Let’s talk about Passion. It’s a driving theme of learning and life in general – it’s the crystallization of dreams, the lust for evolution, and the antithesis of inspiration.
During 2019, 2020, and 2021- we all had to make BIG change in our lives. And it sucked for most of us. I mean, really, we had to dig deep . . .
I was managing a beautiful retreat/resort high up in the mountains of Colorado - 10,000 ft., to be exact. And, just when spring came, and our summer was full of reservations, we had to shut down because of Covid. We lost over a million dollars in bookings and could not re-open any time soon.
It was time for me to reinvent what's next . . . I've been here so many times. It's never fun.
I had heard over the years about San Miguel del Allende, Mexico - a beautiful colonial town in the highlands of Mexico. I read where the sun shines year-round, and the borders were open, so I packed my bags and headed south. I knew no one and had no clue what I would find. I was heading into the unknown once again.
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Having to reinvent oneself is such a big subject for me that I wrote a book about it when I arrived in San Miguel and then self-published it on Amazon.
The title; Becoming Badass; Unconventional Badass Lessons to Live Life on Your Terms
Then I took the book down after a few months to re-edit - now, a year later, I'm ready to launch again.
I'd like to share part of a chapter with you to start the New Year . . .
BECOME AN EXPERT AT REINVENTING YOURSELF - YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT
Who practices Reinventing oneself?
I think you should.
Whatever the case may be, starting over is not inspiring. You can quickly get to the stage where you no longer see hope or a way out.
If you lose yourself now, years can go by. Miserable comes in many forms as you start over. It looks like Dementia—the mind goes, but slowly enough that you witness your own dissolution and understand perfectly what that means.
Many will reach this point and give up unless they are consciously ready to make change happen.
You can spend years in this stupor, then wake up to—“What the F*ck?” Then, it’s all about the stress that comes from never having practiced how to reinvent yourself.
Recognize when it’s time to try something new in life
Think of the time it will take as just a pause in your movie of life while you create a new script. And, never waste your pain—use it all to give energy to a big new idea (you may not have any talent for), then stick with it.
Creating New Ideas
Let’s talk about Passion!
Passion is what you want to express. It plays out as a new creation in your life and work.
When I started in the entrepreneurial world, I had no goal I knew I could achieve. But I knew I could shine if I just gave myself a chance. Ideas were always inches away—dancing out of reach until I embraced them.
As no one handed me anything, I had to create my own brilliance and learn how to access it.
After many reinventions over the last thirty years, I began to think, what is my system when starting over? What do I do when I have to reinvent myself?
The Lessons I Learned for Reinventing Myself
I think reinventing yourself, even when you may not think you need to, is just about the most powerful and courageous thing you can do.
To tap into new ideas, you need to have an expansion of awareness.
The first thing I suggest is to plan some fun and passion. Why should reinventing yourself have to be like you’re in trouble where you have to go into some miserable “time out.”
I get really clear that I’m creating the Potential for something new.
It’s a warrior skill to be able to reinvent yourself and pull a rabbit out of the hat when needed. In this crazy new world, it will take a new paradigm of working and operating to excel with any dream or goal. It’s a given that you’ll need to reinvent yourself many times. You’ll not only need to be mentally fit but also physically fit.
Make Reinventing Yourself a Mission and Go Covert
I’ve learned that it’s best not to stand up and announce all of the things you’re going to do, the deals you’re going to make, and all the money you’ll pull in. Announcing all your plans will blow your whole Mission. It always does. Remember, most plans appear after your Plan A fails.
So to begin, just get started by putting together a glimpse of what your revolutionary new Reinvention could be.
Write, draw and collect pictures of what your Mission might look like. To make it more interesting, you can put all your thoughts on a big wall like the FBI does to solve crimes.
The Monk Break
A part of my routine is to take a personal retreat before I start. I call it taking a Monk Break.
Here’s How to Plan Your Monk Break:
Find Your Power Place
Find a location where you feel comfortable and powerful. The mountains? The beach? The desert? Your Power Place should be where you can plan new creativity and a new path. Find a place where you can cry out your pain and fear. No one will know. Give yourself new space to open your heart and imagine anything you want. This is when you form new ideas about the future.
It’s best to take at least seven days for a Monk Break. It takes at least three days just to unwind and become comfortable being alone. Once you can be with yourself for seven days and pass the solitude test, you start gaining confidence. After retreating for some time—year after year, nothing will break you. You’ll start to feel a different identity as you develop into something more.
Because our lives are so busy and noisy, going on a retreat alone may feel like a crisis. That’s why it works. Your demons will seek you out. This cultivation is a battle of self—for a lifetime. You may feel like you need to recuperate from your recuperation. It all comes down to reinventing yourself without an idea or concept of what the outcome will be.
Start Practicing Change
It can be a challenge because we fear the unknown. But, fear can be outwitted because fear is more of a misunderstood focus. Trust while on your Monk Break that you will identify the change you want to implement.
Take a Journal With You
A blank journal is one of the essential items I pack when traveling. I only write random thoughts, then look back at the journal after getting home. There’s such sweet new brilliance, and I find so many fantastic ideas, inner feelings, and discoveries. Keep the ideas and journal going. The ideas add up over time and unfold new ways to reinvent yourself. Handwriting is a key point. Don’t mess it up by putting a computer in the middle of your hands and brain. It’s about getting back to a pure mind-body function.
Think About Taking New Risks
It’s a warrior’s art. Warriors take full responsibility for their lives, reinvent themselves often, and own their spirits. This is Personal Power.
Practice Moving in a New Direction Before You’re Ready
This is Badass! Most people wait too long to act, generally out of fear, because they want better circumstances.
Before I left my mob husband, I knew I had to make a change long before I was ready. I learned that your path becomes more difficult when you get ready forever because you begin to create more obstacles. But, once you make a move, it’s like the Law of Power—your energy will rise to the level you need.
Write Your Own Constitution While on Retreat
This is about what you will accept in life and what you won’t accept. It’s like your Warrior Code. It’s what you will live by. It’s the courage to declare. Your declaration has to come from the heart. Don’t think small.
When you write your constitution, you declare your new start. The intention becomes dependent on your claim. Aim for an expansive and infinite new path to walk.
Create new plans based on your personality—the world cannot help but respond to such authenticity. Your newly defined plans can render all failures unimportant as you drive forward on a quest of epic proportions to reinvent yourself.
You need to stay stealth and not let others suck your power before you are ready
And do not just dabble with your new creative ideas—make it all or nothing. Remember, we are creatures of habit. Practicing new ways to focus is essential.
I suggest you try something new and extraordinary. The point is to do things that take you away from everyday complacency.
Start practicing change and reinventing yourself in baby steps around the new way you want to live and operate. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck with the voice of failure as your depression sets in.
Your reinvention and new evolution may feel like a slow tragedy. I know!
You are still not announcing yourself, but people have started seeing changes. It begins to look like you’re getting something new and powerful put together. These are landmark moments.
Become One of the Courageous
Remember, most people simply like the idea of trying something new—you decide to be one of the courageous and do it.
Slowly, start sharing time with other imaginative people—those who brave the complacent and do not fear losing it all.
Because it’s not all about money.
Let your new reinvention be a delicious new addiction. And watch as your loved ones that felt abandoned begin to appreciate the new YOU emerging.
Know that you’ll always be on the path of change until the end of your life. There is no failure. It’s just about learning. We all know that.
What you do with your new YOU is what will define you. Richness comes through the struggle. We all know that too.
Last Step:
Embrace your larger story as it begins to take shape. You are entering the wisdom stage—And it takes as long as it takes.
Your new story will be about how people will know and see you. Let the sweet sense of discovery show up.
Now, there’s one last important part you could add to your Mission. It’s a key point.
Start planning something special to benefit all of humanity after you’re gone.
It should be something massively important to you—you’ll come up with many ideas.
The main point is to find your “give back project” and leave it behind. This alone will ensure you always have something new to look forward to.