Reinvention Venture

September 20th was a big day for me.  At 9:00 pm my decision to take an 'early out' from my job as a flight attendant became official and non-revokable.  The decision was difficult and emotional.
As I was deadheading from Miami to Chicago, I had the pleasure of sitting across the aisle from a flight attendant that I really like.  We had flown together the day before and she had not mentioned that she was even considering taking the early out package.   On that flight, 7 hours before the deadline to put in for it, she said she was considering it.  We spent the entire 2 1/2 hours discussing it.  I do hope I did not influence her decision to leave but instead illuminated the issues for her.  I received a tremendous amount of clarity for myself during our conversation.  I realized that the advice I was giving her, I needed to take myself.  Here's a few highlights of our conversation.

Don't stay because you are afraid.  Stay because you truly love the lifestyle, the job, and the people.  That being said, the truth is I am scared to death to let go of this job that has provided me with so much.
We have more skills than we are aware of.  I could easily point out her skills and qualities.  She has a great manner with people.  She is responsible.  She is organized.  She is energetic.  She is caring.  It is much harder for me to point out my own skills and qualities but I know I will need to recognize them, encourage them, and flaunt them if I want to successfully move into this new phase in my life.
She asked if I thought it irresponsible to quit a job when 28,000,000 people are unemployed.  I thought the opposite. It may be irresponsible NOT to take this opportunity to move into something she would love, something that would allow her the chance to be the mother and the woman that she wants to be.  This could be her chance to really excel.
In the end, she put in for it as we taxied into O'Hare airport.  She made a decision for her career right there on the runway.

Don't  stay anywhere out of fear.  We need to embrace the adventure of life.  We all have so many God-given gifts and qualities.  It is time to exploit those.  The irresponsible thing would be to not fully share ourselves in the best possible way with this world and those around us.
I am calling this new phase of my life Reinvention Venture.  Please let me know your own thoughts and stories of reinvention.  I would love to hear them!