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Woman shares life lessons she wishes she'd learned before her 50s

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Woman shares helpful life advice she learned at 54
Hattie Willoughby/Instagram
ByGMA Team
February 10, 2025, 6:54 PM

A 54-year-old woman has gone viral for her advice to women in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

Hattie Willoughby took to Instagram to share the life lessons she says she's learned that she wishes she'd known earlier in her life.

"I don't know if you call it gatekeeping, or if someone just never bothers to tell you," Willoughby says in the video post, which was shared Jan. 22. "But here's all of the random stuff I wish someone had said to me long before the age of 54."

Among the tips that Willoughby shares are to be smart with money, to find a circle of friends with high standards and to not let fear hold you back.

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"Your fear of rejection and worrying about what people who don't matter think is keeping you from opportunities that are meant for you," she says in the video.

Hattie Willoughby took to Instagram to share the life lessons she's learned at age 54.
Hattie Willoughby/Instagram

When it comes to money, Willoughby advises young people, "If you don't learn to manage money, money will always manage you."

Willoughby told "Good Morning America" that she hopes the advice she shares will help people take action in their lives before it's too late.

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"I made [the video] because I know what it's like to wait for your life to change, to make excuses, to hope things will miraculously get better while doing the same thing over and over," she said. "And the only way out of that cycle is to hear something that shakes you awake. I would have wanted to hear this when I was younger."

She continued, "Sometimes we just need to hear, 'Hey, you're capable of more than this. But you have to stop getting in your own way.'"

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Willoughby's video has received thousands of comments since it was posted.

"This is something I definitely needed to hear today," wrote one commenter.

"Thank you for dropping these gems," wrote another.

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