The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention.

Author: Pamela Mitchell

Law 1: It starts with a vision for your life (vision).

• The takeaway: Careers and jobs are delivery devices for the kind of life you hope to lead. You begin by creating a picture of desired lifestyle and making sure your reinvention plans are not infected with myths and fantasies.
  
• Watch out for: Forgetting to give yourself a permission slip to pursue a different and bigger life

Law 2: Your body is your best guide (body).

• The takeaway: Your body is a more reliable indicator than your intellect of what you truly want or don't want.
• Watch out for: Your intellect shouting down or drowning out your body's messages.

Law 3: Progress begins when you stop making excuses (excuses).

• The takeaway: Making excuses is a habit motivated by fear, allowing you to avoid or delay the pain of change. To manage your fears and take action in spite of them, you must give up your excuses.
• Watch out for: Believing your excuses do deeply that they become a stumbling block to your progress.
  

Law 4: What you seek is on the road less traveled (road).

• The takeaway: Exploring the road less traveled forces you to become more creative about your career options.
• Watch out for: The uninvited committee members of your mind (or in real life) who insist that you stay inside the box they've always known you in.

Law 5: You've got the tools in your toolbox (tools).

• The takeaway: Your tools are your skills and talents. Many of the same tools you used to build your current or previous career can be used in building a new one.
• Watch out for: The gap between the tools you have and the new ones you'll need.

Law 6: Your reinvention board is your lifeline (board).

• The takeaway: Your reinvention strategy plans benefit from the help of a Reinvention Board, a coterie of advisors that acts as a resource for contacts. problem-solving, brainstorming. and emotional support.
• Watch out for: Becoming the Lone Ranger by being unwilling or too proud to ask for help.
  

Law 7: Only a native can give you the inside scoop (native).

• The takeaway: Natives can provide useful information on the pros and cons of your target industry, along with an invaluable insider's feel of what it is actually like to work there on a daily basis.
• Watch out for: Burnouts who drown you in negativity and saboteurs with hidden agendas who deliberately steer you wrong.

Law 8: They won't "get" you until you speak their language (language).

• The takeaways: Fitting in when you travel to the land of your new industry requires learning the language on two levels - verbal (words, phrases) and nonverbal (cultural expectations).
• Watch out for: Going to the extreme of perfectionism or minimizing the importance of learning a new language.
  

Law 9: It takes the time that it takes (timeline).

• The takeaways: The reinvention process has its own timeline; let it set the pace. You can control the amount of effort you put in, but you cannot control when the opportunity shows up. Your role here isn't to control but to be ready.
  
• Watch out for: Unrealistic expectations that skew your perspective and cause you to feel like a failure.

Law 10: The world buys into an aura of success (success).

• The takeaway: When you cultivate your "inner knowing" belief in yourself, and faith in the possibility of attaining your goals, others will be drawn to you.
• Watch out for: Pessimism about your changes masquerading as "reality."