The 10 MORE/Wilhelmina 40+ Model Search Finalists for 2007

51 | TV host | Newtown, Pennsylvania

“You don’t have to have it all figured out at 25. If I were to go back to myself at that time, I would say…don’t be so quick to have to make a decision about the rest of your life.”
 

46 | Business owner | Lancaster, New York

“I’ll never give up my love of people, and my desire to help others see the good in things.”
 

42 | Homemaker | Los Angeles, California

“I’ve always been a free spirit. People can try to put me in a box, but that’ll never happen.”
 

50 | Counselor | Phoenix, Arizona

“Turning 50 has just been a real catalyst for being who I want to be and doing what I want to do. It’s been a huge adventure.”
 

43 | Business owner | West Bend, Wisconsin

“I have learned now that you can’t achieve perfection — that it’s impossible — but you can instead strive to be the best that you can be.”
 

49 | Housewife/occasional French pastry chef | Tallahassee, Florida

“My mother repeatedly told me that inner beauty must be polished before outer beauty can shine…. We can be beautiful, attractive and we can be powerful and successful.”
 

44 | Writer | Hartsdale, New York

“I would never give up my space — my free time to think and to focus on who I am as a person.”
 

44| Pilates instructor | Big Bear Lake, California

“I would never give up exercising because it’s so good for your body and your mind. It just positively influences so many aspects of your life.”
 

40 | Dental assistant | Costa Mesa, California

“I would look my [25-year-old] self in the face and say, ‘You know what? Enjoy what God gave you, and don’t worry about what anybody else thinks.’”
 

45 | Project management consultant | Short Hills, New Jersey

“Enjoy life! Don’t take yourself too seriously. There are always going to be ups and downs in life.”

Originally published on MORE.com, February 2008.