but by goals pursued and dreams embraced. While the body may weaken with time, the spirit grows deeper, wiser, and capable of new creations. To stop dreaming is to die before death; to continue dreaming is to remain truly alive, no matter one’s age.

O listener, take this wisdom into your heart. Do not say, “It is too late for me.” Do not let your age, your failures, or your disappointments silence your dreams. Instead, rise today and set one new goal, kindle one new dream. It may be to learn, to create, to serve, to love more deeply, or to leave a legacy for others. Begin, for as long as you breathe, you are still a builder of tomorrow.

Thus the words of Les Brown shine as a beacon: “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” Let them remind you that life is not a finished tale until its final page is written. Live each day as a beginning, not an end, and you will find that the years ahead, however many or few, can yet be filled with wonder, purpose, and triumph.