The Repurposed Life

“The cry of my soul to be seen authentically.”

Melissa Bernstein

Melissa is cofounder of Melissa & Doug, a toy company that you may have heard of that ended up having generating nearly half a billion dollars in revenue.

Objectively you could say that she’s a successful entrepreneur.

But all during these times she was battling her own existential demons.

Hers is a story of a successful perfectionist, where her inner-critic drove her to succeed.

She describes herself as having a sensitive nervous system and having to continuously battle between her head and her heart; the negative thoughts in her head and the creative vision from her heart.

To overcome this battle she had to take responsibility for making meaning; to do the inner work that allowed her intuition to speak louder than her intellect.

I’ve learned over the past few years that we are made of many parts.

Parts that call us to adventure and parts that pull us to safety.

Being able to know which to listen to and when, isn’t an intellectual problem to solve.

It’s a practice of getting to know your feelings.

This is particularly important if you’re someone who has lived so much time in their head.

The intellect is a powerful thing.

It helps us solve problems and dream of new beautiful visions.

It’s the source of our ability to create wonderful products, services and businesses.

But it is also a source of the handbrakes in life.

The stop signs that tell us that this isn’t allowed or this could never be possible.

When we’re looking for more freedom in life our brains can get in the way.

The journey to more freedom is about taping into your true self, harnessing your creativity and following an inside out approach to life.

You’ve learned all the tactics and strategies.

Now it’s time to work on the foundations again.

To repurpose your life and work.

Why this?

Why you?

Why now?

What is the work that you are now most called to do?

Not by the outer world.

But by your inner world.

This is core to your midlife transition.

This the purpose pivot that is now your priority.