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

I wanted to be them all when I was a little girl. Honest!

But this post is about talents. We all have them. Some of us are lucky enough to know our talents and are using them every day.  But the rest of us are still searching for our hidden talents, wondering if indeed we have any. Most people would agree that once you’ve found them, if you can figure out a way of using them in your working life, then you’ll be pretty sorted. I remember when I was trying to sort my life out and I was mulling this over for quite a while.  I read loads of self-help books to try and solve this elusive puzzle but out of all the exercises that I came across there’s one that stood out for me. And it was this.

Think back to when you were a kid and people asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up.

What was on your list? Now, the trick with this isn’t taking the answer to the question literally, but reading between the lines. What do I mean? Well, maybe if I shared my story it might help to explain what I mean.

When I was little I went through a few phases and wanted to be many things. Didn’t we all?

Popstar?

Of course, like everyone, I wanted to be a pop star. My mum sent me to ballet and dance classes and I loved doing all the shows we put on. My friends and I would diligently re-create Michael Jackson dance routines in the playground.  Life was generous and as it happened, I was fortunate to be a professional dancer for while. I loved it, but the money was crap and I thought I’d be able to make better use of my business degree. But I will never forget the feeling I got from being on stage; the energy and the buzz were simply awesome.

Air hostess?

I travelled a lot as a child between the UK and Paris to see my family and was often the little kid on the plane wearing a big badge accompanied by the airhostess.  I think it was this made me want to be an airhostess. I never really followed up on this though, but the glamour of travel has always appealed. My mother spoke eight languages and had travelled a lot, so I must have been inspired by her too.

My own shop?

And finally, I wanted to have my own shop. I would spend hours working out what I’d call it but never got any further than “Chez Alexia” or “Alexia’s shop”. I clearly still needed to work on my creativity back then! I couldn’t tell you what I was selling in the shop, but it was MY shop.  Now, I did end up working in the retail industry. I worked at a retailer and for brands that are sold in retailers. And I really enjoyed it; seeing an idea that you’ve come up with or a product you’ve created that is then distributed around the world is pretty cool. Especially when the celebrities go mad for it and you see it in all magazines and on TV! That is very exciting!

Now you’re thinking “So what? Get back to the point!” Well, the point is to look back at those things that I wanted to do as a kid and try to understand what it was ABOUT those things that I liked. WHY did I want to do them? If we can work that out, maybe we can find a way of still doing that but in a slightly different way. So, looking back at my aspirations…

The pop star thing: well I can’t deny that being Leo I do like being on stage, but it was a specific moment on stage that I liked. I used to be part of a tribal fire-breathing dancing trio that would dance at music festivals and clubs (we were VERY cool!). DJ’s would hire us to help them get the crowd going, and that’s what I did – got the crowd going. And THAT is what I loved; when my actions on stage would bring about a massive shift in the energy of the crowd below. Playing with the crowd in that way was epic awesome-ness. Not the pre-rehearsed routines, but responding to the DJ and going with the flow. Being present and in the moment of it all. Total and utter flow – you can’t beat it. Of course doing that now would be a bit inappropriate. But what I can still do now is to bring about a state change for the better in my audiences, whoever they are. If they come away energised and feeling great then I’m buzzing. And if there’s a hint of performance going on there too, then even better!

Now the airhostess bit is pretty obvious. No, it’s not the mopping up after people; it’s the travelling; I love travelling and seeing the world. And I’ve not done enough of it. But, I can travel the world without having to be an airhostess. And I do, I run trainings and events internationally. Tick!

Now, onto the shop.  It’s not so much the physical concept that interests me but the broader idea of selling my things, my ideas and myself. Specifically selling ideas that were mine and not someone else’s. I guess that’s why I was never that happy as an employee; I wanted to do MY thing. But remember, we’re always selling ourselves in everything that we do, so this bit could easily apply to anyone.

So, if I just finish by distilling these. I want to sell my ideas and get people to buy into me. I want to share my ideas with audiences in a way that leaves them feeling energized and buzzing. And, I want to see the world as I do it.  And, that’s what I’m doing now and I LOVE it!  And to think it all started with a little girl dreaming of being  a pop star or an airhostess with her own shop.

So, think back to what you wanted to be when you were a kid. What was it about those things that you really liked? And, are you doing them now?