Starting all over again at forty-something
By BLAKE THOMAS Lakecaster Correspondent

Starting over at forty-something is about knowing one's strengths and especially one's weaknesses. If you've just left the public accounting field and you are looking to start fresh, odds of becoming a brain surgeon are not stacked in your favor. The skills you possess currently are those that will carry you into the next career. Reinventing yourself is about taking those incredibly useful skills and talents that you have honed over the past 20 years and redirecting them into a new you.

Just the other day a friend asked me if I could do anything I wanted and get paid for it, what would it be? I hope that answer is obvious to you my trusted readers. These are words to live by, as long as you understand at forty-something the New York Yankees are not looking to you to play short stop any time soon. Put some thought into this question. In order to start anew - we must possess the same passion about what it is we intend to do these next 10 - 20 years, just as we did for the first.

Once you have narrowed your scope to maybe two to three options, start by trying to match those skill sets you already possess to the career choices you are currently considering. At the risk of sounding over simplified, the one that allows you to implement most of your current talents and skills is probably the one that is going to at least start you in the direction you will ultimately be successful.

Mind you, this process will not be completed over lunch or the weekend at the beach. This process involves lengthy soul searching and plenty of questioning of one's self, what is it that is going to make you happy and be successful too? Once you feel you have invested the proper amount of time in the process of identifying what it is you wish to do, then it's time to devise a game plan that will allow you to get started down the path to your new career.

Remember. Be realistic, but don't be afraid to try something unusual. This could be your last chance of getting to do something you really want to do. Keep in mind your friends and family may think you're a little crazy at first, but stay focused and driven towards the finish line. Just like when we were twentysomething, we started out at the bottom and worked our way through the ranks all the way to the top - now we start again. This time we are a little smarter, and do so with a little more panache.

If your second career choice is something with unusual boarders of entry, don't be afraid to give of your time to the organization in exchange for time in the seat. Afriend of mine had a burning desire to be a jazz radio station personality. He was able to convince the local radio station's management of his knowledge of the genre and his past experience of public speaking to give him a midnight shift for several weeks to prove himself. He did so for free initially, trading his time for on the job training as it were. Within six months, Tom had not only been successful on his midnight shift, but had been offered a full time paying position as programming assistant in charge of finding new artists, and appearing daily in his own time slot dedicated to new and up and coming jazz artist.

The single most important asset each of us has as previously seasoned employees is a sense of confidence. We should at least possess a level of confidence at forty-something that most 20 somethings' won't acquire for some time. Don't be afraid to use this asset.

It may not be a job that takes you completely out of your existing field. Another friend of mine was a very large medical outsourcing company's Chief IT Executive. When the company decided times were tight and some trimming of the proverbial fat was needed, his number was called. At forty-six years old, this family man with two teenagers soon to be entering college and putting the finishing touches on he and his wife's dream home, found himself without a job.

He came to me with this look of loss and bewilderment, asking me what he should do. After some discussion about his financial situation, he revealed his company gave him one year's salary and agreed to pay his family's health insurance premiums for that year as his severance package. But after further discussion, it became clear to both of us that he truly loved his work and could not see himself doing anything else.

This was easy. I told him to get on the phone and to start calling all of his vendors that he worked with recently and in the past. I instructed him to call those business relationships that were previously customers and or business partners and let them know he had left the firm and might be looking to do some consulting work. Needless to say his phone is ringing off the hook. Now he has two additional people working for him and he is making twice his previous income and able to schedule time for his teen-agers, wife, and their new home.

Most of the time we go though life with blinders on, some times we need an event such as being fired or downsized to shake things up and get us out of our comfort zone. It is only then, that moment when we are not in our comfort zone - that allows us to see more clearly the endless possibilities that are available. Just remember, a thorough inventory of our strengths and weaknesses and a willingness to try something different will ensure us the opportunity to start over and be successful even at forty-something.