#relentlessorreinvent
If all else fails when you’re trying to move on or out, step back and reassess. Figure out which of these two describe you, and play to that strength. Relentless is a state of knowing exactly what you’re meant to do or you’ve wanted to do since you were young then zeroing in until you’re a badass at it. You’re probs already in the right field if you’re in this zone, it’s just a matter of finding the right role.
Serena Williams, queen of the court, first started playing tennis at age 3. No doubt her talent was obvious even then because her father homeschooled her and sis Venus to ensure they got in enough practice time.
Now, at 23 Grand Slam wins and ranked World №1 for 319 weeks (and counting), she is arguably the best tennis player the world has ever seen, male or female. She is power and precision. Grit and focus. Nothing, not even pregnancy, has swayed her from her path to the top (Serena was 8 weeks preggies when she won the 2017 Australian Open). And it seems there’s nothing else she has ever wanted to do.
You might think this is the best way to hit your career peak — having an idea of who you are from childhood so that you don’t ‘waste’ time and can master your field quicker than colleagues. But for how many does this life path exist? Even if you had an inkling of what made you destined for greatness, sometimes it’s hard to find your groove until the right opportunity or moment comes along to let that talent shine.
Superstar television producer Shonda Rhimes admits she had an early affinity for storytelling. Getting her start in film screenwriting, the hitmaker of Grey’s, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder really found TV when her baby girl Harper wouldn’t sleep. Shonda used to lay bub on her chest while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Felicity. She was hooked. One of her first TV pilots was for Grey’s Anatomy about those gorgeous, bed-hopping surgeons. It became an instant hit and led to the establishment of Shonda’s production company, Shondaland.
Success has come thick and fast. In 2014, US network ABC scheduled its Thursday primetime with Shondaland shows, earning her reign of an entire night of network television the accolade “unmatched in TV history”. Then, in 2017, she signed a multi-year deal with Netflix for a reported base of $150 million. That’s not including the added incentives and freedom to create the stories she wants to tell.
Most of us can’t take advantage of a single-minded determination to get to the top, simply because we haven’t had our life paths figured out from an early age. We don’t realise where our talents lie until we’ve tried a few different jobs or gigs. Sometimes you fall into a role and, by default, you find your calling. Or you start your own side hustle and slam. It’s your jam.
Don’t discount that your gift is already there. You may not yet have realised it but others kinda see the thread throughout your choices. Only when you dip your toes into a new field, do your girlfs say, ‘Oh, I always thought you’d make a great journo’. Hindsight is a fabulous thing. You remember how much you used to devour TV, be a mag junkie and pour over newspapers when you were a teenager. You loved any and all media, and still do. Suddenly, life makes sense.
We don’t realise where our talents lie until we’ve tried a few different jobs or gigs. Sometimes you fall into a role and, by default, you find your calling. Or you start your side hustle and slam. It’s your jam.
Reinvent is about changing careers and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone until you find what works. This takes time, so be patient. On this path, you can forget linear and just be creative. Hop from passion project to passion project or cool gig to cool gig to ultimately find your sweet spot. It’s liberating.
Lucky you, this is a golden age for reinvention. Everyone who’s anyone has reinvented themselves to remain relevant. While every slashie has pushed themselves to try something fresh, it’s shifting into a completely new career that we’re talking about here. As a dancer/singer/actress, J.Lo excels in almost every field but you could argue that, at her core, she’s a performer.
Whereas former candidate for Governor of Georgia, Stacey Abrams, started in law, co-founded a financial services firm and has written eight romantic novels, which have sold more than 100,000 copies, under the pen name Selena Montgomery. Law, business, literature and politics. Talk about random yet accomplished.
The 2020 Democratic primary field also teemed with career shifters. High-profile US presidential candidates including Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Senator Elizabeth Warren started their careers in the law (former California Attorney-General, corporate lawyer and Harvard law professor, respectively) then moved into politics and became involved in the biggest game in town.
