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I was watching CBS This Morning today (September 21, 2012) and saw an interview with actor, Michael Chiklis. In the interview, he talked about how he had (as he describes on his website) “shed the roly-poly affable guy type and reinvent[ed] myself with a role in something hard-hitting, smart and powerful.”

What really caught my attention in the interview was Chiklis saying that it was his wife (Michelle Moran) who motivated him to reinvent himself. Having (successfully) played lots of roly-poly affable guy types, Chiklis was expressing his frustration to his wife that there were “so many different things that I could do and nobody knows this.” His wife said, “Michael, it’s not incumbent upon the networks and the studios to reinvent you. It’s incumbent upon you to reinvent yourself.”

And that is what he did. He says he recognized then that “I have to do the work. I have to do what I need to do to change the perception.” On his website, Chiklis describes how he “… began a brutal training program, three hours a day, six days a week, determined to make a complete physical and emotional transformation for whatever I would do next.”

What was next was the opportunity to be cast as a crooked cop in the TV series, The Shield. He was ready – and went on to win an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his work on this show that ran for seven seasons.

Chiklis’ recognition that “I have to do the work” is good advice for anyone who wants to reinvent themself – to change or expand their career or personal direction.

If we, like Chiklis, feel that nobody knows that there is more that we can do it’s not up to our employer, prospective employer or our clients to reinvent us. It’s up to us.

How to do that? Here are three tips that I give to my coaching clients who want to reinvent themselves.

Tip 1: Accept (as actor Michael Chiklis did) that you have to find out what you need to do and do the work. Don’t depend on what other people say about what you need. Find out for yourself.

Tip 2: Commit. Once you know what you need to do, make a plan. Set goals for yourself. A few years ago I learned a great productivity tip from comedian Jerry Seinfeld on the website Lifehacker.com . According to software developer Brad Issac, when Seinfeld was a touring comic, he was committed to writing better jokes by writing every day. Issac says Seinfeld “revealed a unique calendar system he uses to pressure himself to write … [Seinfeld] told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. ‘After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain. Don’t break the chain.’ ”

Since I read that, like Brad Issac, I’ve used Jerry Seinfeld’s planning tip to keep up the momentum to achieve goals that I’ve set for myself.

Tip 3: Look the part. Michael Chiklis changed his physical appearance, working out three hours a day, six days a week (“a brutal training program”). Sometimes, all it takes is a new hair style and different shoes.

In an earlier post, Do Clothes Make the Manager, I wrote about “Charlie” – the “go-to” technology guru in our local office products store. Charlie followed that old adage, “Dress for the job you want, not the one you have.” Shortly after changing his appearance and wardrobe from “casual” to “business casual” (clean-shaven, new hairstyle, well-pressed company-issue shirt and slacks, leather loafers instead of runners), Charlie got promoted to head office. As I wrote on that earlier post, I don’t know what prompted the change in Charlie. I do know that changing his appearance effectively communicated who he was (a highly effective salesperson who brought a lot of new and repeat business to the store), and what he could contribute in a bigger playing field.

What tactics do you recommend for people who want to reinvent themselves?

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Michael Chiklis’ next role is playing a fictional Chicago mobster on the new CBS drama, “Vegas.” Here’s the link to a video of the Michael Chiklis interview.