Total reinvention is not something that all of us will take on, but those that do consistently report that their life is better for the change. I myself can lay claim to that one.

For some, reinvention is forced on them due to external factors such as illness or redundancy. Illness is what forced Adrian from Evolver-Talent to reinvent himself. Adrian is a coach and writer whose worlds are linked by the theme of connecting with creativity. After recovering from a serious illness some years ago, piece by piece, he’s reinvented pretty much everything he does. In rebuilding his life he has become more mindful of the resources he has to offer in terms of time and energy, and this makes him more selective about what he takes on, focusing on what makes him happy. In the process, he’s found that he’s become more creative, more ambitious, and more focused. As a result he has recently secured investment for a new project which brings him closer to achieving some of his life ambitions. Not a bad side effect of illness!

While for others, reinvention a choice. Maybe they work in a dying industry and want to prepare for the inevitable or they just want to step up and evolve what they do. This is something we are all going to have to face at some time or other.

At its mild end, total reinvention can simply be a change in what you do for a living, while for others it’s a complete life overhaul and they change their work, where they live, who they love, and what they think.

Like Andre Griffiths for example. Andre used to work in training and hospitality. After losing her job and being unemployed for six months, she has not only retrained as an NVQ assessor, but has moved city, found a new man, given herself a new hairstyle AND changed her lifestyle to be more eco and live sustainably. That most definitely sounds like total reinvention to me.

But total reinvention doesn’t always have to be about revolution, it can be more about evolution. You can work in the same sector or industry but be in a completely different role that employs a wildly different skill set while still making the best use of your expertise and experience.

If you’re considering reinventing yourself:

- Remind yourself of all that great experience you’ve got and the expertise you’ve built up over the years.

- Identify which skills are transferable and useful in other contexts.

- Get clear on your strengths, talents and passions.

- Find the common thread between the two worlds and use this to make the transition. It might be your network, your industry or the expertise you employ.

If this all sounds step too far for you, how about you take some baby steps and read one of these

• Reinvent your thinking

• Reinvent how you express yourself

• Reinvent your looks

We don’t have to change what we do to reinvent ourselves. Sometimes all we need to do is to talk about what we do in a different way. This alone can help us to reinvigorate relationships and perceptions. Re-engaging with others like this can bring about new conversations and insights. And new conversations and insights might lead to new opportunities.

Here are some practical ways that you can begin to change how you express yourself.

Give yourself a new job title

There was a great article on Inc.com encouraging business leaders to let employees pick their own job titles. I love this idea and would encourage it wholeheartedly. But even if you’re not in charge of such decisions, it can be useful to consider your own job title and how you might change it. Doing so forces you to really consider what it is that you actually do and what value you really add. Looking at our roles in this way can be enough to reinvigorate our enthusiasm and motivation for what we do as we reconnect with why we’re doing it.

Change your bio

Your bio is something that needs to be regularly updated just for the simple fact that time passes and hopefully in the time that has passed since you wrote your bio, you’ve done some more great stuff that’s worth sharing.

If you’re re-writing your bio, it’s worth taking your time to craft a good one. If you have your own website, the likelihood is that your about page is the most visited page on your site. Your bio is important so don’t rush it. Tips for writing a great bio include

- If it’s on your personal site, write it in the first person. If it appears on a company site, then third person is better.

- Use storytelling to engage on an emotional level and create interest.

- Avoid showing off. No one likes a show-off.

- Share your human side. It’s OK to talk about failures and your vulnerabilities.

- Include aspects of your personal life; your passions, hobbies or reveal your inner geek. It’s these things that people will connect with.

- Have more than one. Whether it’s long and short ones, or different bios for different audiences you engage with (investors, employees, industry peers, conference attendees etc),

Update your elevator pitch

How long have you been using your elevator pitch or your personal introductory pitch? Personal pitches need to evolve as much as we do. Maybe what we do hasn’t changed, but who we do it for might have. Or the context in which we do it has, or maybe the reason why we’re doing it has. A shift in any of these should force you to consider evolving your pitch and make it more relevant.

If you choose to change how you express what you do, it’s important to ensure that you make changes everywhere. So ensure that your LinkedIn profile is changed as well as your twitter bio. The last thing you want to do is to send out a mixed message as this will confuse people and dilute your potential impact.

Why not read one of these:

• Reinvent your thinking

• Reinvent how you express yourself

• Reinvent everything!

The new year is always a time for new starts and fresh thinking. We might not need to turn our lives upside down, but we can’t help trying to inject a bit of life into what we do. Sounds like the perfect time for spot of reinvention!

Reinvention is not something that is reserved for the Madonnas of this world. It’s something that most of us need to consider at some time or other in our lives. Of course, if you have a job for life or an endless pot of cash then it probably won’t feature very high on your to-do list, but not many of us can lay claim to having those. If on the other hand you’re someone who finds themselves on the shifting sands of technology, business and 21st century working life, then reinvention is most certainly something that you will need to grapple with at some point.

Reinvention can take many guises. It’s not necessarily about dying your hair a new colour and buying a whole new wardrobe. Reinvention can also happen at different levels. Here are a series of articles I wrote for Fresh Business Thinking that explore the various levels of reinvention that you can undertake.

- Reinvent your thinking

- Reinvent how you express yourself

- Reinvent your looks

- Reinvent everything!