do you feel like you are getting too old to learn new tricks?

Loren Woirhaye here.

I haven't often sent out content written by anyone but me. I
may change that. Here's an inspiring and thoughtful piece
by writer Bob Bly. You can find his books on Amazon.com -
he's one of the great freelance business writers of our time
with something like 70 books under his belt - I only hope some
day the switch will click that allows me to be 1/2 as prolific.

The following article is about starting a new career or business
as you age. Can you believe that at 37 even I feel to old to
get started with some things? I even think I'm too old to
get to be a really good guitar-player, when the truth is that
I'm just not currently making the time to improve.

In a lot of areas - guitar among them - you could get really,
really good in 3 years - become an expert. Seriously. Wes
Montgomery, the Jazz legend, started playing guitar at age 19 -
and was touring with Lionel Hampton 3 years later. 19 years
may strike you as young - but among good guitar players many
have been playing for 5-10 years at that age.

The point is that if you are inspired to do something age
cannot hold you back.

I'm a passionate student of Chinese Qi-Gong and Yoga - old
sciences from the Orient. In these traditions it's very possible
to grow in power as you age - or rather, trade youthful
exuberance and lack of focus for the quiet forcefulness
that comes from knowing what you want.

Knowing what YOU want is the key to getting it. I was re-reading
Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" last night and the
author hammers! the point. You can download the book here, gratis:

JVManager 2 Fantasos


Here's Bob Bly:

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The Cut-Off Age for Getting Into a New Career or Business

By Bob Bly

At what age are you too old to start a new career or business?

I have thought at various times in my life (I am now 51) that the cut-off age was 50... 60... or even 70.

There were two reasons I believed you'd reach a point where starting over just wasn't practical anymore.

The first, and lesser, was sheer age and lifespan: the idea that when there are many more years behind you than ahead of you, your time to enjoy the fruits of whatever labors you pursue is too limited.

The second reason I believed there was a cut-off date for starting a new career, learning a new trade, or launching a new small business was lack of experience.

For instance, one of the many careers I considered in my youth was the law. But I decided pursuing that in my later years was impractical.

Reason: Say, hypothetically, you were to graduate law school at age 45. You compete against two groups.

The first group is other 45-year-old lawyers who are the same age as you - but have 20 years of law experience vs. your zero years.

The other group you compete against is your classmates. Like you, they are new to the law. But being in their 20s and single, instead of 45 and having a mortgage and three kids in college, they can afford to work for starting salaries too small to meet your needs.

However, actor Abe Vigoda has changed my mind about all this. And my opinion today is that it is NEVER too late to learn new things, start a new business, switch careers, or go into a different industry. (Abe Vigoda, if the name does not ring a bell, is the dour-faced actor famous for playing the character Fish on the TV sitcom "Barney Miller.")

On the Internet recently, I read a short interview with Vigoda, who is still a working actor at age 87. It reminded me that his big break was his first movie, "The Godfather," in which he played Sal Tessio.

Well, "The Godfather" was released in 1972. So if you do the math, Vigoda didn't begin his movie career until he was over 50. More impressive is that, at age 87, Vigoda - who, pardon me, has a slightly cadaverous appearance that makes him look ready for the Old Folks Home - is still a competitive handball player.

If Abe Vigoda could get his first movie role at over 50 - beating out actors his age who had decades more credentials and experience - then I am convinced that you and I can start a new career or business at any age.

As an older entrepreneur or career changer, you will likely have some advantages over your younger colleagues, peers, and competitors - such as greater life experience and wisdom to draw upon when making decisions.

You may have some disadvantages, too - including (possibly) less energy, less flexibility, and less adaptability to new technologies and methods. Then again, maybe not. It depends on your personality - and your circumstances. If you are a retired empty-nester, you may actually have more time, freedom, and flexibility, not less.

If you are still working for a paycheck because you have to and not because you want to, it may take a greater degree of courage and fortitude to make any major business, career, or life change. But I know from firsthand experience that 50 is not too old to make a major change. And from that, I am guessing that your age won't stop you, either.

I started a small online information marketing business as I was closing in on my fiftieth birthday. I kept my day job as a freelance copywriter, while putting in long hours to get the new business started. But today, I earn a six-figure passive income from that business, selling information products on the Internet and "working" only an hour or two a day. Meanwhile, entering a new field has energized and renewed me in a way I never thought possible.

If your gut tells you that you are ready for a change, you probably are.

I close with this piece of wisdom from Milton Hershey, founder of Hershey Chocolate:

"I have often been asked - What is the best age for producing? I know only one answer, the age you are now."


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Stay Frosty,

Loren Woirhaye

ph: 310-359-8494