1-Liner #38: Reinvent Yourself

by Pat Hammond on Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Chemistry photo from greschoj on freeimages.com

Reinvention - It's not just for Hollywood

Whether you're calling a do-over or simply evolving, the idea of reinventing yourself is as old as the hills.

People are not one dimensional, we evolve, we learn new skills and gain experience. We change a lot between the time we leave school and when we reach the C-Suite and you can't just leave it to people to figure it out for themselves.

Once a knucklehead, always a knucklehead

The first rule of building a brand is to tell people how you want them to see you.

My husband and I went to college with a guy we called Dare Me. His real name was Jim, but he picked up the nickname because he would do anything if you dared him. We haven't seen him since college and for all we know he could have gone on to earn an MBA at some prestigious business school and become the CFO of an international bank, but in our mind he's still the same knucklehead who jumped off the dorm roof and broke his arm because someone dared him.

Don't be the knucklehead.

Be Proactive

What if your clients or target market only see you as the guy who builds custom computers because that's what you did five years ago? What if you slogged your way through CISCO training and now you're a certified network administrator?

The average person is going to blink and say "it's all tech, right?" And of course the answer is no, it's not.

Every time you shift your focus, add on new products, services or skills, it's up to you to show people the new you.

In a world where image is everything your first responsibility is to not only stay relevant but let people know that you've changed.

So go ahead and reinvent yourself.

Let the world know that you're not the same knucklehead that jumps off roofs.