Reading: How Cancer at 25 Led to Tamika Felder’s Reinvention

Seriously, what are you waiting for? “Life comes with an end date—so we have to make the best of whatever we have now.” So says former television producer Tamika Felder who was given a cervical cancer diagnosis at age 25. Felder joins CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour to explain how beating the odds gave her a new direction in life and offers her tips for women facing the ultimate reinvention mandate from cancer.

Tamika’s Top Tips for Reinvention

1. You are not a tree.
You don’t have to stand still. You can move. I know it’s intimidating, it’s overwhelming, and you just think like, I’ve been in this box for so long that it’s too late in my life to start something new, and I just can’t do it. But all you have to do is take that first step. That is all there is to start getting the life you want. It’s never too late.

2. Invest in yourself.
While you are reinventing, you have to invest in yourself. If you were in your corporate job and were taking continuing education courses or going off to a conference to better yourself in that position, you wouldn’t think twice about it. So what you have to do now that you’re working on your own or seeking to be your own boss in the future, you have to invest in yourself. I knew that I needed help. I had never run a business before.

3. Seriously, what are you waiting for?
It’s not about waiting until things are perfect. If you have a desire in your heart, whether it is a different type of professional career, or a hobby that you would love to be your first career, or if it’s adopting a baby, whatever it is that you want out of life, seriously what are you waiting for? If we wait until we ready we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.

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