It's Never Too Late

Several years ago a man by the name of Chris called me, he had just lost his job at an airline where he had worked for over thirty years. After working his way up to become a successful executive with the airline he now found himself not only out of a job but with very little pension because of all the cuts in employee benefits.

I knew he was going to be all right because had been such a success with the airline and he was very intelligent and hardworking, but he felt very differently. He was over sixty and felt there was no future for him and there would be no retirement for he and his wife.

After working with him for several months to help him get his confidence back. I discovered that he had a passion for coffee. So, in his spare time, he began his studies. He read every book he could find on the history of coffee and how it was grown. He visited countries in South America to see how coffee beans were picked and sample hundreds of different types of coffee. He learned from experts in the industry everything there was to know about how to roast coffee.

To make a long story short, within two years after losing his job he opened up his first coffee shop in New York. He soon opened up another shop and soon another. Within a couple of years he had ten coffee shops all doing very well. He had a Web site were sold his coffee as well. He also published a very popular monthly newsletter about coffee.

My client recently sold his entire business and all of his coffee shops to a very large well-known coffee company for well over seven figures. He and his wife will now have a better retirement then they would have if he had retired with a full pension from the airline.

The point I'm trying to make here is that it's never too late to start a business and do something you really have a passion for.

So here's my advice if you've been laid off or down-sized from a job that you've been with for a long time. First, find out what you'd really like to do. Determine your objective, and actually visualize it in your mind. Picture what you want and the kind of person you want to become.

Next, get the facts. Get all the facts about what will be required to attain the objective you've determined upon and visualized. The more information you can get on the subject the better. Then, analyze, evaluate and group those facts. Try to put them in logical order of accomplishment.

The next thing you want to do is set a timetable for the accomplishment of your objectives, and try to stick to your timetable. Don't let people throw you off the track or tell you you're wrong. You should know what's right for you; what's right for others is their business.

Make sure your entire plan is written out so that you have a blueprint to follow. Make sure you check from time to time, to see how you're really doing by comparing your progress with your blueprint.

The most important thing of all to do is begin! Don't just keep talking about it. Do it! Understand that the time to start will really never be perfect, so start as soon as you can. If you don't start, if you don't take action on your plan, then nothing will ever happen.

Above all, stay with it. Keep your goal firmly fixed in your mind, have faith that you can reach it, and you will reach it. Like my client Chris, you'll find yourself happy, excited, and eventually financially free.

In today's age of layoffs and down sizing there is no such thing as job security. You could lose your job at any time. If that happens to you (and I hope it doesn't) just remember that no matter what your age or situation in life, it's never too late to start a business and do something you love.