REINVENTION: A Recipe

Two friends of ours, Bob and Debbie, have decided to reinvent their life. Currently, they have a thriving landscape design/maintenance business in North Carolina.

A couple of years ago, they started thinking about the “next phase” of their life. They had always dreamed of traveling around the country, but never had time. What if they could find a way? But, how? Could they find a way to make their dream come true? Could they do this and generate an income at the same time?

They had an idea.

What if they could travel to RV parks around the country and provide landscaping services to them, for free board and maybe even a nominal fee to cover their living expenses? Sounds crazy, right? What will they do with their business? What about their home? Will they have to purchase a motorhome? What if they hate it?

Well…they made it happen. In three weeks, they set off for their new adventure!

Their first stop is a Tennessee RV park, where they will spend 6 months providing landscaping services (for pay). They’ll use the park as a basecamp while they explore the region. Six months later, they plan to travel to the West Coast and spend spring and summer in an Oregon RV park, right on the coast. For the next couple of years, they will travel the country in their motorhome, anchoring in an RV park, getting paid for their landscaping services and taking side trips to see things. They hope to see parts of the country that before had just been a dream.

How did they make their reinvention happen? It’s one thing to dream about it. It’s another thing to make a plan. But, the most challenging thing of all is to carry through with the plan to reinvent.

They started by doing research. They traveled to RV parks and interviewed visitors. "What was your biggest regret?" they would ask. "Not doing this earlier," they were told. "Don’t wait until retirement."

With that piece of advice, they resolved to move forward. The first step was to try to sell their successful landscape design and maintenance business. No takers. Then a landscaper expressed interest, but he had no experience in horticulture. So, they postponed their plans for a year while they groomed him to take over their business. He starts solo next spring. (They will stay involved in the business, in the background, for the next three years. That way, if their trainee has questions, or clients have concerns, Bob and Debbie will be available to support. They are committed to making the transition successful.)

They bought a motorhome and experimented with living in it. Could they make it their full-time home, they wondered? What’s it like to live in a traveling home? And, they found they loved it. The motorhome expands and they feel like they have plenty of space. It’s very comfortable.

Bob and Debbie sold their home and moved into their motorhome last March, making sure that it would be a satisfactory place to live…before they set out on their great adventure. It was a six month trial. And, they were very content to live there.

So, all systems are go…

Why am I telling you this story? To inspire you. And, to share their formula for success.

Are you ready for a reinvention in your life or worklife? It doesn’t have to be as dramatic as Bob and Debbie. It can be a reinvention in terms of the tasks you do in your job, stripping away those things you don’t like to do, or don’t do well so that you can leverage your talents and focus on your area of brilliance. Or, it can be a total career change. Or whatever.

Bob and Debbie have given you a great template to use in your reinvention process. The first is to dream or to imagine what might be possible. Then research and test the idea. Make a decision to move forward. Create a plan and take baby steps to implement. Commit to execute the plan.

Dream. Imagine. Consider the possibility. Research. Test. Decide. Plan. Execute.

What a great recipe for reinvention – and I recommend it to you, for whatever invention you imagine.