Another fine mess...

Sue and I saw the Stan and Ollie film last night.

I left the cinema feeling really sad.

The two of them were geniuses who brought laughter and happiness to millions of people right across the world. They were pioneers of their craft and made over 150 movies.

But their later years were spent in relative poverty.

That's because, when they were writing the scripts and performing in the films, they were simply ‘paid hands’. They didn’t own the rights.

So they had no assets.

Of course, nowadays, all the big stars have a share of the rock. So when their films, or music, or plays are repeated years later, or sold around the world to new territories, the talent that created them shares in the success.

Laurel and Hardy missed out on all that.

And so are millions of small business owners.

Because they don't own any assets either.

Doing the work once and getting paid for it many times over is a truly wondrous thing that really can contribute (massively) to your long-term financial security.

Residual income comes in a very close second.

Having marketing campaigns and copy that is tested and proven and brings in results time after time means you can, literally, create money at will – something that Stan and Ollie were never able to do.

It's very hard to create true wealth and provide for your future properly when you only ever get paid for what you do today.

Have a great week,

Nigel