In an age of much change in the business world, more people are reinventing themselves. That could mean learning new skills to fit a new job, landing in a new industry or starting a new business.

Sometimes the change is forced upon someone (fired); other times they force it upon themselves (inspired). The person might even be comfortable in a job, but a new opportunity or goal motivates them to try something much different – to reinvent.

Change often means reinvention. When a seismic shift happens in our lives, like leaving a job, moving, or losing someone close to us, we have to choose who we want to become or else feel like we never reached our potential.

I, for example, left a long career as an engineer and manager in aerospace and other high-tech industries so I could reinvent myself. I became an inventor and started a company.

I was inspired to help find a solution to a problem, suffered by many, that hit close to home. My cousin, Colleen John, a neonatal ICU nurse, told me of the severe diaper rashes she was treating in premature babies, and how those can develop into pressure ulcers or bedsores. Also a major concern for nursing homes and hospitals, bedsores lead to the deaths of about 60,000 patients each year.

Colleen started using oxygen at the babies’ beds to direct air on the rashes to mitigate the problem. I invented technology that could more efficiently deliver oxygen to the diaper and skin. You see, it put me on a mission, gave me a passion. The chance to help others is a gift. We have to keep growing, and when you find a new passion, you reinvent.

Reinventing, to me, was a process. From my experience, I can recommend some steps to go about reinventing yourself.

First, put your vision on paper. It’s a matter of visualizing and verbalizing what you want. Imagine what it will be like, outline it, and energize yourself with happy details that will counter the expected valleys you’ll encounter.

Networking is vital, so you need to find the right people. Networking also is easier these days with the internet and all the forms of social media. In this age you have great opportunities to connect with people who will encourage your change and make it one for the better.

You also need to learn all you can. Some people make the mistake of thinking they don’t want to learn anymore, but reinventing is about growing, and in some ways it’s about growing like you never have before.

It’s imperative that you organize your tasks. It can get overwhelming, so stay on top of things by prioritizing daily and weekly. You need to create to-do lists and have great time management geared to the goals in mind all the time.

Last but not least, going in a bold new direction requires that you be bold and experiment. Much of pursuing a dream or new vision is trial-and-error, learning from mistakes. Your mind has to be free to explore all the possibilities of your new endeavor.

Sometimes you can’t wait for your future to find you. Instead, you find it. That’s much of what reinventing is about. It’s a twist in the road on the long journey.

Nigel Parker, founder and CEO of RashEndZ Inc., is a senior management and systems engineer professional with more than 25 years experience in aerospace, medical simulation and other high-tech industries. 

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