By Bethany Nicole
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 3/2/23 – So many of us are coming out of the pandemic with a new lease on our lives and our careers. Many people are finding the limited lifestyle of a 9-5 just isn’t fulfilling and they are beginning to ask themselves, “What’s next?”
What’s next indeed? It can be an overwhelming question, but thankfully Roger Osorio’s latest book, Journey To Reinvention, helps readers answer just that.
Roger is an author, Reinvention Coach, and the founder of the School of Reinvention, a community-based reinvention platform where he helps people unleash their best selves and build their best lives. He has worked with over 3000 professionals, students, educators, executives, athletes, and entrepreneurs to define life on their terms and take massive action.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Roger for a one-on-one conversation to get his insights on the book, the need for reinvention, and how to do it effectively.
It’s no secret that there is a seeming mass exit from the restrictive 9-5 environment and “work until you die” culture, but Roger did let me in on a surprising secret. According to a study conducted, the level of disengagement in companies is not only higher than ever, but it is going even above and beyond the “quiet quitting” or bare minimum level of engagement, studies showed that some employees were actively sabotaging their roles or the company themselves, the disengagement was that high!
It’s clear that our society is looking for a change of pace, they are looking for deeper connections to their careers and ways to make their work fit with their lifestyle. But where do they do that? How do they do that?
These are all questions Roger’s book tackles. Roger also offers coaching for the reader who wants to take the concepts of the book and personalize them even further to fit their life and situation.
When Is It Time To Leap?
Roger and I dove into one of the most common questions those considering reinvention often have. “When is it time to leap?”
Roger feels the best time to leap is when you feel you have something to run towards, not just away from. He feels readers don’t have to wait for their job to reach rock bottom, or hopefully not until they get fired (as he experienced in one role) they can go before that. It’s all about finding something compelling and exciting that is pulling them towards it.
So the next logical question for many readers we felt was, “Where to leap to?”
Roger reminds readers that passion is the thread and that they can begin following that even while working in a 9-5 or something less than their dream job. He encourages the reinventors to start trying out different things to get clarity and certainty in what they want to do. Volunteering, working part-time, or a side hustle, are all great ways to explore new passions and projects. In this way, they can look before they leap so to speak. They already have the information that the thing they are leaping toward is what they actually want to do.
Next up, we had to know: “How does one make the big exit?”
Roger explains that it can look different for everyone, which is why he has a coaching practice so he can help reinventors tailor the book’s insight to their personal situation. However, overall, he feels that creating a plan is always a good first step. To begin getting financial affairs in order, restructure debt, see if they can defer student loans, and even look at moving to less expensive apartments or cities. The goal is to take concrete steps and plan as much as possible before the leap of faith. While there will be pieces that will remain unseen, planning as much as possible is always wise. Roger explains that taking the leap of faith can be tough, but his best advice is “Figure out a plan and trust that you will find a way to make it great.”
What Happens If It Doesn’t Go As Planned?
So, while, we could have talked with Roger forever on this fascinating topic for several more pages, we did want to wind up with the big fear factor that we felt would be on many readers’ minds. “What happens if it doesn’t go as planned?”
Roger’s advice is simply not to give up and to continue to persevere. Giving up is the only true mistake someone can make, once you walk off the playing field it’s truly over because even if suddenly opportunities are presented, you wouldn’t be there to accept them. You would have already tapped out. He gave an example of a game of soccer he played once where he shot the ball at the goal but had already walked off the field before it went in. He had already lost simply by walking off the field and even though the goal went in, he wasn’t there to accept it or see the opportunity. It’s all about staying in the game.
Wow, so much great info. Seriously we could have talked to him about this topic for hours, but at some point, the book review itself might be helpful. So here is what we thought.
What We Thought:
Roger’s book is not only excellent in anticipating the questions the journeyer to reinvention would have, but it also gives extensive and thorough answers to them as well. “How do I leap?” “When and to where?” and “What happens if it doesn’t work” are just among a few of the essential questions covered in the book.
An additional part of the book I found especially poignant, was the concept that the last mile of reinvention is often the hardest. That moment when we have felt we have tried everything and see no light at the end of the tunnel can be a very overwhelming and frightening time, even for the master of reinvention himself. Roger shares in the book, his own journey with that feeling and how it led him to a moment of near giving up. But as he discussed in our interview earlier, he knew how important staying in the game was, so when he received a phone call from a friend, he was available to answer it, and that phone call brought in a whole new wave of opportunities. It’s an inspiring story that I think many of us can relate to, another great example of how this book so often seems to speak directly to the reader.
The “journey to reinvention” can be an overwhelming one, and Roger explores that in the book, how these types of leaps take a tremendous amount of trust, both in the universe and ourselves! Which is what makes this book such an exceptional asset during the time of transition and reinvention, it is like a personal guide on how to make these great leaps and what has been successful for others in doing it.
The book also dives into some of the limiting beliefs that often keep hopeful reinventors stuck in their old roles and jobs. Yet there are often more options out there than meet the eye. In fact, I even shared with Roger my own personal experience of leaving a job that was negatively affecting me. I explained that in a giant leap of faith, I went to my boss and came clean, I was honest with her that it was not the line of work I wanted to be in and that I was planning on leaving. To my surprise, she was amazing. She helped me restructure my leave in such a way that I basically got paid for a month and a half of work without having to actually go in. She made my exit so much easier and showed me financial options I didn’t even know I had. The point is, that sometimes there are options we aren’t even aware of until we start exploring them.
Roger agreed as we dove into the limiting beliefs that so often keep hopeful reinventors trapped in their old jobs. Roger shared some of the most common ones he sees are guilt, shame, and of course finances. He also reveals that some reinventors have a sense of “owing” something to their employer, job, or coworkers. He shared it was something he himself had felt at various jobs. But at the end of the day, all these are, are limiting beliefs and they are things that can be worked with and through.
The book is a perfect blend of personal stories and examples and professional advice and insight. Roger can talk the talk because he has walked the walk. He has been on the journey to reinvention and lived to tell the tale, which is exactly what this book does.
We highly recommend it for anyone who has even been toying with the idea of leaving their same old same old and leaping into a journey of reinvention.
Check out his book here:
You can follow Roger at:
Instagram: @rogerosorio
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerosorio/
You can book sessions with him Here.