To set the scene, The Starry Night is an oil on canvas by the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. Painted in June 1889, it describes the view from the east-facing window of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise…
However we’re not here to discuss Vincent Van Gogh or the painting but the story behind a “fake ” edition of the painting which inspired the journey of our guest today on Living The Retirement Lifestyle Podcast and Webshow
Meet Neil Stafford who celebrates a milestone birthday this year qualifying him for the “retiree entrepreneurs club” we formed back in 2017. He made his first sale online way back in May 1998 and it was for the oil painting – the famous Starry Night by Van Gogh
Who would have thought that this “genuine fakes” business as he describes it would ultimately lead to the creation of a six figure information business helping entrepreneurs and information marketers create a residual income from their knowledge, skills, expertise or a BIG IDEA
Enjoy the interview as the story unfolds (and if you prefer to read do make sure to open the “cc” on the video to get the captions
The Story of “Starry Night” & How It Lead To The Creation Of An Information Business In Retirement
What we loved about Neil’s story was how he began an adventure into the unknown way back before the world of the internet which today we take for granted but which has opened up so many opportunities for us using the technologies we can start a business, learn new skills and still have a lot of fun
We asked Neil “what kind of challenges do you think people are going to face as they come into retirement, or perhaps are already in it”
His answer as he told the story of his stag weekend with a group of lads in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s centred around MONEY. Most were speaking the common words we hear ourselves “will I have enough?” or “How can I maximise what I have to make sure I have enough?” For those who had retired it was how to save more or get more to invest more… “not how can I make more” which should be the question they’re asking themselves?
Our next question was “what do you think someone approaching retirement should ask themselves about their future?”
His answer was “Is what I’m doing now what I want to be doing and where I want to be in five or ten years time? And if it’s not the case what do I really want to do and what do I need to do achieve it… what do I need to have that lifestyle I want in retirement?”
He goes on to say that whatever you want to do in retirement you can can still do it. If you’re 65 now and you think “right for the next 15 years I want to be travelling once a month, or once a quarter, or my family live around the world and I want to go and see them two or three times a year… or I want to go and do “X” You can do it!
Then reverse engineer what you need to do to be able to do that. What is your skill set? You’ve got skills, you’ve got knowledge, you’ve got experience.
Tap into the knowledge of someone who has done what you want to do and find out how you can turn it into a marketable product or a business
Neil’s Words of Wisdom
We write a lot of books so we asked Neil one final question “If you were contributing a chapter to one of our books on living the retirement lifestyle what would the headline of that chapter be?” His answer “In Life Aim High, Inspire And Smile”
In life you’ve got to aim high, inspire and smile. What I mean by that is that you should aim high because if you aim low you’re going to hit it. Inspire other people whether that’s family, friends or in business. Inspire your customers, your clients and their lives. Make sure you keep smiling as you go through it because you’ll have ups and downs. Things won’t go right all the time believe me but if you smile at them you’ll be inspired yourself and have a great life.
“Whatever you do, find a way to put recurring revenue into your business” and “no matter what you start now, in several years time it can be different. You’re not wedded to what you start!“
Neil works with entrepreneurs who have used their knowledge, skills, experience or expertise to create online information based businesses using his specialist knowledge and expertise with membership sites and continuity programs and something we strongly encourage our students and clients to do to bring in that all important recurring revenue. You can find out more at TheTrainingVault.com
To get a copy of our book The Ultimate Retirement Lifestyle ~ The Secret To Living Your Dream Retirement all you need to do is pop your name and email in here and it will be winging it’s way to you .
Thanks for joining us for this edition of Living The Retirement Lifestyle
