Reinvention, Chapter 2

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Massachusetts Conference for Women this week as part of a panel on Reinvention. I chuckled to myself as I made my way to Boston for this event because I was, quite frankly, having a pretty shitty week in the land of Feel Your Boobies. How in the world could I possibly be speaking on a panel about “reinvention” when I myself was in the midst of a pretty deep hole of self-doubt.

I arrived in Boston and checked into my hotel and experienced minor flashbacks from my past life as a corporate road warrior. Travel for work is 1 part glamorous and 2 parts sucky, for sure. But as I unpacked my bags and settled into my room I was reminded of the perks (like the yummy beds at the Westin) and the convenience of having a hair dryer delivered to me after forgetting my own.

I made my way to the Boston Opera House for a VIP Reception that was being held for the speakers participating in the conference. It was a beautiful venue and probably a building I would never have gotten to see on my own. I fumbled my way through a crowd of unfamiliar women and began that uncomfortable process of networking. I never really did feel good at that and that night was no exception.

Bright and early the next morning I was putting on my game face to work the Feel Your Boobies table at the Expo portion of the conference. I figured if I was going to be at the conference to speak that having a table to meet more women would be a good idea. Sometimes I feel really good at that type of thing and sometimes I feel like a used car salesman on a rainy day.

Later in the morning, I made my way to the speaker hospitality suite to mingle with the other presenters. (It’s really is amazing how many awesome women there are doing some really kickass things.) We were escorted to the session room and soon 750 women filed in to hear our nuggets of wisdom on “reinvention”. The panel consisted of Bobbie Weiner (Hollywood makeup artist for the Titanic and manufacturer of the camouflage used by the US Armed Services), Chef Barbara Lynch (high school drop-out turned restaurateur who now owns 4 reknown restaurants in Boston), Kimberly Kissam (owner of Isabel Harvey jewelry with 3 locations including one on Nantucket), and me. That’s right…me.

As I listened to these women’s stories of reinvention a funny thing happened…I was inspired by the very panel on which I sat. I realized that perhaps even I had become a little numb to my own story of reinvention, allowing my own self-doubt to creep back in. You see, reinvention is a process, not a destination…but even though I know that, it was advice that I needed to hear for myself that day.

So as I left the conference feeling inspired and rejuvenated, I took a moment to pat myself on the back for all that I’ve accomplished. On the cab ride to the airport, I remembered a question I was asked by one of the many visitors to the Feel Your Boobies’ table. She asked, “So what’s next for you?” I didn’t have an answer at that very moment, but I suppose I’m realizing it’s Reinvention, Chapter 2. And off we go.