hope, for the slow and plodding

I subscribe to Robert Genn's email letters and today's subject was "Early and Late Bloomers." He cited the research of an economist (I know, say wha?) who found that

"...some of the great artists peak early, while others don't do their best till later on. We are of two main types, he says. Some are quick and dramatic, what he calls conceptual innovators. Others are slow and plodding, what he calls experimental innovators. Picasso is of the first type, producing his best and most important work before the age of thirty. Cezanne is of the latter - steady growth and refinement until his best work comes late in life."

Not that I would dare compare myself to Cezanne, but it gives me hope to know that I still have plenty of time to improve my artwork and that there's no rush. I often feel a sense of urgency because so much of my life has been spent walking other paths and now that I'm on this one, I want to run to catch up. With what, I'm not sure...I know there's no finish line and I certainly feel no urge to compete with anyone else...it's more of my own internal clock that tick tocks away.