The One Who Finishes with the Most Experiences Wins

Hillary HuffordTucker
Jun 12
4 min read

I came across a line in Axios Finish Line’s “One Line Wisdom” that struck a chord: what if the real scoreboard isn’t money, titles, or prestige but experiences? It reinforces something I’ve long believed: adventure, growth, and exploration are worth building a life around.

Not just the kind you put on a resume but the real stuff: learning, building, adapting, stumbling, trying again, getting perspective, and creating something better. Adopting this mindset fuels reinvention both in your career and your life.

At some point in our lives, most of us get stuck. A transition we didn’t ask for (think: layoff) or the realization that something needs to change (aka: ending a relationship). Starting can feel overwhelming, but change doesn’t have to be a dramatic leap. It begins with a small step, test, thought, or a new way of seeing something old.

It’s not about waiting for the perfect plan or permission. It’s about trying something – anything - that moves you forward. And the beauty of that motion? It multiplies. One experience opens the door to another, which boosts curiosity and confidence so that comfort with change propels future growth.

So, how do you start?

50 Ways to Reinvent Career and Life

Following is a random list of ideas for change or transition. Choose one, multiple, or add your own possibilities to spark your next chapter.

🧠 Mindset Shifts and Self-Awareness

Frame your transition with clarity, perspective, and inner curiosity.

(1) Name your fears and sort them into what you can control, influence, or release. (From Ryan Holiday’s “Courage is Calling”)
(2) Write your obituary to identify and clarify the life story you want to live.
(3) Travel to a place that challenges your worldview and journal what shifts.
(4) Adopt imperfectionism, which represents progress over perfection. (From Robert McLean and Charles Conn’s “The Imperfectionists”)
(5) Reframe fears into challenges and imagine ways to tackle mindset issues.
(6) Define your “Hedgehog” concept: your sweet spot of skill, passion, and value. (From Jim Collins’s “Good to Great”)
(7) List your assumptions about what’s possible and test them by doing something new.
(8) Use the WOOP method (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan) to clarify intentions around a goal.
(9) Write down the “rules” you were raised with, then decide which still serve you.
(10) Track your emotional reactions in unfamiliar environments because they may reveal negative internal narratives

🔍 Reflection, Planning, and Realignment

You can’t reinvent what you haven’t reflected on.

(11) Write a vision statement grounded in your core values.
(12) Create a growth plan (career, health, learning, creativity, etc.).
(13) Visit a place alone to reflect on what matters most to you now.
(14) Revisit old goals: Which needs to shift, evolve, or end?
(15) List your top strengths and find proof in past experiences.
(16) Audit your time and energy to identify what supports or drains you.
(17) Celebrate small wins regularly to stay motivated.
(18) Make an honest commitment to audit what you are actually willing to change.
(19) Create a “Stop Doing” list based on what you learn from new experiences.
(20) Use travel planning as a metaphor: What’s your itinerary for growth?

🎯 Creativity, Action, and Skill-Building

Movement breeds momentum. Creativity unlocks reinvention.

(21) Take a solo day trip somewhere new to observe and reflect on the current state of your career or personal life.
(22) Break down a big transition into mini-adventures or experiments.
(23) Volunteer abroad or locally in an unfamiliar setting.
(24) Take a class on vacation or plan travel around a learning goal.
(25) Use the create/test/revise loop on a small personal or professional project.
(26) Try a food, activity, or mode of transport that’s unfamiliar.
(27) Say yes to a travel experience you normally wouldn’t choose.
(28) Design and pitch a “practice round” of a new idea to friends.
(29) Use a new tech tool or app on a professional or personal project.
(30) Start a new transition before you feel ready, then adjust as you go.

🤝 Connection, Collaboration, and Perspective

Other people can be your greatest sources of wisdom and growth.

(31) Build a board of career advisors across cities, industries, or cultures.
(32) Join a learning or travel group with people in transition.
(33) Ask connections or strangers: “What has life taught you recently?”
(34) Have coffee with someone who is doing what you want to do (think: informational interview).
(35) Introduce two people who could help each other grow.
(36) Host a virtual meet-up from the road and share what you’re learning.
(37) Spend time with people who live and think very differently from you.
(38) Make a connection in a foreign country and keep it going.
(39) Share your reinvention story; sharing helps others believe they can change, too.
(40) Start a mini travel blog or voice memo series to reflect aloud.

🔄 Work and Life Redesign

True reinvention happens when insights turn into systems.

(41) Design your work-from-anywhere routine, even if it’s just for a week.

(42) Create novelty by working or thinking in a new place, even if it’s just the patio.

(43) Book a “working sabbatical” or idea retreat to explore what's next.

(44) Sketch out three possible futures. What places or people would be involved?

(45) Research global trends in your field and identify what’s happening elsewhere.

(46) Play with identity: Try being “the traveler,” “the observer,” or “the student.”

(47) Map your future life chapters like destinations: What’s next, and what will it teach you?

(48) Evaluate what roles or habits need to be left behind for you to grow.

(49) Celebrate experiences and learning over results or others’ ideas of success.

(50) Embrace that saying “yes” to new things will help you finish the game with the most experiences.

Ultimately, it’s not the long hours or perfect plans we remember. It’s the experiences we dared to have, the shared moments, and the growth we chose. Few people reach the finish line wishing they had worked more. Most wish they had lived more fully. So, take the trip, start the project, and have the conversation. Let experiences be the measure that matters.

Hillary Hufford-Tucker is the founder of Relevated Brands. Since 2019, she’s helped professionals grow visibility and relevance through distinctive resumes, LinkedIn profile optimization, and individualized personal brand plans. Hillary holds certifications in career coaching, transitions, digital strategy, and reinvention, along with an MA in strategic communications and a Level Two Award in Wine from WSET. Splitting time between Illinois and California, she’s a cyclist, author, traveler, and Syrah enthusiast, sometimes all at once.