It sounds odd; but first we Grow Up and then we Grow Down. We spend 30 to 60 years accumulating relationships, skills, knowledge, assets, and responsibilities, only to have them successively removed until at the end of another 30 to 60 years we leave with nothing. That's assuming everything has worked out well; but even working out well doesn't seem to be in today's forecast.

Our culture prepares us to grow up. As we become capable, opportunities to expand our purposes are presented to us. We become used to "adding" more to our lives, a family, friends, an education, a career, our own family, financial and other assets. The challenge is adjusting to adding onto yet another part of our lives. But somewhere at some point, we all shockingly find ourselves losing an unrecoverable part of our life.

It could be loss of a career, a loved one, financial assets, or even our health. Not an opportunity to move on; but a real unrecoverable loss. Years of growing up leave us completely unprepared. No one has ever taught us how to handle the challenges of going "downhill".

If life has a purpose (and we all have to take a position of this), then we are faced with the conclusion that this process is one of personal focus. Life narrows itself to focus us on our extended purposes. Removing any significant piece of our personal life system causes everything else to lose its former purpose. The resulting emotional turmoil is often debilitating.

The process of Personal Reinvention has helped many facing this life crisis. Some have worked through this themselves, others have taken advantage of self-help, and many are now trying Personal Reinvention Workshops. The methods start with the remaining pieces (resources) and views them through the lens of your life history. A new, more focused, purpose can emerge if you seek it.

Although we use Personal Business Models as our tool, the results may not relate to business at all. We often find our purpose in service to others. Finding that service will put the meaning into Growing Down.

_Baby Boomers were proud to be a generation of change in their youth. They also thought they would be able to retire just like their parents did; but that just isn't going to happen. They're still going to be leaders of changing ways, like it or not.

Retirement planning based on historical stock market growth isn't working. The up-and-down sideways movement of investments are being described as "the new normal" by today's analysts. Savings are not going to allow for most employed Baby Boomers to retire with the same financial assurance they had assumed. Rising health costs, especially for aging Americans, are also making Baby Boomers an attractive target for corporate downsizing. So what can they do when faced with being unable to retire and rapidly becoming unemployable?

The Emotional Challenge is also the Opportunity

There is an emotional dynamic to seeking retirement. Most look forward to it when they're just tired. Not physically exhausted; but emotionally tired of facing issues they cannot resolve day after day. Counselors call it career burnout. The opposite of burnout is career engagement. That's what everyone really wants. Something in our lives that gives us meaningful work as well as income. We enjoy facing problems every day that we are good at solving.

Here is the opportunity. As Business Brokers we know that at any given time 10% to 20% of small business owners in any category are ready to sell their business. Why? They're just tired. It's not that business is bad. Burnout is everywhere. The opportunity is to first find what will engage you; and then find the person who is experiencing burnout doing that because it should be you doing it rather than them. This is easily seen with business ownership and is the strategy we use in the Executive Advocate program for individuals; but the effect is everywhere. The business model approach can be used by anyone, even if it doesn't lead to starting or buying a business.

Business Model YOU

A community of international business and human resource advisers are completing a Do It Yourself Reinvention manual for release early in 2011. The title is Business Model YOU, after the best selling manual, Business Model Generation. Once available, anyone can work through a systematic approach to discover their career engagement opportunities and develop an approach to making a living with them. Tim Clark has written several introductions to the Business Model YOU process. Jumpstarting your career is a high level overview; and there is another where he likens it to working on an MPA, a Masters of Personal Administration.

Those in North Texas are also able to attend Personal Business Model Workshops.  These introduce Personal Business Models and then the development of your own Personal Brand by applying life experiences to your model. From that perspective, it's easier to see if any opportunity under consideration makes good business sense. The results can be a simple as a renewed perspective of a current position to opening-up entirely career vistas.

A Reinvention Community

At 25 or 30 it's easy to start a venture and not worry too much about it. If things don't work out, it's good experience and there is plenty of time for another career. Baby Boomers don't have that luxury. A career transition at this point in life has to work. There cannot be too much put into mitigating the risk. In addition to the individual programs and small group workshops already mentioned, an online community can provide valuable feedback. Recognizing this growing need, the AARP has started one they call The Reinvention Group. There is no cost to join. Expect to find many more over time.

Reinventing yourself at over 50 starts as a scary proposition; but if done with care, it succeeds in being the right thing at the right time. Consider how much of America's wisdom and experience is contained within the Baby Boomers. Not only do they financially and emotionally need to stay engaged, our country still badly needs them