Reinvention Counseling
Bruce Abramson, Ph.D., J.D.
January 2009
January 2009 marks the launch of my new practice in reinvention
counseling. Because—as far as I know—I am the world’s first
reinvention counselor, a few FAQs are likely already on the tip of your
tongue. This announcement provides my pre-answers.
For more information, or to sign up for your free first session, e-mail your expression of interest and phone number to:
TheReinventionCenter at gmail dotcom.
- Why “re”invention counseling? Why not invention counseling?
Invention and reinvention are different animals entirely. Invention happens in discrete, unplanned bursts of glory, or “Eureka! Moments.” Reinvention is the constant learning process that lets us adapt our behavior to address new external circumstances and to achieve new internal goals. I wish I knew how to generate Eureka! Moments, but the sources of such inspiration remain beyond the current frontiers of both scientific and spiritual inquiry. I can, however, help you make your personal reinvention processes conscious, informed, directed, holistic, and fun—the conditions most likely to improve your life while simultaneously creating an environment that supports meaningful, inspired Eureka! Moments.
- Who can benefit from reinvention counseling?
If your life is perfect and you meet all new challenges with equanimity, poise, and grace, please don’t let me screw it up. Otherwise, you can probably benefit from reinvention counseling. Even a great life still has its imperfections: External challenges, particularly those involving the economy, law, regulation, business, and work, may leave you confused and frustrated. Social conditions may render you misunderstood, as others misread your personal blend of confidence, chutzpah, vulnerability, and compassion. Shifting internal goals may leave you wondering whether you’ve “outgrown” your existing environment and opportunities. Or you may just feel lonely, or stuck, or aimless, or bored, or mired in the belief that your life has plateaued at some level short of cosmic meaning. If you’ve ever hit any of those states, reinvention counseling can help you.
- What’s the secret behind reinvention counseling?
Nothing that required a Eureka! Moment on my end. Jean Jacques Rousseau proclaimed: “Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains.” Friedrich Hayek warned that well-meaning paternalistic planners were leading us down the road to serfdom. I believe that the keys to reinvention, freedom, and fulfillment all flow from meaningful work. I believe that you possess a blend of knowledge, skills, insights, and gifts that others will value—and that when you share it with them, they will respond by sharing things they possess that you value (possibly even money). I want to help you unlock that value, identify those who will most value it, share it with them, and feel good about requesting compensation in return. I know many people who find each of these subtasks challenging, but only those who master them all will ever find truly fulfilling work. And whether that work is sufficient to fund your life or it serves only to augment your income, I believe that it will enhance your own self-image and self-esteem; everything else will flow from there. In short, the “secret” is that I believe in you.
- What can I offer my reinvention counseling clients?
I am prepared to use every skill, contact, and resource at my disposal to help you turn your dreams into successful business ventures. I arrive at the table with professional experience in law, economics, computing, management, research design, writing, teaching, and public speaking. I have also spent many years researching philosophy, politics, various arenas of public policy, cognition, religion, and personal growth. I am a connector, with local and global networks drawn from a wide variety of microcultures. And I believe—deeply—that a good idea is one that works for many people on many occasions, not a template that fits all lives. I will work with each reinvention client to develop a personalized, customized program.
- How does reinvention counseling relate to your litigation work or your incubation plans?
They’re different products appropriate for different client bases. The only common theme is that I provide them all.
- What occurs at a reinvention counseling session?
A reinvention counseling session runs twenty-five minutes, and takes place either at the counselor’s office or on the phone. In the initial (free) session, the client and counselor become acquainted, identify the client’s reinvention needs, and determine how to best move forward. At subsequent sessions, the counselor will recommend courses of action, discuss areas of inquiry, and at times assign homework. The client may also engage the counselor for specific tasks, including background research or document review; if so, the counselor and client will agree on the counselor’s time commitment, and the client may engage the appropriate services at the applicable per-session price. In such cases, the two will likely spend the next session reviewing the results of the research. Sessions are intentionally flexible, in recognition that client needs can vary from emotional support one week to concrete legal or strategic research the next.
- How can you sign up for reinvention counseling?
The best way is to send e-mail to thereinventioncenter@gmail.com. Be sure to leave your phone number so that I can call you. Next best is to call me at 202-299-4171. The first session is free. Beyond that first session, I am launching this practice at a discount of roughly 50-75% to my full commercial rates:
o 1 session: $125.
o 5 sessions over 60 days: $500 ($100 per session).
o 10 sessions over 90 days: $750 ($75 per session).
All payments are due in advance. Clients are responsible for scheduling their sessions within the sixty or ninety days. Clients may purchase additional sessions, at the applicable per-session price, throughout the lifetime of their packages.
- Are there benefits to signing up early?
Yes. Prices will never go down, but they will go up. Right now, these prices are available to everyone, and you can lock yourself into a price schedule for one year from the date of your first session. Following the launch of The Reinvention Center, only members will be eligible for the low-price schedule; non-members will pay more.
- Where can you learn more?
The best ways are to send e-mail to thereinventioncenter@gmail.com, or to call me at 202-299-4171.
- Am I the only reinvention counselor?
At the moment, yes. But everything has to start somewhere. I hope to train and qualify additional reinvention counselors by the end of 2009. If all goes well, each potential candidate will arrive with skills and experiences that complement my own, so that we can tailor our programs even more finely.
I've added a page with a photo, links to my CV, a description of my scholarly work, and a few other tidbits. It may not be a great page, but I like the photo.
