Reinvention means?

My wife suggested that the term 'reinvention' is perhaps too ambitious--as in unrealistic.

She got to me to thinking. I need to really understand what that term means, inasmuch as I'm trying to 'do it' and communicate the effects to those of you who are reading this blog.

I thought it meant, at the very least: doing things/being things that I always wanted to be, but had not...which pretty much ruled out my career in finance specifically, but not necessarily my lifestyle, my friends, my home. So, I'm coming to grips with this...for now, it seems that my reinvention is specifically vocation-focused. But I am thinking of growing my hair, again....and have not ruled out buying a Kawasaki Ninja and producing a radio show. When it's not raining, come ride with me.

Reinventing starts with love

Let's talk about Love.

I have no idea what it is, but I think I know what it feels like. It feels like "I have value", I am empowered, and it doesn't last all day or happen at certain times of the day. When I read about having 'passion', it feels like it's THAT.

I think love is good.

I think loving something, someone is good. So, think about what you love, what makes you feel alive or passionate, and soak in that.

I don't think it gets better than that.

So, what do I love?

I love Karen. She is my wife and she is a wonderful teacher.

Let me take a moment to talk about education and teachers.

It's time that WE stop blaming what's bad about the US education system on teachers. The negatives begin at HOME: when parent(s) don't give a shit about education, don't get involved, don't accept their responsibility for their children, it makes no sense to me that that somehow is the responsibility of the teacher. Sorry, it's all about accountability, as my son would say. And when some Phd comes up with a curriculum that is less about physical fitness, math, science and economics and more about 'sociology', it makes no sense to me that it's the teacher's fault. Stop this crap. If you don't like what the kids are learning: fire the school board!

'Fire' the teacher's union, too . . . and replace our legislators (and get a petition going for term limits while we're at it).

As I was saying . . .

I love my friends. I love my friends because they inspire me, encourage me and don't expect me to be anything but myself.

I love my dogs--there's so much to learn from them; God/whoever has blessed us with their love, of us...and IAMS. My Shetland has lost her hearing, and is teaching me how to communicate with 'the deaf'.

I love great wine, a smooth IPA, Mac and Jacks, Coconut Rum . . . movies with Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Tom Selleck. Selleck is a USC graduate, so he gets extra cred.

I love the universities I graduated from: USC (BA) and UCLA (MBA). I am blessed to have attended two of the world's great universities: it was a privilege, not an entitlement.

I love California--no, not the LA traffic, but wine country, the Mojave Desert and the beaches north of San Diego. And yes, Brian Wilson, there's nothing like California girls.

I love my kids, my in-laws.They inspire me more than they know.

I love Hawaii, VWs, the F-14 Tomcat, a great blender, good rum, Stellar blue jays, "The Amazingh Race", "Survivor", women who are fit/look great, a great motocross bike, a great road bike, Bruce Hornsby (an American mozart!), my doctors who replaced my shoulder and my hip, Overlake Medical Center, the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Honolulu, Sun!...Ronald Reagan.

there's more, at some later time...

Love something.

Reinventing starts there.

I need an 'elevator speech'

I attended the retirement party for my ex-boss, the CEO of Horizon Air, last night. It was wonderful, but that's not what I want to talk about.

I want to talk about an 'elevator speech'--that succinct and clear set of words or sentences that pitches your idea or gets your point across quickly.

Last night, the number one question I received was "What are you doing?" . . . and you know, I either wasn't sure what to say or didn't know what to say or actually didn't have anything to say. I really needed an elevator speech.

So, what does this all have to do with reinventing?

It has everything to do with it. I think I discovered that it's not only practical, but important to me to have a clear description of my purpose/mission. It helps others, especially friends who already think I might be nuts or a SuperHero, to understand me . . . and for me it just adds clarity to what I'm doing/what I'm all about.

Here's the 'elevator speech' that I probably should have pitched last night:

"I am reinventing myself; determining what's important to me and how to spend my time."

I hope you buy it.

Come ride with me.

Time to focus

You'll still find my blog at rudiripsit.blogspot.com, but the blog now has a different name/theme--it now has focus. I'm excited, it will be fun. We'll go together, but I'll try to lead, make mistakes, learn, share.

As a preview to some of the topics I'm working on:

--working with a personal coach.

--experiencing jobs I always thought I wanted to do (e.g. bartending, bike mechanics).

--taking acting and dancing lessons, learning how to speak spanish muy bien.

--links to great tips/techniques . . . encouragement.

--body part replacements (e.g. a shoulder, a hip)

Until my next post, I want to leave you with something I came across that happens to say a lot about reinvention . . . in my own words:

Eventually time reaches you, teaches you that when you love something or someone and they don't love you back, just let them go, let go.

Come ride with me.