On a hot humid night in 1981 I had come to the end of a two-year posting in Hong Kong, and I was now boarding the plane to take me home. I had had a good two years, but I felt could have been more perhaps I could have even done more. I was a Corporal in the British Army after eight years, but I was not a Sergeant yet! A long-term relationship had come to an end and now I wanted something more, perhaps to get married and have children (two daughters would be good!).  Lots to ponder on my 16-hour flight back to the UK.

The previous six months I had spent some time reflecting about the type of man I wanted to be, both in my professional life and my personal life. Taking off from Kia Tak Airport, skimming the skyscrapers of Kowloon then crossing into China, I sat back in my seat and started to plan. I was going to reinvent myself.

2024 celebrating our 40th Wedding Anniversary in Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk, England) I turned to my wife Joyce and thanked her for making me the man I always wanted to be. Joyce’s response? “Good! Now for Phase 2 – making you into the man I want you to be!!”  (Apparently, there is Phase 3 – the Exam!)  Another Reinvention on the cards…….

3 years after leaving Hong Kong I met Joyce – Phase 1

My life so far has been a series of reinventions:

  • At 15 delivering carpets and beds in my hometown, then joining the army as a boy soldier at 16; changing jobs and roles every two or three years from Northern Ireland to Hong Kong, from NATO Headquarters to a Commando Squadron
  • Going from being a terrible footballer to becoming a good athlete and in between sports fitting in a year where I qualified as a Hang Glider Pilot.
  • Going from 24 years in the Army to a 28-year career, supporting adults with a learning disability, signing off on that wonderful career as a Managing Director.
  • Becoming a Trainer in NVQs, Leadership, Project Management, supporting people with money – when previously I had a dread of standing in front of people.
  • Curating an E-Leadership & Wellbeing magazine (for the last 18 years) and starting a Blog writing for you!!

I love life. I want to be the best I can be and even as I approach 70, I believe my best years are still ahead of me.  So why do I feel the need to reinvent myself and how will it help me become the man Joyce wants me to be? Reinvention has worked for me:

  • By stretching myself – early on I came to the realisation that only when I am really challenged am I at my best.
  • It keeps me fresh and motivated.
  • It gives you a competitive edge.
  • Because I like to surprise my Boss, My Organisation and My Family
  • It helps me recover from setbacks, obstacles, and events outside of my control.

How do you go about Reinventing yourself? Here are my 7 Top Tips (based on my experience):

  1. Start Planning but do not let the plan restrict you. Be prepared to take your life down different routes at a moment’s notice.
  2. Seek out opportunities; don’t wait for them to come to you. Don’t worry if you don’t have experience with what you want to try, your hard work ethic will get you through. So, look for the gaps and the needs of the organisation you work for – can you fill those gaps? Can you meet those needs?  
  3. Seek out Role Models. Are they the people you want to be? What can you learn from them? Now do it.
  4. Relentless focus on your reinvention. Believe me it takes time, there will be temptations, and there will be distractions…. so, you must focus on what you want to become.
  5. If, like me you changed jobs every two or three years, hold a personal audit of your time in post and ask yourself:  what went well? Not so well? What would you do different and better in your next post?  Btw. I do this in my personal life, on a regular basis.
  6. If your strategy is not working, step back and consider a new approach.
  7. Imagine! So, Dream and Dream Big

So, what is my next reinvention? Wait and see and keep following my blog to find out.

‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.”

Robert Frost

Footnote: This is an updated version of my original blog post from November 2015.