EO at 39: Lessons Members Wish They Knew Before Turning 40

EO is turning 39!

On 17 September 2026, EO marks 39 years of empowering entrepreneurs to unlock their potential, expand their impact, and thrive in their businesses and beyond.

In just under four decades, EO has evolved from humble roots to a worldwide organization with 20,000 members representing 100+ countries in more than 225 chapters.

As EO embarks on its final year before turning 40, we asked members to reflect on what they wish they had known before hitting that big milestone.

Mely Torres (EO Puerto Rico)

Before turning 40, I believed I was supposed to have everything figured out by then: my career, my purpose, my definition of success and the direction of the rest of my life.

I wish I had known is that 40 is not a deadline.

Long before I founded On Point Strategy, the desire to become an entrepreneur was already within me. But so was fear. I questioned whether I was ready, whether I knew enough and whether I was capable of building something of my own.

If I could speak to the woman I was before turning 40, I would tell her: Do not be afraid to become an entrepreneur.

You may never feel completely ready. You may not have every answer, every resource or a perfect plan. Courage does not mean an absence of fear; it means taking the next step while fear is still present.

I founded On Point Strategy after turning 40, carrying years of experience, responsibilities, relationships and lessons—some earned through success and many through difficult moments. At times, I struggled with the belief that I had waited too long. I compared my timeline to those of people who had begun earlier.

I wish I had understood that there is no single timeline for success. Some dreams take longer because we are still becoming the person capable of carrying them. The waiting is not always wasted time. Sometimes, it is preparation.

If I could speak to myself before turning 40, I would say: Do not let fear make your decisions. Do not measure your life against someone else’s timeline. Trust what has been placed within you, take the risk and remember that you are not late.

Your best work may still be ahead of you — and when the moment comes, you will understand why it could not have happened any other way.

Steven de Jong (EO Netherlands)

I wish I had the insight and the courage, before turning 40, to choose a better work-life balance: Specifically, more time for rest and health.

Miriam Mazzola (EO Argentina)

I would have liked to know that life's most difficult moments can become our greatest opportunities for transformation. Even though it may seem like everything is falling apart, I learned over time that we cannot always choose what happens to us, but we can choose what we do about it.

Adversity can break us or transform us; and when we manage to turn it into a learning experience, it can help us grow, change our lives, and ultimately transcend.

Stephen Shortt (EO Ireland)

I wish I knew that you actually need alarmingly little to be happy in life. Figuring out what happiness means for you is the most important step, rather than what you think other people think you are supposed to want to have, be, do, or accomplish by whenever. That is exhausting. EO has helped me figure out that happiness is progress towards purpose, whatever that purpose is for you.

Interested in becoming an EO member? Learn more here.