Ready to reinvent your career? Or to pursue a long-held dream?

Number 206

Here's some good news for people who are thinking about finding a new kind of career path. Acclaimed journalist Kerry Hannon has just updated and released a revised paperback edition of her book, "What's Next? - Finding Your Passion and Your Dream Job in Your Forties, Fifties, and Beyond."

In "What Next?," Hannon offers portraits of 17 people who have chosen new paths. For example, there’s Ken Rynne, a Washington energy lawyer who decided to live his dream and become a professional performer. He launched Planet Washington, a rollicking musical act featuring timely political satire.

And there’s a clinical nurse who opened a knitting store, an AT&T executive who became an Episcopal priest, and a former IT expert who is now a licensed acupuncture therapist specializing in fertility and women’s health issues.

The individual profiles are both inspiring and instructional, but the book is made even richer by Hannon’s insights, lists of resources, and specific advice about how to change your career. And, while the book’s personal stories tend to involve people who are reinventing their work lives to pursue new passions or long-held dreams, the book is a useful guide for anybody considering a significant job shift.

While she touches upon everything from finding a mentor to understanding franchises, I particularly like Hannon’s suggestion that you prepare for your transition with a three-part fitness program:

• Get financially fit, by charting a budget, socking away an emergency fund, boosting your credit rating and downsizing your lifestyle.
• Get physically fit, because being in shape and energetic matters in the work world.
• Get spiritually fit, by finding a space – perhaps through meditation -- where you can get away from the stress and fears that go hand in hand with making changes in your life.