Reinventing ourselves – part 4 in a series

Reinventing ourselves is an ongoing process. There is no rest point in a career or in life where we can stop performing and just coast.

To paraphrase something I said much, much earlier:

Work is like that rock, paper, scissors game. There is no long-term winning play. We need to stay alert and look for the strategy that will allow us to produce results for our company, customers or clients and get well-rewarded for it.

Situations change over time, so we must be ready for the next shift if we are to continue successfully.

A year ago I wrote several posts on reinventing yourself:

Why reinvent yourself?
What kind of reinvention will make sense for you?
When your "business plan" for life runs out of gas.

They still make sense and I continue to practice what I write. I am still reinventing myself in an effort to be more effective at the things I consider important in life.

My long term goal is to make a significant contribution to sustainable economic development in this area of Virginia. As I see it, I will do that best by enabling  business people and artisans in this region to develop viable business models and thereby support their families and contribute to the economy of Southwestern Virginia.

I had hoped to achieve a part of this goal in the capacity of Executive Director of the Jacksonville Center of Floyd. I committed to manage the operation of the Center and the Board was to do fund raising.

Unfortunately, lack of fund raising efforts have made it necessary to cut back on staff hours and while I was donating 25 hours a week of my time to the Center, I can not donate the full 45 hours that I spend at the Center each week.

I may appear to the untrained eye as someone who is "retired", but the actuality is that I need to contine generating income for the forseeable future. So I will continue to support the center as a volunteer photographer and advisor, but not as a staff member.

For me at this time, reinvention is finding those who need help in promoting their businesses and helping them get the word out effectively and economically. My preference is to service clients who are committed to preserving the quality of life in Floyd County.

My other major interest is to track and make use of the developing role of Internet publishing platforms as a vehicle for disseminating ideas and generating income for writers and artists of all kinds.

These two areas of activity should keep me busy and out of trouble for some time.