Like Clarkson, I tried to reinvent myself in midlife and almost blew it – here are 15 rules that saved me

Ten years ago, Grant Feller watched his annual salary plummet to less than his teenage daughter’s nannying job. With no income, no clue and no clients, here’s how he went from panic to six figures after 50. (Rule number one: your best friend’s an idiot)

Petrolhead Jeremy Clarkson reinvented himself as a Cotswolds farmer (Prime Video)

In a few months, more veteran politicians than ever will be out of a job. It may be Humza Yousaf today, but soon almost 70 Conservative MPs, boasting a combined 1,000 years of parliamentary experience, will voluntarily quit and even more will be brutally kicked out. And I feel sorry for them. Really. It’s tough to start again.

Ten years ago, my annual salary was £8,000, less than my teenage daughter brought in from her nannying job. It was barely enough to pay the bills – and with a sizable mortgage, two cars, school fees and all the luxuries of a comfortable middle-class lifestyle, there were a lot of outgoings.

Blame it on my midlife crisis – in retrospect the best thing that ever happened to me. Because instead of doing all the stupid hedonistic things middle-aged men do as they try to reinvent themselves, I did something equally stupid. I decided to reinvent my career from a standing start, abandoning an office job in journalism to see what else there was out there. If Arnold Schwarzenegger could make a dramatic career change at 56, why couldn’t I? And if Jeremy Clarkson can go from petrolhead to Cotswolds farmer, anything is possible, surely?