You’re never too old to set up your own business, claims a 61 year old with a 20 year plan for success.

John Dabrowski launched his first business after being made redundant for the third time shortly before his 60th birthday.

The management consultant and motivational speaker helps others achieve their goals and strongly believes his age is an asset rather than a hindrance. He plans to keep working until at least 80 years old and might even press on to 90.

John says he rejects the idea of retirement and has little interest in putting his feet up and watching TV all day.

He says he’s become increasingly passionate about work and business as he’s matured and has dedicated the rest of his life to helping others achieve success.

To prove it he’s just published his first book, Off The Wall – how to develop world class mental resilience.

His ultimate goal is to launch his own charitable foundation and he hopes to inspire others to forget about retirement and instead continue to make their dreams a reality well into their sixties, seventies and beyond.

But his new found passion and confidence is a million miles away from where John started out in life – as a unconfident kid from a Polish speaking home who barely spoke English.

He was bullied at school for being well over six feet tall. But he eventually turned adversity to his advantage and became a professional basketball player who represented England at the Commonwealth Games.

But when injury ended his sports career early, he drifted into corporate life and a successful series of sales and marketing roles but due to circumstances beyond his control he was unfortunately made redundant no less than three times.

It was only when he faced the axe for the third time as his 60th birthday loomed, that John finally felt he was ready to launch his own company.

It was a time of massive personal change for John who recently tied the knot with fiancée Julie.

John said: “If 60 is the new 40 then let’s all agree, life begins at 60. It’s certainly true in my case.

“I’ve got a new career, a new marriage and I’m happier and more passionate than I’ve ever felt before.

“I have a very clear plan to see my business grow from now until I’m 80. And after that I have no plans of stopping.

“It takes a certain person to settle down and retire and I’m not someone who can spend his time watching the world go by.

“My end goal is very simple – to make a positive difference to as many people as I possibly can. Whether that’s through training, speaking or my writing.

“My business is entirely different from so many of the startups you see nowadays as the driving force isn’t money, it’s a passion for the job.

“My age has only been a benefit as clients are looking for someone with a wealth of life experience who knows what they are talking about.

“I’d encourage anyone who finds the thought of retiring a daunting idea to find something they care about and turn it into a business.”

John plans to spend the next 20 years travelling the UK, Europe and beyond, speaking at business events and inspiring as many people as possible.

He said: “When your business is about more than simply making money you end up having a reason to get up in the morning that makes you resilient and confident.

“Within the next few years I plan to be travelling around the world and even to start my own charitable foundation.”

Describing himself like a fine wine that only matures with age, the motivational speaker believes his life experience is what separates him from other businesses.

And he puts his decision to start a business from scratch, and grow it for decades to come, down to one teenage moment that changed his future.

The young John had travelled to Poland to meet his 6”9 basketball star uncle who encouraged him that he could do anything he put his mind to.

Within a few years he went from being picked last in PE to playing in England’s national basketball team, all because of a change in attitude and motivation.

Yet despite his success on the basketball court John says this is the most rewarding phase of his career.

He said: “It’s not how you start in life that matters, it’s how you finish. For me life just keeps getting better, and it can for you too.”