Reinvention is Our Only Constant

I’ve reinvented myself so many times I don’t even remember what version 1.0 looked like.

At various points, I’ve been a commercial actor, a web developer, a carpenter, an author, and an entrepreneur. Some of those roles overlapped, some I left behind entirely. Reinvention isn’t just something I’ve done — it's coded into my DNA.

And as Founders, it's in all of our DNA to fundamentally re-invent ourselves. So why do we feel so stuck in the roles we hold today? Why does shifting paths feel so risky, so disloyal to the identity we've built — when our entire existence is built on questioning assumptions?

What would it take for us to wake up tomorrow and say, “Screw it, I’m doing something completely different”?

We Get Easily Stuck

In most careers, reinvention is a foreign concept. A lawyer is a lawyer because they went to law school. A consultant because McKinsey hired them out of undergrad. But “Founder” isn’t a job we train for — it’s a role we invent, and then reinvent, again and again. Reinvention isn’t the exception — it’s the requirement.

And yet, we still get stuck. We cling to our current titles, our LinkedIn bios, our origin stories. We let our past write our future, even when it no longer fits. Why? Because the past is familiar, and familiarity feels safe — even when it’s suffocating.

We also love projecting our current selves into the future. We imagine our path as linear — “I started here, so I must end up there.” But that line doesn’t really exist. It’s just a convenient illusion. In reality, most of us zigzag our way forward, tripping over good ideas, stumbling into new roles, and pivoting when things fall apart. The belief in a straight path is what keeps us trapped.

What It Takes to Reinvent

So what does reinvention actually require? First, it demands a mental shift — a real belief that change is not only possible, but necessary. That we’re not defined by our résumés or our LinkedIn endorsements. We are defined by what we choose to build next.

Second, we have to reframe our past. Our history isn’t a chain locking us into a single identity. It’s a toolbox. Being a lawyer, or a designer, or a failed Founder wasn’t a waste — it was training. Those experiences gave us skills we can apply elsewhere, maybe in ways we haven’t imagined yet. Our past isn’t the story; it’s the inventory.

But most importantly, reinvention requires commitment. Half-measures don’t cut it. If we decide to shift gears, we have to go all-in. Not because we know it’ll work — but because betting on ourselves is the only bet worth making. Reinvention asks us to leap before the net appears, trusting that we’ll build the next version of ourselves on the way down.

The Value of Reinvention

Looking back, I didn’t realize who I was supposed to be until about my fifth career change. Each pivot felt uncertain, sometimes painful. But each one peeled away another layer of the “not me,” making room for the person I was becoming. Every shift helped me understand what I really cared about, what I was uniquely good at, and who I wanted to serve.

Today, I mentor Founders. But I wouldn’t be very good at it if I hadn’t lived all those previous lives. The actor in me knows how to pitch ideas. The carpenter in me knows how to build. The developer in me understands structure. The entrepreneur in me knows what it feels like to gamble everything. All those identities weren’t detours — they were the foundation.

The truth is, we don’t arrive. We evolve. Reinvention isn’t a reset; it’s an upgrade. It’s what happens when we stop pretending we’re fixed products and start acting like what we truly are: a continuous work in progress.

The Freedom in Letting Go

So if you're feeling stuck, you have to ask: what identity am I clinging to that no longer serves me? What would it look like to let that go — to trade “this is what I do” for “this is what I want to become”?

We don’t have to burn everything down (though sometimes that helps). We just have to stop believing that the roles we’re in now are the final chapter. They’re not. They’re just where we are today.

And tomorrow? That’s still up to us.

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