- April 05, 2024
If you’d like to learn how to successfully reinvent yourself so you can live the life you’ve always wanted, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.
Maybe you or someone you know was financially impacted as a result of being labeled a non-essential worker. According to a recent edition of Fortune magazine, over 42.6 million Americans filed for unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, many people may not have jobs to return to once the pandemic ends.
While I did not lose my job, my salary was drastically cut and I was faced with an uncertain future. Would my salary be restored after the pandemic? If another pandemic were to hit in the near future, how would I insure myself against ending up in this position again or losing my job the next time around? I realized that the concept of job security was an anachronism and decided that it was time to take matters into my own hands and reinvent myself as a Business Development Coach.
Since the shelter in-place, I have had many of my articles published in nationally-syndicated magazines, self-published my first book and launched my first virtual, live course where I successfully marketed and sold my digital content. It is important to note that none of these accomplishments were on my list of goals prior to the shelter in-place.
Reinventing yourself is not about creating a new you. It is quite the opposite. In a nutshell, reinventing yourself is really all about uncovering your authentic self and allowing it to come to the forefront of your life. Your authentic self is the real you; the person that’s always been waiting in the shadows desperately wanting to be free.
You must be careful not to confuse your job title or job duties with your authentic identity. I used daily prayer and journaling to shave off the layers of false identities and reconnect with the person on the inside that I used to know and love.
Be prepared for a bumpy ride, as some parts of this process are cathartic. Many times I found myself needing a Kleenex (or two). I wish that I could give you an exact time-table for this process; it takes as long as it takes. Eventually you’ll come out on the other side and be just fine. To everybody else, it’ll look like you reinvented yourself but you’ll know the truth of the matter.
“I feel like I have a job to do, like I constantly have to reinvent myself. The more I up the ante for myself, the better it is in the long run.” – Kevin Hart
Next, it’s time for you to shed all of the other voices. By other voices I mean those thoughts wanting expression that don’t align with your authentic self. These voices could’ve come from your parents, a sibling, close friends, or even a television show for crying out loud!
Journaling is a powerful and effective tool for this step in the process. The objective here is to determine what you’re passionate about. In other words, what message do you strongly desire to share with the world? This is a very important step as it will be your basis of value for monetization in your new life.
Now that you’ve determined your authentic voice, how do you bridge the gap between your old life and the new one you desire? For this, you’ll need a system or vehicle that is designed to help you monetize your unique message.
Without this step, you’ll still be stuck in your same old rut. Except now it’ll be worse because you’ve uncovered your real self and have no false identities to delude yourself with as you pass the time at work. You’ll quickly come to realize that your old vehicle (your job) doesn’t allow for your authentic self to adequately monetize your unique message and support your desired lifestyle.
You can either create your own system or invest in a proven method. Go with whatever suits you best. For me, I decided to invest in a few online courses that provided me with new skill sets which I quickly used to monetize my message.
Your new lifestyle is not going to build itself. You need to consistently take the necessary steps to make it happen. Even though you will be lacking in some knowledge, it is vital that you take consistent actions toward the accomplishment of your goal. This is as simple as taking two actions everyday that will lead you to attain your dream. You don’t need to know everything, but you do need to take action every single day in order to manifest your goals.
Be patient; Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your new life. The decision to reinvent yourself may land you into a totally new industry. You may be starting this new journey in your fifties (like me) and be faced with learning new technologies. At times the whole thing can seem overwhelming. This is where patience comes in. Sometimes you just don’t know what you don’t know. Therefore, you will make mistakes along the journey. There’s no way around it; that’s a part of being human.
Remember to pay close attention to the feedback you’re getting in the form of your results. Be flexible. If you’re not getting the results you desire, don’t give up on your dreams. Just change your approach until you get the results you’re looking for.
“Your power to choose your direction of your life allows you to reinvent yourself, to change your future, and to powerfully influence the rest of creation.” – Stephen Covey
Faith is essential for you to not give up along the way. Life can have a way of knocking even the strongest of us on our backsides. During these times, our resolve to do the necessary work may be greatly diminished. Develop a daily habit of praying. Nurture the belief that there is a God who created you with a purpose. It will help you find strength from beyond yourself when you don’t have it within you to keep going.
No matter how dark things may seem, there is light for your authentic self on the other side.