Author @AlmuCorazon
Growing up among entrepreneurs I had the opportunity to observe from an early age why it is essential to reinvent yourself – sometimes many times -- in order to remain relevant. Early on there was a need to find positive ways to face difficult things, to navigate family pressures and school challenges. Later, I began focusing on building a successful professional career. And now I have carved out my niche as a wife, mother and international business person. Three incarnations – at least!
Truth is, we always need to be ready to move through life like a tightrope walker gets ready to cross the thin cable through the air. Every time we face a change, automatically our body fills with adrenaline, our mind becomes a little overwhelmed by curiosity and sometimes fear about what is to come. We have to be at ease with the unknown – not easy. It takes courage, optimism, and preparation. If you’ve been dreaming about totally changing your career, or your life path, here are five #tips that will help you along the way:
1- There is no such thing as a total reinvention. You build it progressively through life experiences. The way to think about it is "repositioning", "rebranding" or even "repackaging". Like most of you, my life has been filled with reinvention. A teen entrepreneur figuring out how to launch my own jewelry design business, and later deciding between working on my centenary family business or working for other brands after college – all aspects of me. Then I left my last position as a director of a department to focus on my family business, family growth and my international entrepreneurial career – yup, more aspects of me. In every phase, I needed to figure out who I wanted to be in my next chapter. So I sat down and created a chart with four sections:
a) a list of every skill I have;
b) a list of every experience I had in my previous jobs;
c) notes on the things I most enjoy; and,
d) the things I disliked in every job I ever held.
The goal is to be able to identify your strengths, your happiness and your true professional calling. What came to light was that I am very good at innovation and new technologies; helping others in creating a better world fulfills me; and business development and creative work are my passions. Hence the potential of my new career is building on the strength of what makes me happy and feel complete. Ask yourself, "In the ideal world what would you be working on?"
2- Expect to be lonely. When you are reinventing yourself it is normal to feel lonely, missing the people who were part of your past. It is hard to let go of one system to become part of a new one. The old system is made up of your familiar supporters, your friends and family, but they may not always be the cheerleaders on your reinvention path. So, you may walk alone for a time. In the end though community is important – others inspire, teach, encourage, and you may do the same for them. The good news is that social media makes meeting new people, and building relationships around topics that matter to you, so easy now. I personally found whole range of new people when volunteering, networking, on Instagram and Twitter -- all of whom became part of my virtual community.
3- Reinvent yourself step by step. The process doesn't happen overnight. In fact, expect to go through a roller coaster of emotions, indecisions, highs and lows. I started the process volunteering and working on projects in alignment with my passion points, then I took time to study and focus on self-growth; and finally I made my move to include all my strengths, experiences and dreams into an action plan to make things happen. At times your vision can become blurry and mixed in with your daily worries, but having a written action plan will help you keep track of goals and successes to motivate you on your journey, even when your energy is low or you are dealing with daily stressors.
4- Transform your part-time expectation into a full-time effort. Each time you reinvent yourself it is like the first time; you have to give your all, just like when you start from the scratch. Every beginning requires commitment, decision, action, self-motivation and good self-leadership. You need to devote 150% of yourself to make it happen; the older you are the harder it becomes. Increasing responsibilities and sometimes decreasing energy make each reinvention more challenging. Still, building a successful new you will take the same long hours as your first career. You must expect to have to network like when you were an intern. You will have to research like a pro, embrace new technology and business trends to highlight yourself and your skills to stand out from the rest.
5- Advance mindfully with a vision. Create new habits of meditation on your new you. Think about whom you want to become and create visual reminders around your house and office to consciously set your brain to your potential. You may want to create a vision board, meditate on your new you and envision the people who will become your support community. Stand for a moment and silently voice your appreciation for everything that came before. Once you’ve thanked the past (really accounting for everything that brought you to this moment), turn towards your future, acknowledging your present, with compassion and gratitude. Imagine yourself walking away from the past, moving beyond its limitations and into the future you are designing for yourself.
You’ll have a much greater chance at success and happiness in your new career when you are assertive and honest about what you like and what you are good at. Remember, you can reposition, rebrand or repackage yourself, but you can’t change your hardwiring.
Each time a major shift happens in our lives—leaving a job or a relationship, moving, losing a loved one—we have to take control of who we will become next or risk never reaching our full potential. Change means reinvention. Choose to reinvent and take action to fulfill the opportunities you are designing for yourself. Don’t wait for your future to find you. Staying still in a moving world is futile, and will only bring you confusion and sadness.
Globalization, unceasing technological momentum, and a variety of major crises are wakeup calls for many of us. We don’t want to waste time or energy. We want to take control where we can. Don’t stay in the job you hate, or keep living the life you are bored with. Get in touch with a reinvention mentor, someone who knows from experience and can help guide you to the best new you. We are available and can bring more clarity than you can find on your own. Every day you spend in stagnation is one less day you spend in success. Small deliberate steps add up. Take one today!
First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination. --Napoleon Hill
Truth is, we always need to be ready to move through life like a tightrope walker gets ready to cross the thin cable through the air. Every time we face a change, automatically our body fills with adrenaline, our mind becomes a little overwhelmed by curiosity and sometimes fear about what is to come. We have to be at ease with the unknown – not easy. It takes courage, optimism, and preparation. If you’ve been dreaming about totally changing your career, or your life path, here are five #tips that will help you along the way:
1- There is no such thing as a total reinvention. You build it progressively through life experiences. The way to think about it is "repositioning", "rebranding" or even "repackaging". Like most of you, my life has been filled with reinvention. A teen entrepreneur figuring out how to launch my own jewelry design business, and later deciding between working on my centenary family business or working for other brands after college – all aspects of me. Then I left my last position as a director of a department to focus on my family business, family growth and my international entrepreneurial career – yup, more aspects of me. In every phase, I needed to figure out who I wanted to be in my next chapter. So I sat down and created a chart with four sections:
a) a list of every skill I have;
b) a list of every experience I had in my previous jobs;
c) notes on the things I most enjoy; and,
d) the things I disliked in every job I ever held.
The goal is to be able to identify your strengths, your happiness and your true professional calling. What came to light was that I am very good at innovation and new technologies; helping others in creating a better world fulfills me; and business development and creative work are my passions. Hence the potential of my new career is building on the strength of what makes me happy and feel complete. Ask yourself, "In the ideal world what would you be working on?"
2- Expect to be lonely. When you are reinventing yourself it is normal to feel lonely, missing the people who were part of your past. It is hard to let go of one system to become part of a new one. The old system is made up of your familiar supporters, your friends and family, but they may not always be the cheerleaders on your reinvention path. So, you may walk alone for a time. In the end though community is important – others inspire, teach, encourage, and you may do the same for them. The good news is that social media makes meeting new people, and building relationships around topics that matter to you, so easy now. I personally found whole range of new people when volunteering, networking, on Instagram and Twitter -- all of whom became part of my virtual community.
3- Reinvent yourself step by step. The process doesn't happen overnight. In fact, expect to go through a roller coaster of emotions, indecisions, highs and lows. I started the process volunteering and working on projects in alignment with my passion points, then I took time to study and focus on self-growth; and finally I made my move to include all my strengths, experiences and dreams into an action plan to make things happen. At times your vision can become blurry and mixed in with your daily worries, but having a written action plan will help you keep track of goals and successes to motivate you on your journey, even when your energy is low or you are dealing with daily stressors.
4- Transform your part-time expectation into a full-time effort. Each time you reinvent yourself it is like the first time; you have to give your all, just like when you start from the scratch. Every beginning requires commitment, decision, action, self-motivation and good self-leadership. You need to devote 150% of yourself to make it happen; the older you are the harder it becomes. Increasing responsibilities and sometimes decreasing energy make each reinvention more challenging. Still, building a successful new you will take the same long hours as your first career. You must expect to have to network like when you were an intern. You will have to research like a pro, embrace new technology and business trends to highlight yourself and your skills to stand out from the rest.
5- Advance mindfully with a vision. Create new habits of meditation on your new you. Think about whom you want to become and create visual reminders around your house and office to consciously set your brain to your potential. You may want to create a vision board, meditate on your new you and envision the people who will become your support community. Stand for a moment and silently voice your appreciation for everything that came before. Once you’ve thanked the past (really accounting for everything that brought you to this moment), turn towards your future, acknowledging your present, with compassion and gratitude. Imagine yourself walking away from the past, moving beyond its limitations and into the future you are designing for yourself.
You’ll have a much greater chance at success and happiness in your new career when you are assertive and honest about what you like and what you are good at. Remember, you can reposition, rebrand or repackage yourself, but you can’t change your hardwiring.
Each time a major shift happens in our lives—leaving a job or a relationship, moving, losing a loved one—we have to take control of who we will become next or risk never reaching our full potential. Change means reinvention. Choose to reinvent and take action to fulfill the opportunities you are designing for yourself. Don’t wait for your future to find you. Staying still in a moving world is futile, and will only bring you confusion and sadness.
Globalization, unceasing technological momentum, and a variety of major crises are wakeup calls for many of us. We don’t want to waste time or energy. We want to take control where we can. Don’t stay in the job you hate, or keep living the life you are bored with. Get in touch with a reinvention mentor, someone who knows from experience and can help guide you to the best new you. We are available and can bring more clarity than you can find on your own. Every day you spend in stagnation is one less day you spend in success. Small deliberate steps add up. Take one today!
First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination. --Napoleon Hill
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