“… Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten”     from “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield

My friend Fred Patrick sent me the lyrics to this song  by Natasha Bedingfield. You can hear the entire song on You Tube. I thought this passage was reminiscent of what we are trying to do here in beginning our journey of transformation. If we look at our lives as a book still unwritten or at least unfinished we can begin each day with a renewed sense of purpose.

I received a comment yesterday from someone else who blogs on Word Press. I visited her blog and found more inspiration for my bucket list endeavour and I bet some of you will feel the same. The address to her blog is http://mslistologist.com. She began with her bucket list but has since created multiple lists of things to do. Every day I give thought to what I can do on my journey of reinvention and though I began talking about reinvention of the American worker I realize that we have to work on all aspects of our personality in order to move forward and prosper.

I will continue to find things to add value to this site and hopefully provide some of us with the incentive we need to move forward. Let me know what you think. Suggestions always welcome.

Perhaps this exercise is so difficult because we describe it in terms of things to do before you die. Not most people’s favorite subject. So maybe we should describe it as things we want to do to live to the fullest. At any rate I have begun my list and I will refine it as time goes on. Here’s what I have so far:

Start an Arts Non-Profit

Start a Food Business with my Daughter-in-Law

Visit Egypt

Reach My Goal Weight

Become a Weight Watchers Lecturer

Make This Blog Successful

Lecture before Thousands

Visit the South Pacific

Sell a million dollar home (or two!)

Snorkel in Belize

Can I hear from some of you out there. What’s on your list.

I suggested the other day that everyone write a “bucket list” . My intention was to have us all look at what we say that we want and/or desire and  decide if any of the items on the list could be  the basis of our next career. What I found personally was that I couldn’t think of many things that I wanted to do that seemed realistic.

Perhaps realistic is the operative word. I decided to explore the web and found a great blog by a woman named Celestine Chua. It’s called the Personal Excellence Blog and one area is devoted to the creation of a bucket list and how it can be used. Here is the address http://celestinechua.com/blog/my-bucket-list.  Perhaps it can be the inspiration necessary to create your list.

“Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.”

The above quote comes from the promo for the movie the Bucket List. If you have seen the movie you know that Jack Nicholson invites Morgan Freeman to accompany him on a trip to fulfill his bucket list.

If you don’t know what a bucket list is, it is a list of all the things that you want to accomplish before you die. Until I saw the movie I had never heard the term nor had I ever thought of creating such a list. In the movie Jack Nicholson’s character has the financial ability to indulge in everything he wants to carry out. Nice premise, cute movie which left me thinking about things that I want to do. I haven’t made a bucket list but perhaps this is the time.

If we think of things that we would like to experience or do maybe we can begin to develop a plan for our reinvention.

So let’s start today. Create a list and in the coming days we will see what we can learn from that list.

In June of 2009 Chao Mu-he, 96 received a Masters in Philosophy from Nanhua University in Taiwan. He said that he began the graduate program after the hospital where he volunteered felt he was too old to continue. He said that he was bored and didn’t really have a hobby. A friends’ son was reluctant to go back to school and Chao suggested that they enroll and study together. The article I read shows Mr. Chao proudly wearing his cap and gown at his graduation.

The messages that many of us have received over the years is that when we reach “retirement” age we should be prepared to sit on the porch, sip iced tea, rub the dog’s head and wait for the mailman to deliver our retirement checks.

Several things are wrong with this picture:

• There is no real retirement age. Many people have put in the required time at a job for a pension by the time they are in their early to mid fifties. Given our current state of health care the assumption is that in your fifties you are still physically capable of working if desired.

• People in their sixties and beyond are also better able to continue contributing to society and therefore they may not be ready to leave the work force either.

• The economy dictates that people continue to work to pay higher property taxes and to support the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.

• Boredom is a terrible thing! It is very hard for many people just to sit on the porch.

• There is science to back up the fact that if you don’t use the brain over time we lose some of our abilities. So the more active we keep our minds the better!

It’s not too late for change. Let’s go for it!

My friend Harold read my blog one day and his comment was “get right to the point with me.”  So okay what is the point?

I started out to bolster my desire to reinvent myself. I wanted to think out loud and I hoped that some of you out there wanted to do the same thing. I am a people person and I believe that I can learn something from everyone that I meet. I also find that saying it or in this case writing it helps me make concrete what rumbles around in my head most of the time.

I spent some time yesterday looking at blogs devoted to “reinventing” ourselves and found that most of them either looked at reinvention from a spiritual/religious standpoint or wanted to sell you a product that would help you make the necessary changes. I found some of these sites interesting and I certainly believe in the spiritual and religious but that is not what I am trying to do. I don’t want to reinvent you. I want to reinvent me. I believe that we can help each other.

I don’t have the formula for you. What I do have is a vehicle where you can share stories about reinvention, offers the seed of change and provides a safe and comfortable place for everyone to explore the more that they can be.

So there it is Harold. This may not be the blog for everyone but I know that some of you out there can benefit from it. Let me know what you think.

I have not posted for several days and had a difficult time deciding what next. I want to keep this going but that depends on a variety of things including interesting content. I need help from those of you out there reading. Perhaps you would like to email me and share your thoughts and or stories so that I may pass them on. . Please feel free to do so at http://www.knittingnedjmicreations@gmail.com.

So last Saturday I attended a get together hosted by a group of Cornell Alumni, class of 1974. I was the guest of my college roommate Renee who was a part of that class. I was in the class of 1973. I know these folks and am always delighted to see them.  In the course of conversation with several people I was talking about my desire and need to reinvent myself. Unlike many of my friends, my need to reinvent is necessitated by my need to create income. I have to work to live and now I don’t see that changing. It’s okay it is what it is.

I was surprised and happy to know that lot’s of folks have and/or would like to reinvent themselves. I am learning that it is not an easy decision for anyone. Whether you just have a wish to do what you really like or like me you have to change to continue to survive the result seems to be the same. Change is difficult. Let’s begin to move forward.

This is a departure from the things that I’ve  been writing about but it struck a  chord. Last evening soon after I got to work I was asked to help another division make calls to people informing them of training necessary for the next phase of Census work. I hate calling strangers. Funny for someone who loves to talk. Doing this for any reason takes me way out of my comfort zone. So I went but I was not happy.

After several hours of making calls (most to answering machines) I reached a lady and identified myself and the reason for my call. Mind you this is for temporary work maybe a month or possibly two at best. So after identifying myself there was silence at the other end of the line. I finally realized that the woman was crying. She said “I was here praying that I would receive a call from you. My daughter just lost her job and I am trying to help her and my granddaughter. I need work so desperately!  She said I don’t know whether you’re a Christian but I am asking the Lord to bless you and your family.”

Wow! I am in no way responsible for her getting hired. I was just making a call. How appreciative this woman was for the work. It made me think of how many things we take for granted. The attitude of gratitude definitely helps us along the way. When was the last time you were grateful and did you say thank you?

1946 – 1964. People born during these years are known as Baby Boomers and in 2010 4,000,000 will turn 50! Bill Geist says in his book “The Big 5-Oh” that another boomer turns 50 every 7 seconds! So who cares? Well apparently lots of statisticians and economist because Baby Boomers are a substantial portion of the work force in America today. Those born in 1946 are approaching the magic number of  65 and have or will be retiring in the next few years.

So this brought two things to mind. Their jobs will be vacant and they may (in this economy) need to continue to work. The Star Ledger on Sunday, July 4th had an interesting article about the void that boomers are going to leave in certain market sectors and may decide to re-enter the work force in other areas. According to Civic Ventures and MetLife Foundation suggest that “workers over 55 have the skills and motivation to bridge labor gaps in education, health care and the “green economy”. The article further suggests that this group will fill gaps in jobs not yet defined by the dictionary of occupational titles. Non-traditional, not 9-5 and more entrepreneurial.

So let’s get to thinking boomers what place can we find in economy 2010 and into the future?