We’ve all heard of or known people who have ditched their successful careers, given up the stability of the life they’ve created and switched gears to go in a new direction and become something or someone else.

It’s not easy nor is it safe, but it’s a way get back on track and pursue our unfulfilled dreams and potential. Sometimes it’s a reflection of how we’ve changed and what we now want or need.

We have all reinvented ourselves in some capacity at some point in our lives. Sometimes it’s a conscious, calculated choice we make, like pursuing a dream. Other times the reinvention is a product of necessity, when we are forced to change by external factors, like becoming a caregiver for an aging parent, the victim of a crime or are we find ourselves in a health crisis.

Most of the time, people reinvent themselves because of their circumstances, making the reinvention a “must.” When we’re contemplating making a shift to pursue a goal or dream, we often categorize it as a “should.” But shouldn’t we classify our goals and dreams as “musts?” The answer is absolutely, positively YES!

Successful people are already using this strategy. We all have the capability to have success if we choose to apply the reinvention tool by choice. Whether we like Madonna or not, her successful music career is not her only highlight in life. Madonna’s unparalleled ability to reinvent herself over the last three decades places her in “a league of her own.”

Madonna was keenly aware of the necessity to keep current with music industry trends based on the rapidly changing demographics for pop culture. Even as Madonna enjoyed her phenomenal successes in music, she took unpopular risks as she navigated new reinvention ventures; actor, record producer, film producer, fashion designer, author, director, wife, mother and philanthropist. Not bad for a dancer, singer, songwriter, guitarist and percussionist.

Think about how quickly we reinvent ourselves during a crisis. We barely have time to think about it, let alone choose. It’s done. All other matters are no longer important. Imagine that you’re going about your life, showing up at work, taking care of the kids and the house and then WHAM, catastrophe strikes.

All of sudden your world is literally turned upside down and your reinvention consumes your life. You surrender to your new role. You re-prioritize your life based on the external event.

Choosing our own reinvention doesn’t rate very high for most people. We find we’re better at cleaning up than we are at putting our energy and attention into creating what we truly want.

Take it from me; a welfare kid, waitress, beauty queen, battered woman, heavy equipment operator, Desert Storm veteran, police officer, undercover detective, SWAT team member, author, speaker, life coach, wife, and step-mom.

We are not what we do. We are the result of a compilation of the experiences in our lives. Every door opened to us and closed behind us represents an opportunity for reinvention.

Since her resignation from law enforcement, reinvention expert Lisa Lockwood has driven NASCAR and become a coach, speaker, marathon runner, scuba diver, skydiver and snowboarder. See her appearance on “The Big Idea with Donny Deutch” and get 6-Tips to Reinvention at http://www.lisalockwood.com

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