4 Things You Can Do Now To Reinvent Yourself

Reinventing yourself is not about blowing up everything you ever were in your life or career and completely starting over. It’s about building on your passions, strengths, talents and past successes to redefine you in a fresh new way.

In the work I do reinventing major brands, I take my clients through a 30-step process that digs deep to unearth the soul of the brand and differentiate it from competitors. In this week’s blog, I’ve boiled that process down to 4 essentials you can start doing today.

1. Define Who You Are
When you think of Coke you think “refreshing”. When you think of Apple you think “cutting edge cool”. The question is what do people think when they hear your name? At the end of the day, how you are perceived is the foundation of your success. You need to take charge of that perception. After all, if you don’t brand yourself, someone else will, and at this point in your career they probably already have. The good news is it’s not too late to clearly, authentically and consistently define yourself as an authority in your field, a specialist in your industry or an expert in your craft.

2. Get On A Mission
A big part of authentically reinventing yourself, i.e., peeling away the masks you wear to reveal the true you, is to write a mission statement. What is your mission in life? Why are you here? What is your message? What are the gifts and talents you possess that can be poured into your products, blogs, website, presentations, projects, reports, books? This is all part of branding – taking who you are at your core and making a difference through what you do. My mission is to “inspire professionals to fearlessly achieve.” What’s yours?

3. Look The Part You Play
Dressing for success today means looking positively unforgettable. Yet, most of the people I know who are not moving up have one thing in common: they don’t look polished and professional. Too busy taking care of their customers and bosses; they haven’t paid enough attention to their physical fitness or wardrobe choices. And that’s a shame, because all of the research I’ve read points to the fact that about 65% of communication is visual. So, make sure in reinventing yourself, your packaging is fresh, relevant and reflective. Give people the brand new you at-a-glance.

4. Tell Your Greatest Story
With everything now online and out in the open, there is a kind of supersonic radar for BS. People can see right through you if you’re putting on any kind of mask. That’s why it’s important to courageously look inside yourself first before you put your new brand out there. Now is the time to talk about the things you are really passionate about and what you truly believe in. If you have hit hard times or taken on difficult situations and come out on top, be sure to tell those triumphant stories with confidence. Everybody loves a comeback. Make yourself the humble hero and you’ll be seen in a positive light.

What I’ve written here may seem logical, and even simple. The challenging part is putting these four sparks into everyday practice. So, starting right here and now I’m giving you a virtual kick in the behind to clearly define who you are, get on a mission, dress the part and tell your greatest story. I can’t wait to hear how your brand shines!

Robin Fisher Roffer is a leading brand strategist and reinvention specialist. Founder and CEO of Big Fish Marketing, she is the author of Make A Name For Yourself: 8 Steps Every Woman Needs To Create A Personal Brand Strategy For Success andThe Fearless Fish Out Of Water: How To Succeed When You’re The Only One Like You. Learn about her Reinvent Yourself! Workshops at http://relevanceinstitute.com/

Robin Fisher Roffer