There is a documented neurological joy in learning something from scratch. It keeps the brain plastic and the spirit young.

The word "amateur" comes from the French word amour —to do something for the love of it.

When you’re 22, you feel like you have to be the best at everything to build a resume. At 44, if you paint a tree and it looks like a green blob, who cares? You enjoyed the process.

In our 40s, we finally have the perspective to stop doing things because we have to, and start doing things because we love to. We are the Amateur 40-Somethings. We might be slow, we might be messy, and we definitely need to stretch before we start, but we’re having more fun than the experts.