The new buzz word for Baby Boomers is “reinvention.” Your career is winding down. You are not quite as energetic. Your focus shifts. Priorities rearrange themselves. When you started out in life you needed to invent yourself and now, with these passing years, you need to reinvent yourself.

Do you buy self-help books? Is the answer found in talking to friends? Should you wait for the phone to ring, hoping one of your contacts from the past calls and offers you a dream job?

Reinventing yourself can be a bewildering process. But wait. There’s a secret power you can access to get you pointed in the right direction.

Here’s the secret power: you have the power to create your future.

This is one of the greatest of all powers. Think of it. You are able to create the future.

The enemy of this secret power is the long held belief that we are victims of our circumstances. Too many people feel powerless in life because they have surrendered to the victim mentality. They suffer from the belief that life is a series of events which falls on their shoulder.

People who live like this allow circumstances to dictate their mood, income, level of happiness, and life direction. These people feel as though they are a victim and life is the victor which defeats their plans.

It’s so easy to feel like that. Several years ago, after serving as a successful pastor for 30 years, I was beat up and worn out. I had gone through a devastating church split. I woke up one morning and realized I couldn’t go on.

I resigned with no plan B. I spent a year waiting for a church to call me as their pastor. I kept hoping that someone would remember my good track record and offer me a job. But the phone never rang.

I began to realize I had to stop waiting for life to happen to me. It was time to tap into my secret power. I determined to create my own future. I picked myself and went to work.

This is the real secret of reinvention.

Stop waiting on other people. Choose yourself and get to work. Create the future that you want.

Once you’ve decided to create your own future here’s a simple four step process to unleash this secret power.

First, Make a List of Your Past Hobbies and Interests

Go all the way back to your early memories. Did you collect rocks? Did you enjoy writing? Have you always had a dog? Do you love to make things? Is it enjoyable to put a seed in the ground and make it grow? What is the one thing you would do if money and time had no constraints on your decision?

Make the list long and complete. You are making a list of the things which reveal your inner passion.

Second, Determine What You Are Good at Doing

During your career there were parts of your job in which you excelled. Were you the go to person for filling out the paperwork? When the phone rang were you the person who loved talking to the angry customer? Could you press for a decision and make the sale? Were you the best at putting it all together? Were your designs usually the best? In your performance reviews what could you be sure the boss would praise you for? Do people seek you out for advice?

Record everything you are good at doing. This list reveals the areas in which you are competent.

Third, Connect the Dots

Compare the two columns and draw a line connecting the things you are passionate about and the things which you are good at. You are searching for the place where passion and competence intersect. This is the sweet spot where your future can be created.

Imagine spending the next chapter of life playing in this sweet spot! This is where the magic happens. When you discover connections between passion and competence you are ready to move to the fourth step of creating your future.

Fourth, Find a Way to Make Money Using that Place Where Passion and Competence Intersect

Study your connecting sweet spots. Ask yourself this question, “Using this connection of passion and competence, how can I make money?”

When I went through this process, I discovered a passion for helping other people. Through the decades my life focused on assisting other people to realize their potential.

As I examined the second column I realized I had the ability to communicate through writing. So I started a blog and began to write in an effort to help Baby Boomers going through transition.

If you love talking to people and are good at imagining what an empty house could look like if remodeled, you might have a future in real estate or house flipping.

If you love to travel and are good at finding and making low cost travel arrangements, you could start your own tour company or become a travel guide. When you work through this fourth step your once dim future radiates with possibilities.

This process works. It worked for me and I’m living the best years of my life. You can do this.

It’s time for you to unleash your secret power. Go. Choose yourself. Create your future. It is waiting for you.

What are your secret passions? What would you do if you knew that you could not fail? Please join the conversation.