One of the cliches that stuck with me from business school is that industries change either through evolution or revolution. I think that applies to people, as well, and I find both kinds of change interesting.
Last weekend, the New York Times ran an article that expressed well some of what I’ve been feeling lately — that society gives so much attention to firsts, like your first job and first home, when the more significant decisions are likely to come later in life.
I’d love to share the article with you, but damned if I can find the thing, either using Google or the Times search function. You’ll just have to trust me.
As I recall it,  the author posited that when young people choose first jobs, for example, it’s often not an especially well informed choice. As we grow older and learn more about ourselves and the world, we’re in a better position to make big decisions — but by then, we might have so much invested in those previous choices that it can be difficult to change.
I’d been kicking around the idea of launching a new blog exploring new ideas and what might be a second act in my life.  Then this article that I can’t even find to link to helped serve as a catalyst. The new year seems like the ideal time to start a new project like this, so here we are.
Not that I’m the first person to think about reinvention. Madonna has built her whole career on it.
In an article I could find from the Times, Marc Freedman, author of Encore, says:

The research we’ve done shows that there are millions of people launching second careers in areas like education, health care, the nonprofit sector and government. And they don’t want to wait until they are 62 or 65 to get started. They want to do it early enough so that they have enough time to go through the inevitable ups and downs, explore different options and do something significant for a significant period of time.

While it’s not a new idea, I hope to bring something new to the conversation. My concept is to share examples of people who have reinvented themselves personally, professionally or both, as well as tools I find useful or informative, plus probably a sprinkling of articles, book reviews and whathaveyou that help advance the discussion. I expect a lot of these items will be wrapped in my own notions of what I might want to be when I grow up.
Maybe that makes this blog a little like writing a business plan for my life, sharing the thought process and inviting participation.
I hope you’ll join in. Offer up feedback, questions, criticism, insights. Share tales of your own transformation or those you’ve found inspiring.
And let me know if you find that consarned New York Times article.