Inspirational texts for reinventing yourself

Recently someone posed the question, “How can you find the silver lining if the sky’s so dark you can’t even see the clouds?” This got me thinking about my own silver lining in these rather gloomy times and the startling thought was a need to reinvent myself. Interestingly, I have revisited some past motivational readings to help kick start my new journey.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has always been a tried and proven text for me. The section of “begin with the end in mind” is a strong position. I have always thought that I was “sharpening the saw” through my involvement in continuous professional learning, but reinventing myself may be a different journey.

Then, Anthony Robbins Awaken the Giant Within : How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny! is an inspirational read. Even though my copy is looking a little tired and the pages are yellowing it is a definite revisit.

My latest find…or rather, it found me…is Get Off Your Duff and Make Your Own @#$! Cheese: It’s Up to You to Make Things Happen for Yourself This 2009 publication is an entertaining and a “get off your duff” read. Sean Roach shares the D.A.R.E. approach – Dream, Act, Realize, Excited – through the story of a couple of rats and a multitude of references to successful people.

So where am I in the four stages of competence at the moment? I’m probably just emerging from the unconscious incompetence – at least I’m beyond the “I don’t know that I don’t know because I don’t know” stage. Now I’m struggling with the conscious incompetence – “I know I don’t know how to do this yet!” This is the beginning of my new learning journey. I know I have to invest in my education and in the giving of my time to learn new skills and abilities. My biggest stumble is procrastinating…..I hope I can push beyond this.