Don't take my word for it!

Written by Nick Freedman, Founder, Retire on Purpose

Many moons ago when I was studying Marketing, my teacher painted a clear picture one day about the difference between Advertising and Word of Mouth. 

He said imagine two people at a party.

The first is an Ad-man. He notices a girl across the room that he likes, waltzes straight up to her and says, 'Hi, I'm a great guy. Lots of people like me. Would you like to dance?' The girl laughs to herself and politely declines. The adman tries to persuade her, and after a minute of listening to him she walks off.  

The second guy, who we'll call our Word of Mouth guy is a tad wiser. He also noticed the same girl across the room and witnessed what just happened. He likes her too, so takes a different approach. He sends a friend of his over who knows the girl already. After a couple of minutes chatting, his friend slips into the conversation that he wants to introduce someone that likes her. He tells her a little about the guy and asks if it's ok with her. She says yes and so our Word of Mouth guy get's invited over to say hi.

I laughed so hard when I heard this story, that it's stuck with me ever since. 

In 2002, I set up my first consulting business. I was 29 years old. And over the next 20 years, I have been lucky to have positively impacted over 10,000 people. And many of them have gone on to tell their friends what they gained from our time together. Word of mouth, as well as following Steve Martin's simple philosophy "Be so good they can't ignore you"  has enabled me to get to where I am today.    

So whilst there is an element of advertising on the website, I'd really like share some words from our global community about their experience on our programs. 

Through this program, Nick helped me live my life with the realisation the best is yet to come. It helps you find your true wisdom, and purposefully pursue your dreams, at the time when you’re ready to move on from your career. This is the best gift you can give yourself or your retiring team members!  Linda Mayer, ex- HR Director (now Chateau owner / Retreat Facilitator), France.  

Nick helped me map out my ideal retirement. I moved to the country, lead a balanced healthy life and mix my new purpose, working in a charity, with a few consulting gigs too. This was an outstanding course that helped me create my new life. 10 out of 10 from me!  Howard Pelquest-Hunt, CEO, Australia. 

Hi Nick - thought I’d touch base to say I finished working through the program a little while back. Found it excellent. I love a good framework! Consolidated a lot of what my husband and I already had thought through and broadly planned - and also grounded it much more in all aspects of myself. It really empowered me to prioritise my focus on being rather than doing - now and into “retirement”. And it’s supported me to develop a really clear picture of how and where I want to be (which includes living across Thailand and Australia) within a few years. Also has left me with a strong sense of how achievable it is, what steps we need to take to get there, and that it’s really just an evolution and continuation of my first 60 years. Nick Toonen, OAM, Director. 

When I left my corporate career, to become my own boss, Nick's program and intuitive free-flowing coaching questions, were instrumental in helping me clarify the purpose, values and brand name for my new business. An hour with Nick, saved me hours and gave me clear direction.  Brad Jobe, Consultant and Founder, Sydney. 

Thank you very much for an informative and thought provoking few weeks. The course has enabled me to move from a state of thinking a simple …”Great I can retire in a few years so it’s an easy and stress-free existence until I fall off the perch”… and has made me focus on the fact that my life could be a massive void without a full time job; and I need to have a definite plan to ensure an active and fulfilled life post-full time employment. It’s not just a simple question of how much money I will have from my pensions. I now have a much clearer vision of what I need to put in place to have a seamless transition into the next phase of life. Thanks again.  Malcolm Morris, EMEAI Technical Manager, UK.

Click here if you would like to connect with me on linked in. There are over 25 further testimonials you can read there. 

Retire on Purpose was created to support men and women who are transitioning from the end of their careers into retirement. Our two programs pose all the questions you need to transition successfully. My Legacy helps you find, recruit and mentor your successor, so you can leave behind your professional legacy. And My Game Plan helps you build a holistic roadmap for your retirement so you can retire with a fresh sense of purpose and peace of mind that the new life you are stepping into, is actually the one you want to be living.