I’ve reinvented myself so many times from an 8 to 5 employee to a startup, from a full service IT company to an enterprise software business and now going for a SAAS company. I’ve tried photography, music recording, video editing, blogging, drawing, writing, triathlon, and I know for myself that I will never stop innovating and reinventing myself.
We all have a way to measure our life, business, or at work. Income, for example, is a decent measurement stick. Some people measure their life by their emotions like happiness, regret, energy, etc.
In any case, one primary reason for reinventing ourselves is when these indicators are not happening as you expect it to happen.
Another reason is when you are meeting your goals, but you want growth. Or yes, you are achieving your income goals or you have a lot of money, but your happiness level is low.
The time factor is important in considering reinvention. Is it too soon or should I cut the losses?
Some people are content and complacent with life already, which is the best scenario, especially when they are already happy. But some others, like me, always have the itch to grow.
So the first step is to DECIDE that you are reinventing yourself. Accept the fact that it will not be easy to change things, especially when you are used to what you’ve been doing for years.
It may not necessarily be starting from scratch. If you have a business, change your business model, change your methodology, or change your culture.
If you’re an employee, then look for functions in your company that you think you will excel, and you will be happy, then go for it.
Once you have decided to reinvent yourself, then prepare yourself by setting a 3 to 5-year target. You won’t be able to achieve anything significant overnight. You may need to take one step backward to move forward two steps ahead. Save money and stop spending things you cannot afford.
The next step is to spend hours learning about the path you wish to take. Read books, join webinars, and be an expert of that thing that you want to pursue.
Once you know the basics, then join local communities of the subject. Go out every day to learn and build your network. Offer services for free until things build up through word of mouth. Then you can start thinking about revenue goals.
Manage your expectations. As they say, things may fail, but the important thing is getting up, learning from mistakes and reinventing yourself over and over again.