Reinventing Yourself

Blog 2-19-09

Reinventing Yourself

Hi Everyone,

Did you ever wish you could climb inside a comfortable machine, put some headphones on with your favorite music, push a button, drift off to sleep and wake up eight hours later totally reinvented? “You’re now Jim Smith with a whole new set of career skills and a complete new group of professional friends. Welcome. “

You went to sleep poor-bastard-without-a-job-Jim and you woke up Jimbo with ten job interviews scheduled back to back. You programmed the machine to your field of choice and bingo you can now prosecute Bernie Madoff personally.  And when he’s in jail you can reinvent yourself again.

When I was a kid I saw my Dad, who actually is Jim Smith, lose his job to a new thing called sheet rock. He was a very gifted plasterer and it seemed like in one day he was without a job. So, he did what any one would do in his shoes. He went to work in a prison for a while. He told me he was in charge of counting the silverware after dinner. Eventually he retrained and became a pipe fitter.

We’re all so identified with and defined by the work we do. It’s the first thing you’re asked by a dating service, (not that I would know) or someone at a “Reinventing Yourself” seminar, (not that I would know) or even a party. (Not that I would know.)

So who are we now, all of the jobless people? I am in between jobs, wondering which direction to go in. I’m doing things that are an about-face for me, but that might just be because I’m 50. (And so you know, I’m fifty until I’m sixty. That’s the way I’m doing it.) I’m taking classes just for the challenge. Tonight I went to a get-to-know-your-neighbor mixer. I’m having as much fun as I can have in order to keep the fear that seems to be gripping the developed world by the larynx at bay. 

I’m not sure who I am but I’m going to act as if I matter and I’m gonna try to treat the people I meet along the way like they matter.  When the dust of Wall Street and Main Street settles, I have a feeling we’ll all be reinvented.

This has been Margaret Smith from the bottom.