Thoughts on Reinvention

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the term, 'reinvention' lately, because it seems that with ever increasing frequency, I receive questions from folks who are interested in how I went about starting this pattern business. And it's when people find out that prior to the start-up, I spent 29 years managing a wastewater lab for a municipality, that the inevitable questions about 're-invention' comes up...

      What made you  think you could succeed?...

      How did you know where to start?...

      Weren't you scared of taking such a big chance or by doing something so different from anything you'd done before?...

 

Here's the view I enjoy each day out of my home-based studio.

Hmmmmmm. You know, it didn't feel scary at all at the time, so I'm always at a loss as to how to reply. Maybe it's because the term 'reinvention' feels wrong to me. It seems to hint that in some way I was broken before. 'Reinvention sounds like maybe I wasn't good enough as I was, and so I had to figure out something... anything... to become, and then try to be it.

You know, I've always thought, what a shame it is, that we're asked at the impossible age of eighteen, to decide what we want to do with the rest of our lives. Choose a college...pick a major...learn a trade...and chart a course that we should stay on until we retire. Really? Does that make sense?

What if there was a simpler way of looking at it than that? What if instead, the course we chart is to find and recognize our natural gifts, inclinations, strengths and desires and create a way to express them? That way, the progress we make toward that end, (and sometimes disappointment and failure are part of that progress) gets us closer to what we were actually put on this Earth to do.

Rather than terming the inevitable stops and starts along the course of life as 'reinventions', we would start to think of things like job changes, layoffs, hobbies and evening classes as a means of clarifying what we really want and love to do.

I once read an article that described this progression as 'defining your reach'. The basic premise is when we should use our time in our 20s, 30s and 40s, to collect skills and knowledge, and gain experience, expertise and wisdom. That way, when we reach our 40s, 50s and 60s and beyond, we can combine all these things to do the work that we've always been destined to do. I like this. It feels right to me somehow. Maybe that's only because I'm in my 50s now, but maybe it's not...

In my case, the 29 years I spent in an analytical lab was very heavily left-brained, and for the most part, I enjoyed it, but maybe that's why my off-time was filled with right-brained activities. I learned to play a clarinet in my 30s and joined an orchestra. I was obcessed with sewing and all types of needle-work. I designed and made window treatments for my house and my friends. I secretly dreamed of starting a home-based business, and 'tried on' several possibilities before finally developing my vision for handbag design.

So did I reinvent myself? I think not. Rather, I created a plan that allowed me to learn all the things I needed to learn, to finally be able to do what I loved. I learned HTML, and seriously read every book I could find about small home-based businesses in general and the crafting businesses in particular.

As it was happening, I don't recall feeling like I was taking a leap at all. Rather, it was more like pulling together all my interests and experiences and creating a life and career that drew the best from all of me.

So was it a 'reinvention'? I really don't think so. I would call it growing more into myself.

So the next time you think, or someone suggests, that you might want to 'reinvent' yourself, consider instead, these two questions.

What are my natural gifts, strengths and talents?
   If you feel unsure about this, don't hesitate to ask those around you, your friends and family, to tell you. (You might be surprised by what they see in you!)

What is one step forward that would be fun for me to explore? 
   Don't be afraid to 'try on' new things. You're never too old to learn new things, and you really should never, ever stop learning new things. Living and learning with passion is what propels us forward, one step at a time.

So what do YOU think? Does this make sense to anyone other than me?
(This post is the 1st in a new continuing series focusing on home-based business startups.)