Reinvent to Become the Person You Were Meant to Be
Reinvention doesn’t always mean starting over. It could be as simple as taking up a new hobby, or switching jobs. I look at every step we take to improve ourselves as reinvention of some sorts. . . .we are working on becoming the person we set out to be.
I became obsessed with the notion of reinvention in my mid-thirties. With three kids, a dog and an old house to rehab, I found myself dreading going to work every day. As a trial lawyer I was gone from the house 12 hours a day, and worked most weekends. It didn’t leave much time to be with those beautiful babies or be the stay-at-home dogmom of my dreams. My work needed me to be in court and at depositions, often in other states. Moreover, I felt a need for adventure. I found myself turning to the reinvention stories I found in the magazines I subscribed to. . .reading how women like me changed their lives by embarking on a new career.
I always had the desire to do something creative for a career. At 17, I was going to be a photojournalist and travel the world. Then my high school counselor told me that wasn’t a stable career choice. I can’t believe I let that man talk me out of pursuing my dream, but I was young and impressionable. I was raised in a small, blue collar town and I didn’t have many role models, or a mentor. This is when I embarked on the path to law school. I like to constantly challenge myself and I wanted to prove that I could achieve such a big goal.
My first job out of law school gained me a solid mentor, who not only was a skilled lawyer, but an excellent businessman, and an adventurer. He showed me how to take risks in business, but he taught me more than the law and how to run a law firm. He also taught me that life is about taking risks, pushing yourself, and continually doing new things. He was constantly challenging himself: becoming a pilot, biking 50 miles every Sunday, learning to ride a horse then doing competitions, becoming a photographer, and currently, joining the Coast Guard in retirement. I didn’t know at the time that this was all a part of his constant reinvention: his desire to become the person he was meant to become.
During my obsession with reading about reinvention stories, I also found myself delving more into the food business world. I’ve always loved food businesses and if money were no option I would have a string of them, all different. My passion is creating concepts for businesses, of which I have an endless supply of ideas. When I decided to take my mentor’s lead on experiencing all life has to offer, I created my first food business and in turn, found what had been missing in my life. The joy of creativity sparked new desire and purpose. It filled a void. The disconnect I had felt for so many years with my career was suddenly explained. I had achieved my audacious goal, but it didn’t fulfill me because my reinvention as a creative person was a constant work in progress. Becoming a lawyer was just a part of that, not the whole story. It wasn’t an all or nothing type of choice.
When I realized this, I jumped into life as an entrepreneur with two feet, and summoned the courage to leave trial work as part of the evolution of me as a person. Since then I have learned how to start and run multiple types of businesses and met entrepreneurs all over the world; I’ve learned to build websites, become a designer, become an e-commerce entrepreneur, become a self-taught chef and now teach others; and I’ve used my law degree and business skills to counsel fellow entrepreneurs all over the country, becoming a consultant, advisor, mentor and coach. It’s allowed me time to write and to learn to take better photos — the two passions I had as a young girl. I am still me, just a better version.
The evolution of me as a person is still in progress, even as I enter my fifties. But as I learned from my mentor, it will continue on as I keep reinventing myself on my journey to becoming the person I was meant to be. When I leave this earth and have that conversation with my maker, I want to tell a good story about all that I accomplished with my time.
The one piece of advice I have to offer if you are getting started on reinvention is this: you just have to start. The person you want to become is already inside of you, let her out. #bebold
