How to Reinvent Yourself Without Starting Over
Real strategies to evolve how you think, work, and grow.
Read on my Substack / Read time: 4 minutes
The #1 reason people stay stuck is thinking they need to start over to change.
So they stay in situations that no longer fit — jobs, routines, identities — because burning it all down feels too risky.
But real reinvention doesn’t require a full reset. It starts with small shifts. This newsletter is here to support that.
This week’s theme: reinvention — in mindset, marketing, and how we show up.
Let’s get into it.
AI for Marketing: LLMO > SEO
Five years ago, if you told me SEO would take a backseat to chatbots, I’d have laughed. Now? I’m relearning everything I thought I knew.
Recently, I ran a small experiment. I asked ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity: “Who are the top marketing startups in New York focused on cultural and content marketing?”
The answers were eye-opening — and inconsistent.
That’s when it hit me: this isn’t an SEO game anymore. It’s about LLMO — Large Language Model Optimization. Not a trend. A new kind of visibility.
Here’s what I’m doing differently now:
Think questions, not keywords – Write like people ask, not like Google indexes.
Be where AI looks – Get mentioned in trusted sources, not just your blog.
Track how you show up – LLMs change fast. Monitor mentions monthly.
Build a brand, not just a site – Metadata won’t save you. Build a brand that AI recognizes.
Go deep, not wide – AI loves context-rich, complete content.
Forget clicks, watch mentions – LLMO tracks how often you’re mentioned in AI answers.
Brand > links – AI might skip your site. Make sure it can’t skip your brand.
This is how I’m thinking about content now — not for Google, but for LLMs.
Mindset Hack: 5 Minutes in a Phone Booth
Last month, I hit a wall. Burnt out. Anxious. One Slack ping away from a spiral.
I ducked into a phone booth, locked the door, and meditated.
Five minutes. Deep breath. Eyes closed.
When I came out, nothing external had changed — but I had.
Now it’s my daily reset. Not about being calm. Just clear.
If you’re feeling fried:
→ Find somewhere quiet and private
→ Play this track
→ Breathe: 3 seconds in, 5 out
It’s my little reset secret.
Founder Story: How I Reinvented Myself Abroad
When I moved abroad, the culture shock wasn’t the food or the language. It was the mindset.
I grew up in Singapore, where we’re taught to stay in line, follow the rules, don’t make waves. Then I landed in Europe — where boldness is currency and silence gets you nowhere.
It pushed me to rethink everything. I changed my number. My name. My habits. My career. Everyone said I couldn’t do it — not without the language, not in a new field, not in a new place.
They were wrong.
Reinvention didn’t start with a visa or a job title. It started with this:
→ Change what you consume
→ Surround yourself with who you want to be
→ Let go of what doesn’t fit
→ Act like it’s already true
You don’t need to burn it all down.
You just need to start.
Until next week - keep building with purpose,
— Gina Kimiza