25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself: Form a Board of Advisers

Just as a corporation has a team of people who represent an array of specialties - marketing, finance, sales - an individual should have a similar set of personal advisers, according to Marti Smye, author of Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus?  (MacMillan, 1998).

This informal board should be made up of friends whom you respect and admire, whose opinions you value, and who would be willing to offer you their counsel when you need it.

[From "25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself" published in Modern Maturity January - February 2000,
edited by Greg Olszewski]

Hire a Personal Coach

Need someone to push you toward your goals? Like a fitness trainer, a personal coach stays on your case and keeps you on track, checking in weekly by phone, in person, or via e-mail. Visit www.coachu.com, a site that also contains information about coaching as a career. [Source: "25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself" originally published in Modern Maturity January - February 2000, transcribed by Greg Olszewski]

Form a Board of Advisers

Just as a corporation has a team of people who represent an array of specialties - marketing, finance, sales - an individual should have a similar set of personal advisers, according to Marti Smye, author of Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? (MacMillan, 1998). This informal board should be made up of friends whom you respect and admire, whose opinions you value, and who would be willing to offer you their counsel when you need it. [Source: "25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself" originally published in Modern Maturity January - February 2000, transcribed by Greg Olszewski]

Bare Your Soul

Schedule time with your priest, rabbi, minister, or other spiritual adviser, or a close friend with whom you'd feel comfortable talking about your deepest feelings and values. Or try talking to others who are facing similar life-stage issues in online discussion groups such as the ones at www.thirdage.com/work, which feature topics like Job Fantasies, Home-Based Businesses, and Work Styles for a New Milennium. [Source: "25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself" originally published in Modern Maturity January - February 2000, transcribed by Greg Olszewski.]

Turn to a Professional Career Counselor

Whether you're seeking a career change or a new job in your current field, a professional career counselor may help focus your thinking. If you go to one, you may be asked to take a standardized test such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which categorizes personality types along the lines of introverted/extroverted, sensing/intuitive, thinking/feeling, judging/perceiving. The results are used to determine the kinds of work you might enjoy. To find a counselor, try the Career Counselors Consortium Directory ( www.careercc.org or call 212-859-3515). [Source: "25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself" originally published in Modern Maturity January - February 2000, transcribed by Greg Olszewski.]